The Secret Coalition

Ike, LBJ, and the Search for a Middle Way in the 1950s

By: Gary A. Donaldson

Narrated by: Gregory St. John

The politics of the 1950s revolved around two primary leaders, one Republican and one Democratboth moderate, and both willing to compromise to move the nation forward.

The Republican leader was President Dwight Eisenhower. His two administrations changed American politics. Ike’s desire to be president of all the people, to run his administration down the middle of the road, to be a "modern" Republican, set the stage for what the Republican Party would be for decades to come. His politics of moderation triggered a backlash from the party’s right wing that eventually grew into a conservative surge that reached fruition in the following decades.

Standing astride the opposition was the Democratic leader in the Senate, Lyndon Johnson. At age 44, Johnson was the youngest leader in Senate history. His willingness to join forces with Eisenhower in the president’s battles against isolationism and reaction in his own party, along with the willingness of both men to compromise rather than engage in a politics of search and destroy, turned the 1950s into an era of political moderation. In The Secret Coalition, Gary A. Donaldson insightfully explores a period in U.S. history that many Americans regard as an "Era of Good Feeling" when the two parties got along, and the nation achieved some sort of equilibrium and cooperation.

©2014 Gary A. Donaldson (P)2014 Audible Inc.

politics

i likrd the look at the politics of the 1950s, and the strong personalities.

Well written

As someone who lived through this era, I thoroughly enjoyed this analysis. It is well written, factual, and by-partisan.

Good Historical Survey of the Eisenhower Era

What made the experience of listening to The Secret Coalition the most enjoyable?

Learning about how LBJ was able to control the different Northern liberal and Southern conservative factions within the Democrat Party; learning about Eisenhower maintained a coalition of moderate and conservative Republicans within his party; and learning how their abilities to forge compromise unraveled toward the end of the 1950's

What did you like best about this story?

There did not seem to be a lot of original source material presented. The author did not present new conclusions about the period. There may have been a consensus of a moderate approach in foreign and domestic policies within both parties during the period. LBJ and Eisenhower masterfully held their respective coalitions together during much of Eisenhower's presidency. But there never was a secret coalition between the two men, which makes the title and premise of the book misleading. Both men were motivated by their own political self-interest and not out of goodwill. Still it's an interesting book about this period of American political history.

Which scene was your favorite?

Coverage of the events in Little Rock in 1957

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Any additional comments?

There were some sloppy errors in the narrative- Senator Mike Mansfield was from Montana not Ohio and Senator Robert Taft died in 1953 not 1958. The narrator's pronunciation was Khruschev was irritating.

Ike & LBJ.

A fascinating history of a bygone era in American politics. Compromise was a real thing to get at least half a loaf and government got done

Very Informative

Very detailed in content, which is a good thing. It also took you behind the scenes in terms of the relationship between Eisenhower and Johnson in developing the "middle way." How we long for those days! Bipartisan support for one another. It also details the rise of the conservative and liberal movement at the end of the 1950's.