Doris Kearns Goodwin’s New Memoir of the 1960s

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is on a media tour for her new book, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s. Her husband Richard was a speechwriter for the Kennedys, Lyndon Johnson and Al Gore. She was a presidential scholar who became a confidante of President Johnson. NPR interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIJ6PDUMX3k NYT: She wasn't …

Robert Kennedy’s Profound Visit to the University of Mississippi, 1966

REEL SOUTH, now in its eighth season on PBS, "reveals the South's proud yet complicated heritage, as told by a diversity of voices and perspectives, through the curation and distribution of feature-length and short documentaries." More. One episode focuses on Robert Kennedy's defiance of a speaker ban law to visit and speak to the University …

A Giant of Statecraft and Diplomacy: Assessing the Career of Henry Kissinger

It is impossible to understand American foreign policy in the latter half of the 20th century and early 21st century without examining the life of Henry Kissinger. He is called a grand strategist, a realist, a pragmatist, who dealt with the world as it is, not as he wished it to be. He focused on …

JFK: A Mini-Course Re-Examining Fateful Decisions

The fate of the United States was intertwined with that of John F. Kennedy, as are the lives of all of us alive today whether we realize it or not. Judging from the many comments of readers on last week’s free post, those of us born so long ago that we can remember JFK’s assassination …

60th Anniversary of JFK’s Assassination

I reflect on John F. Kennedy's assassination on the 60th anniversary and post a letter written by my mother on November 23, 1963. Readers offer their own memories and reflections on Substack. How the nation has changed. Click.

Master Legislator Profile: Ted Kennedy

A good biography is inevitably not just the story of one person but of the times in which he or she lived, and the cultural, economic, and political forces as well as the family dynamics that shape every life. With nearly a half-century in the US Senate, leading a consequential life both tragic and triumphant, …

The Riddle of Labor Leader, Mob-Connected Jimmy Hoffa

James Riddle Hoffa (1913-1982) "was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1957 until 1971. From an early age, Hoffa was a union activist, and he became an important regional figure with the IBT by his mid-twenties." Wikipedia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNfUo9AZxww 48 years later, Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance remains …

Civil Rights Activist Medgar Evers Was Assassinated 60 Years Ago. His Widow In Her 90s Is Still An Activist

June 2023 marked the 60th anniversary of the assassination of Medgar Evers (July 2, 1925-June 12, 1963), an American civil rights activist and the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi, who was murdered by Byron De La Beckwith about the same time that President Kennedy gave his landmark address to the nation on civil rights. Wikipedia. …

Historians and Leaders Reflect on President John F. Kennedy’s Address on Civil Rights, June 1963

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YndI-tXlN6Q JFK Library: Historians reflect on President Kennedy's June 11,1963 speech on civil rights. Just a year later, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I remember my mother, a high school teacher, being so impressed by this speech that she became much more passionate in advocating for the desegregation of public schools. This …

A People Should Not Be Afraid of Unpleasant Facts and Foreign Ideas

"“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” -- President John F. Kennedy, 1962. Quote was …