Review

General Books

Crafted by former United States Senator John C. Culver and journalist John Hyde, American Dreamer presents the initial comprehensive biography of Henry Agard Wallace, one of the most controversial political figures in this nation's history. The son of a cabinet official, Henry Wallace first became nationally known as editor of Wallaces' Farmer. Following in his Republican father's footsteps, he served as Secretary of Agriculture under Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Wallace's own stewardship of that vital department was both lauded and reviled, as he acquired twinfold reputations for disinterested public service and eccentricity. In 1940, FDR selected Wallace to be his running mate during a run for an unprecedented third presidential term. As Vice-President, Wallace's staunch liberalism was exemplified by his heralding of the "century of the common man"; this was intended as a counterweight to Henry Luce's envisioning of an American Century after World War II. An ailing Roosevelt failed to support Wallace's renomination bid in July 1944, resulting in Harry S. Truman's ascendancy to the presidency the following April. Serving by then as Secretary of Commerce, Wallace contested the anti-Soviet calls increasingly heard in the Truman administration. Fired from his latest cabinet post, Wallace became the choice of the Progressive Citizens of America to run for the presidency on a third party ticket in 1948. His poor showing in that race effectively ended his political career. As the Korean War unfolded, Wallace broke with his former supporters in the Progressive Party, an organization that had proven enormously controversial because of supposed and real Communist Party ties. Wallace's final years were characterized, the authors indicate, by "a long, slow decline marked by a certain acceptance of his outcast status" (p. 511). Reflecting on his fate, Wallace remarked simply, "I have done what I could."	1
Drawn extensively from primary materials, including the Henry A. Wallace Papers at the University of Iowa Library, and a vast panoply of interviews, American Dreamer makes a significant contribution to the historical literature of the United States during the twentieth century. It highlights the career of arguably the most progressive figure ever to hold one of the two highest elective offices in the American government. Moreover, but for the decision of party regulars to dump him from the presidential ticket in 1944, Wallace and not Truman would have become chief of state as World War II was winding to a close. In considering major presidential aspirants, only Robert M. La Follette, who in 1911 flirted with a presidential bid before being felled by illness, but subsequently ran on a third-party ticket in 1924, and George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic Party presidential nominee, were as progressively inclined as Henry Wallace. In urging support for the "century of the common man," Wallace in May 1942 had called for an end to economic servitude, colonialism, cartels that lacked international control, and racism. He warned, "(When) the time of peace comes, the citizen will again have a duty, the supreme duty of sacrificing the lesser interest for the greater interest of the general welfare. Those who write the peace must think of the whole world" (p. 277).	2
For teachers even in this post-Cold War era, an examination of Henry Wallace's life and career, as exemplified in American Dreamer, undoubtedly could prove problematical. As a work of history and as a biography, this exploration of a noteworthy progressive political figure admittedly has much to offer. The fullest account of the former Republican who became the embodiment of New Deal liberalism, this book adds to earlier useful studies of a more specialized cast produced by Norman D. Markowitz, Richard J. Walton, and Karl M. Schmidt, among others. At the same time, this reviewer at least can foresee potential difficulties with school boards and local communities that might take umbrage at Wallace's decidedly progressive bent. Like its subject, the book nevertheless affords important lessons involving social welfare, government programs, world affairs, and the very ideal of community, both national and international in scope. Thus Culver and Hyde's study could work well in United States history, twentieth century world history, social science, or civics classes. The writing, moreover, is clear and the analyses articulated thoroughly. Whether teachers deem American Dreamer appropriate for their students or not, the book certainly can serve as an instructional tool, with its wealth of anecdotes and its sometimes pained lessons of a principled political life. Those lessons are, admittedly mixed, for Wallace's progressivism enabled him to acquire a certain stature, which perhaps was attainable during the period when his star was most ascendant; that same political orientation later cost him in terms of reputation and influence.	3
California State University, Chico   Robert C. Cottrell

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