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Henry M. Jackson : A Life in Politics

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There is no doubt that here in Washington state, the U.S. Senate tandem of Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Warren Magnuson were a valuable asset to Washington's - and the nation's - development in the 20th century. So much of our state's infrastructure, institutions, and industries can be credited to these political heavyweights. But yet, so little had been written about their immense legacies up until a couple of years ago. First we got a decent bio of Magnuson written by Shelby Scates. But then came this book - "Henry M. Jackson: A Life In Politics" - which is an outstanding portrait of the man and the legacy.

The author's main focus in this work is the profound and unquestioned effect Sen. Jackson had on U.S. foreign policy. The book brilliantly delves into Jackson's evolution from simple legislator to foreign policy guru. Much attention is made to Jackson's stances on a variety of foriegn policy issues, including his infamous battles with Henry Kissinger over the issues of detente, Soviet dissidents, and pro-Israel issues. Jackson proved a great foil for - and perhaps huge thorn in the side of - Dr. Kissinger, but with time and further examination, their debates likely benefitted U.S. foreign policy in the long run.

Make no mistake: while there is much on Jackson's foreign policy expertise, this is a solid biography of the man in total. We get a good look at his upbringing in and around Everett, his entry into politics, his failed presidential bids, and - eventually - his sudden and surprising death in the early '80's. Also included are the events at the infamous 1960 Democratic convention, where Jackson was very nearly chosen as JFK's running mate.

All in all, this is a very fair and solid biography, presenting an excellent look at the life of Sen. Jackson. This should be a must-read for political-junkies. Those of a conservative/Republican ideology should also make it a must-read, because it is made very evident how much of the current Republican stances on foreign policy were founded by Henry Jackson.

It has been said of "Scoop" Jackson that he was "the last good Democrat". For the citizens of Washington state, that is unquestioned and still lamented to this day. For the nation, the realization of this statement is slow to develop, but hopefully with this book, "Scoop"'s legacy will be recognized with the respect and stature that it truly is.

It's about time. Henry M. Jackson, one of the greatest legislators of the 20th century has finally become the subject of a full scale biography.

Robert Kaufman does an excellent job in describing Jackson's work on national security and foreign policy. By providing background information and extensive footnotes Kaufman makes it easier to understand Jackson in context and to fully appreciate his role in shaping policy during the Cold War.

As significant as Jackson's accomplishments in national defense were, Ronald Reagan won the Cold War, in large part, by implementing Jackson's policies, they were only one part of his legacy.

Jackson's work on environmental issues was also highly significant. He understood the need to balance environmental preservation and economic development better than any public figure. His National Environmental Policy Act was one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation in history. As Chairman of the Senate Interior Committee , Jacskon was adept at meeting the most important concerns of environmentalists and business interests that came before his committee. I would have liked to see more in the book about Jackson's achievements in this area.

In an era when sound bites and focus groups came to the fore, Jackson represented integrity and well thought out views on issues of public concern. This may have made him boring as a Presidential candidate, but it enabled him to build a significant record of achievement and to leave the world a better place.

Full disclosure: I'm 26 years old but I'm a politically-engaged Democrat who is rather familiar with modern American political history. I was not alive during the late 1960s and 1970s when Henry "Scoop" Jackson was fighting against the New Left. During the 1972 campaign, I probably would have supported Humphrey and, during the 1976 campaign, I probably would have supported Mo Udall. That said, while I'm not a "Scoop" Jackson Democrat and I'm not a fan of his neo-Conservative disciples who wrecked such havoc in the Middle East as of late, I do think he was (in the total scheme of things) an admirable public servant who rightly put human rights and military strength on the agenda in his policy views towards the Soviets.

I think Jackson was correct that the Soviet Union was, indeed, an "evil empire" and reading this book, I was impressed with the consistency of his liberalism: at home and abroad.

It's understandable that a biographer admires (or even has affection for) the subject of his biography but Kaufman's very good academic biography felt compromised by this at times. His mention of Jackson's support of the Japanese-American Internment seems more to address critics than to provide any perspective of the indefensible - "everybody was doing it" doesn't seem to cut, especially given Jackson's moral righteousness on so many subjects). Confronted with critics who state that Jackson's political views may have been influenced by Boeing's presence in his state, we are simply told that Jackson's foreign policy views were in the national interest and that Boeing's needs simply corresponded with this interest. This may be true but I don't feel like these statements can be "definitively" made: we are simply told to believe in "Scoop."

In short, I recommend this book with that small caveat. It's - overall - a fine piece of academic/political biography.

Having seen "Scoop" Jackson's name in a dozen places yet knowing little about who he was, I thought I'd learn something about the man by reading this book. I wasn't disappointed. Kaufman's biography does a good job of detailing his political life, especially his role and legacy in foreign affairs. Yet the book is more than just an examination of Jackson's life, as Kaufman also offers an interesting examination of both Jackson's philosophical approach to Cold War foreign policy as well as the historiography of late-Cold War memoirs in an effort to award Jackson with the title of "Soviet Union-killer."

That being said, it was also a disappointingly written book in a number of respects. By focusing so much on Jackson's role in foreign policy and defense matters, Kaufman overshadows what the senator did in domestic policy. Moreover, after an initial examination, Kaufman virtually ignores Washington state politics, which leaves me wondering if the author might not have supplied a complete explanation as to how Jackson was so dominant in his reelection campaigns. Finally, Kaufman's habit of continually refering to political figures by their full titles was a little annoying, while the editing of the book was a little sloppy (every time I saw "Republic senator" on the page I wanted to grab a pen and add in the missing letters). In the end, it was an informative book, but not definitive.

This is an excellent biography of one of the 20th Century's outstanding US
Senators, Henry M. Jackson. It covers in good detail his personal life,
Senate career, influence on US foreign policy, & his personal character.
Scoop Jackson was a giant in the Senate, widely admired by conservatives
& liberals alike. This book is highly recommended.

"Henry Jackson ranks high in the pantheon of American legislators." So opens Robert Kaufman's richly detailed biography of Senator Scoop Jackson, whose career in Congress spanned nine presidents from FDR to Reagan. He compares Jackson favorably to legislative titans such as Clay, LaFollette and Taft, who were "at once revered and reviled, never attained the presidency, but nevertheless had a decisive impact on history."

Scoop Jackson was the last of the liberal Democrats in the New Deal-Fair Deal tradition, who combined a passion for government activism in economic affairs with strident, unremitting anti-communism. Jackson used his stature and influence in the Senate to oppose detente and the concilliatory policies vis-a-vis the Soviets of Nixon, Kissinger, Ford and Carter. Kaufman quotes Howard Baker as saying: "Jackson did not allow us to lose the Cold War during the 1970s, so that Reagan's policies could win the Cold War in the 1980s."

Indeed, many key actors in Reagan's foreign policy team, Kaufman observes, were Jackson disciples -- Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Richard Perle, Elliott Abrams, Edward Rowny, etc., etc.. These pro-defense-spending, fiercely anti-communist hawks were disaffected by the increasingly dovish policies of the Democratic party in the 1970s.

Although he did not live to see the final US victory in the Cold War, Jackson was prescient in foreseeing how US policies could hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"Henry Jackson ranks high in the pantheon of American legislators." So opens Robert Kaufman's richly detailed biography of Senator Scoop Jackson, whose career in Congress spanned nine presidents from FDR to Reagan. He compares Jackson favorably to legislative titans such as Clay, LaFollette and Taft, who were "at once revered and reviled, never attained the presidency, but nevertheless had a decisive impact on history."

Scoop Jackson was the last of the liberal Democrats in the New Deal-Fair Deal tradition, who combined a passion for government activism in economic affairs with strident, unremitting anti-communism. Jackson used his stature and influence in the Senate to oppose detente and the concilliatory policies vis-a-vis the Soviets of Nixon, Kissinger, Ford and Carter. Kaufman quotes Howard Baker as saying: "Jackson did not allow us to lose the Cold War during the 1970s, so that Reagan's policies could win the Cold War in the 1980s."

Indeed, many key actors in Reagan's foreign policy team, Kaufman observes, were Jackson disciples -- Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Richard Perle, Elliott Abrams, Edward Rowny, etc., etc.. These pro-defense-spending, fiercely anti-communist hawks were disaffected by the increasingly dovish policies of the Democratic party in the 1970s.

Although he did not live to see the final US victory in the Cold War, Jackson was prescient in foreseeing how US policies could hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Henry (Scoop) Jackson was an unusual politician, in that even his rivals recognized his special integrity and decency. There are many who felt that America lost a great opportunity when his Presidential bids were rejected by the Democratic party.
I remember his courageous stands in defying the Soviet Union and helping Soviet Jewry achieve freedom. His strong stance in opposing Soviet tyranny played a role in the Reagan Administration's toppling of 'The Empire of Evil'.
He left the scene far too early, and to this day he is much missed by those who believe in, and care for fundamental American ideals of freedom.

Henry `Scoop' Jackson is rarely referred to in contemporary political debate. The American polity and indeed the western alliance are much the poorer for his absence. This is a fitting - indeed, a model - biography of a notable American patriot.

Senator Jackson represented a distinctive, honourable and above all prescient tradition in American politics: that of the liberal hawk. He was unfortunate, in respect of his presidential ambitions, to hold consistently to his pro-western principles at a time when the Democratic Party was abandoning (or at least, compromising) the staunchly anti-Communist tradition of Truman, Kennedy, Johnson and Humphrey. Rent asunder by the experience of Vietnam and the rise of the New Left, the Democrats polarised around Jackson, on the one hand, and the party's disastrous 1972 presidential nominee, George McGovern, on the other. Only because of Watergate - and even then, only by a whisker - did a Democrat win the White House in 1976, and his presidency proved to be the most ineffectual in living memory.

Kaufmann describes this political background with a sure touch. He is unflinchingly honest in his depiction of Jackson's personal flaws, such as periodic irascibility with aides, but the essential Jackson - a man of deep humanitarian impulses, evident in such causes as his campaign for persecuted Soviet Jewry, and searing moral insight into the nature of Communist totalitarianism - shines through. The book is a fine political biography, but also a most touching personal portrait. It depicts admirably and with fine insight the circle around Jackson, some of whom later held office in the Reagan administration. I was unaware, for example, that the common view that Jackson's adviser, Richard Perle, was responsible for Jackson's unwavering support for Israel has it exactly the wrong way round. In fact, Perle, a secular Jew, came to see the urgency of supporting Israel because of the influence of Jackson - a Niebuhrian Protestant who understood better than any post-war American politician the moral import of a liberal democracy's struggle for survival while assailed by totalitarian states and terrorist organisations.

Jackson has the biography he deserves; I hope it is widely read and studied.