Churchill, Roosevelt & Company: Studies in Character and Statecraft

by Lewis E. Lehrman

Overview

During World War II the “special relationship” between the United States and Great Britain cemented the alliance that won the war in the West. But the ultimate victory of that partnership has obscured many of the conflicts behind Franklin Roosevelt’s charm and Winston Churchill’s victory signs—the clashes of principles and especially personalities between and within the leadership of the two nations.

Synthesizing an impressive variety of sources from memoirs and letters to histories and biographies, Lewis E. Lehrman explains how the Anglo-American alliance worked—and occasionally did not work—by presenting portraits and case studies of the men who worked the back channels and back rooms, the generals and the admirals, the secretaries and under secretaries, ambassadors and ministers, responsible for carrying out Roosevelt’s and Churchill’s agendas while also pursuing their own. Such was the conduct of Joseph Kennedy, American ambassador to England often at odds with FDR; generals George C. Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower; spymasters William Donovan and William Stephenson; Secretary of State Cordell Hull, whom FDR frequently bypassed in favor of Under Secretary Sumner Welles; the Soviet spy in the leadership cadre of the US Treasury, Harry Dexter White, and his struggle with Lord Keynes; British ambassadors Lord Lothian and Lord Halifax; and, above them all, Roosevelt and Churchill. The President and the Prime Minister had the difficult task, not always well-performed, of managing their subordinates. Churchill and Roosevelt frequently chose to conduct foreign policy directly between themselves, and with Stalin.

Scrupulous in its research and fair in its judgments, Lehrman’s book reveals the personal diplomacy, the character and statecraft, at the core of the leadership of the Anglo-American alliance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811739436
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2020
Pages:	472
Sales rank:	1,043,730
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Lewis E. Lehrman was presented the National Humanities Medal at the White House for his work in American history. Lehrman has written for the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Finest Hour, National Review, New York Sun, Harper’s, The Churchill Project at Hillsdale College, and The Chartwell Bulletin.

Lehrman authored Lincoln at Peoria: The Turning Point (a history of Mr. Lincoln’s anti-slavery campaign from 1854 to 1865); Lincoln “by littles” (a book of essays about President Lincoln); and, Money, Gold, and History (essays analyzing the modern history of money and its role in civilization), among other books.

Lewis E. Lehrman and Richard Gilder established the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition at Yale University.

Together Lehrman and Gilder developed the unique Gilder Lehrman Collection of original historical manuscripts and documents to teach American history from primary sources. The collection is on deposit for public access at the New-York Historical Society (and cataloged definitively at https://www.gilderlehrman.org/collections.)

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has developed a highly acclaimed national program for teaching American history in high schools and colleges throughout America (www.gilderlehrman.org).

Lehrman received a B.A. from Yale and an M.A. in history from Harvard. He was a Carnegie Teaching Fellow in History at Yale and a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in History at Harvard. He has been awarded Honorary Degrees from Babson College, Gettysburg College, Lincoln College, Marymount University, and Thomas Aquinas College.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

The Historical Record 1

People and Events in Churchill, Roosevelt & Company 13

Former Naval Persons: Winston and Franklin 25

I The Joseph Kennedy Conundrum 43

II William J. Donovan and William Stephenson: Master Secret Agents 51

III Roosevelt: His Own Secretary of State 61

IV Roosevelt as Commander in Chief 69

V Harry Hopkins 81

VI John Gilbert Winant 95

VII Lord Beaverbrook 101

VIII Lord Lothian and Lord Halifax 113

IX Pearl Harbor 123

X Anthony Eden 131

XI George C. Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower 139

XII Unsung Stalwarts of the Alliance 155

XIII W. Averell Harriman 167

XIV Edward Stettinius Jr. 181

XV Churchill and Roosevelt: Increasingly Suspicious 191

XVIA Churchill and Roosevelt: Increasingly Exhausted 203

XVIB The Wages of War: Health Problems in the Alliance 217

XVIIA Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes 221

XVIIB The Soviet Connection of Harry Dexter White 239

XVIII The Morgenthau Plan 257

XIX Yalta and Victory 265

Epilogue: Themes and Conclusions 279

Acknowledgments 297

Appendix A At the Beginning: Fireside Chat by Franklin D. Roosevelt on the Cusp of War: "Arsenal of Democracy" (December 29, 1940) 299

Appendix B At the End: BBC Broadcast by Winston S. Churchill: "Five Years of War" (May 13, 1945) 307

Endnotes 313

Selected Bibliography 415

Index 431

About the Author 459

Editorial Reviews

Lewis Lehrman's Churchill, Roosevelt & Company offers a detailed look at the special relationship, especially during World War II, when Anglo-American cooperation achieved its most impressive results and faced its most formidable challenges. The book is packed with fascinating detail and illuminates not only the past but the challenges of the present day.

The Wall Street Journal

Lewis Lehrman…has written an invaluable and notably unsentimental account of the relationships between the two leaders and their respective staffs….Lehrman writes with a deep knowledge of the period that is productive of much insight…his portrait of “an intimate, effective Anglo-American alliance” is not only illuminative of a finest-hour chapter in the history of nations that carry on the English tradition of liberty, it also moves the reader to ponder the future. —Michael Knox Beran, National Review

National Review

In his newest work, “Churchill, Roosevelt & Company: Studies in Character and Statecraft” (Stackpole, 2017), historian Lewis E. Lehrman offers deep insights into that remarkable relationship [between the United States and Great Britain]. The volume provides a candid and unvarnished accounting of pivotal moments in the story of the world’s most consequential alliance, going beyond the broad strokes of history into the far more nuanced realities. Lehrman performs a significant public service through his powerful analysis of this key moment in history.” – Michael Poliakoff and Ted Eismeier, Real Clear Books

“Lewis E. Lehrman’s new book, Churchill, Roosevelt & Company, is a formidable digest of most of the memoirs and serious historical analyses and biographies about and around the 1940-1945 era alliance between Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin. As such, it is up to date and contains a great many and interesting asides that even the devotees of that great drama will find enlightening. The book is a very interesting read, and in many places, is perceptive. I strongly recommend it for its insightful portrayal of almost all the key personalities in the upper echelons of Anglo-American leadership in the European part of World War II.” – Conrad Black, The New Criterion

“Lewis E. Lehrman applies scholarly yet lucid treatment to complicated relationships. Churchill, Roosevelt & Company is written to be enjoyed by lay readers and scholars alike. It is immediately accessible. The story Lehrman reports appears to be the fruit of a lifetime of research. There is hardly a point he makes that is without substantial documentation. His fascinating endnotes encompass over 100 pages. This provides an immediately accessible story that is easy to read and follow.” – William R. Collier, Tioga Freedomist

“In his new book, Churchill, Roosevelt & Company: Studies in Character and Statecraft, National Humanities Medal holder Lewis E. Lehrman describes, in a strong narrative and with great precision, the tense diplomatic relationship between the United States and Great Britain in the lead-up to World War II. Lehrman demonstrates a jeweler’s eye for detail. He does an excellent job at documenting and capturing personalities, and not only those of Roosevelt and Churchill. This book is suffused with human interest.” – Jon Schweppe Townhall.com

“Churchill, Roosevelt & Company is a more detailed account of how the allies came together, executed their tasks, and then drifted apart, than any other book of its compact size that I have read. If you want to read a comprehensive account of the war in less than 500 pages, this is the book. Lehrman has produced a unique chronicle of World War II, focusing not on chronology but on the interaction of the war’s major figures and lesser figures. His research is overwhelming and he writes elegantly.” – R. Emmett Tyrrell, The American Spectator.

From the Publisher

Lewis Lehrman…has written an invaluable and notably unsentimental account of the relationships between the two leaders and their respective staffs….Lehrman writes with a deep knowledge of the period that is productive of much insight…his portrait of “an intimate, effective Anglo-American alliance” is not only illuminative of a finest-hour chapter in the history of nations that carry on the English tradition of liberty, it also moves the reader to ponder the future. —Michael Knox Beran, National Review

National Review

04/10/2017
Historian and investment banker Lehrman (Money, Gold, and History) details the relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain during WWII, with a lesser emphasis on the two countries’ relationships with Stalin. His well-researched analysis begins with Roosevelt and Churchill demonstrating the differing styles of the two leaders: Churchill is depicted as straightforward, combative, and driven, with the singular and focused purpose of defeating Hitler; Roosevelt is seen as more of a politician, an opportunistic juggler who “tacked and trimmed with the political winds.” Lehrman also explores the roles of a long list of contemporaries, including American generals Eisenhower and Marshall; ambassadors Joseph Kennedy and W. Averell Harriman; and Roosevelt advisor Harry Hopkins. Their British counterparts, including Anthony Eden and John Maynard Keynes, also receive attention. Utilizing numerous sources, Lehrman conveys the complexities, jealousies, and challenges these men confronted during the war and how many disagreements—some petty, many substantial—were set aside in the interests of defeating Germany and Japan. Lehrman also begins each section with informative quotes from the principals that provide a useful frame for the narrative. This impressive and thorough history will appeal to those with an abiding interest in WWII, but not to casual readers. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Lewis E. Lehrman’s Churchill, Roosevelt & Company is a richly detailed history of the Anglo-American alliance, in which the architects of the war effort include not only Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but a host of diplomats, ministers, secretaries of state, spymasters, business leaders and other subordinates….Lehrman, a historian and recipient of the National Humanities Medal, offers compelling portraits and case histories of the men who worked together—and sometimes intrigued against each other—in the campaign to end world war….The resulting group biography is a veritable embarrassment of riches for history buffs eager for a deeper understanding of the forces that led to the end of the greatest global conflict in modern times. —Lee Polevoi,Foreword

Forward

Lewis Lehrman's Churchill, Roosevelt & Company offers a detailed look at the special relationship, especially during World War II, when Anglo-American cooperation achieved its most impressive results and faced its most formidable challenges. The book is packed with fascinating detail and illuminates not only the past but the challenges of the present day.

Wall Street Journal

Lewis E. Lehrman has done a lot of business in his life, both public and private. He is also an accomplished scholar and historian. In this book, Churchill, Roosevelt & Company, he describes the business of war and politics during the Second World War. The focus is on Churchill and FDR and their Anglo-American team which led the war effort in the West. Mr. Lehrman is exceptionally well-qualified, and his excellent book is proof of that fact.

Prof. Larry Arnn

Lewis E. Lehrman’s arresting and deeply researched study of the Anglo-American alliance during the Second World War brilliantly establishes how far Roosevelt and Churchill—sometimes willing to use back channels and bypass conventional diplomatic authority—found and relied on the right people to smooth relations between the two countries. Rich in historical immediacy, Churchill, Roosevelt & Company demonstrates how generals, diplomats, spies, businessmen, economists, and other key figures served the needs of both Prime Minister and President in their unyielding defense of democratic government. Not least, the book delivers a powerful reminder of the contingent role of human interaction and personal chemistry in determining the course of historical events.

Prof. Richard Carwardine

Lewis E. Lehrman demonstrates an almost uncanny feel for all the senior personalities around Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Second World War; he understands their characters, viewpoints and motives and has an enlightening insight into all of them, coupled with an impressively objective judiciousness. I didn’t think much more of genuine value could be written about this glittering galere—one of the great ‘genius clusters’ of history—but this well-researched, well-written and profoundly thoughtful book proves me wrong.

Prof. Andrew Roberts

Lewis Lehrman has done a lot of business in his life, both public and private. He is also an accomplished scholar and historian. In this book, he describes the business of war and politics during the Second World War under the Anglo-American leadership of Churchill and FDR, together with some of their key colleagues. He is exceptionally well-qualified to do this, and his excellent book is proof of that fact.

Larry Arnn

Lewis E. Lehrman’s arresting and deeply researched study of the Anglo-American alliance during the Second World War brilliantly establishes how far Roosevelt and Churchill—sometimes willing touse back channels andbypass conventional diplomatic authority—found and relied on the right people to smooth relations between the two countries. Rich in historical immediacy, Churchill, Roosevelt & Company demonstrates how generals, diplomats, spies, businessmen, economists, and other key figures served the needs of both Prime Minister and President in their unyielding defense of democratic government. Not least, the book delivers a powerful reminder of the contingent role of human interaction and personal chemistry in determining the course of historical events.

Richard Carwardine

Lewis Lehrman demonstrates an almost uncanny feel for all the senior personalities around Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Second World War; he understands their characters, viewpoints and motives and has an enlightening insight into all of them, coupled with an impressively objective judiciousness. I didn’t think much more of genuine value could be written about this glittering galere—one of the great ‘genius clusters’ of history—but this well-researched, well-written and profoundly thoughtful book proves me wrong.

Andrew Roberts