Doris Kearns Goodwin, an acclaimed historian, joined Denver, Pace and George Mason Universities via a distance learning connection sponsored and hosted by CSPAN and Steve Scully.
During her talk, Kearns Goodwin spoke about her books, the current political situation, and how she thinks the present will play out in the history books.
Her Books
Many people have asked Kearns Goodwin why she wrote Team of Rivals, her book about Abraham Lincoln considering how many books already exist about his life and time as president. She says her only real answer to that question was that she wanted to “live with him, wanted to spend time in the Civil War.” She wanted to write about someone that she “wanted to wake up with in the morning and think about when [she] went to bed at night. Through writing Rivals she discovered the depth of Lincoln’s “political brilliance” and “confidence” it took to “surround himself with people that disagreed with him.”
Kearns Goodwin also wrote a book about Lyndon Baines Johnson. She described him as the “largest figure” she’s ever met. LBJ had a “force of energy hard to parallel,” she says. His anti-war movement opened up the Democratic race and made people hopeful, something that can be compared, in some ways, to this year’s Democratic presidential race.
Another book she wrote can also be linked to events going on today. A book about the Roosevelts helped Kearns Goodwin discover how Eleanor Roosevelt transformed the role of first lady. “When [FDR] got polio [Eleanor] was his voice,” Kearns Goodwin said. “[Eleanor Roosevelt] was a powerful woman committed to social justice.” With a former first lady running for president and the possibility of a first lad Kearns Goodwin could offer a unique point of view on the role of presidential spouses based on her historical knowledge.
The Present and Legacies
History is being made every day in American politics. No matter who wins the Democratic nomination there will be an “historic candidacy with two very good people,” Kearns Goodwin said. “It’s no wonder people are excited.”
One student asked Kearns Goodwin what her take was on comparisons of Barack Obama to historical figures like Abe Lincoln and JFK. Kearns Goodwin responded, “There is an oratorical link to JFK, but the comparisons are not just in his ability to speak but in his ability to mobilize.” She added that JFK-- like Obama is beginning to do-- showed “politics was once again an honorable vocation.
She was also asked by a student about her thoughts on President Bush and his legacy. “I’m not sure that we learned from 9/11 what FDR learned from Pearl Harbor,” Kearns Goodwin suggested. Kearns Goodwin said that President Bush should have reached out to more Democrats and mobilized the country better and even said that Bush should have created a “Manhattan Project for alternative fuel.”
As far as Bush’s in the history books, the famed historian said, “Each war has its own narrative, and chapters are still being written.”
Watch the whole session with Doris Kearns Goodwin here.
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