Doris Goodwin speaks about democracy at speaker series dinner | News

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin spoke at the Presidential Speaker Series fall dinner on Thursday, tracing the beginnings of her career, her studies of the presidency and her opportunities to preserve democracy.

Goodwin spoke about four different presidents and their influence on unifying the nation at a time when democracy was under test.

At the beginning of her speech, Goodwin spoke about the beginning of her career in the White House.

Goodwin's career in presidential history began when she was selected as a 24-year-old graduate student for the White House Fellows. At the ball for the new Fellows, former President Lyndon B. Johnson told Goodwin that he would like to assign her to him in the White House.

Goodwin had been active in the anti-Vietnam War movement earlier in her life, including co-authoring an article titled “How to Dump Lyndon Johnson.” Yet Johnson brought her to the White House, saying, “If I can't convince her, no one can.”

Goodwin later helped Johnson write his memoir, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, which became a national bestseller.

“The older I got, the more I realized what an extraordinary privilege it was to have spent so many hours with (Johnson), who had botched the war in Vietnam but had accomplished an extraordinary amount in domestic policy,” Goodwin said. “It made me realize I wanted to study presidents.”

Goodwin spoke about her studies of individual presidents, beginning with Abraham Lincoln and his angst surrounding the Civil War.

Goodwin said that after Lincoln's election, he decided to appoint his rivals against the president's advice. Lincoln said, “The country is in danger. These are the strongest and ablest people in the country. I need them by my side.”

She told the audience about Lincoln's leadership, including his efforts to hold the North together by creating a culture where people felt safe and free to argue without consequences and by being responsive to the people.

“He told them they could come to the White House if they had a complaint, and thousands came to the White House,” Goodwin said.

She then spoke about President Theodore Roosevelt, who she said came to power at a time when democracy was under test.

“I think there is a connection between the early 20th century and today. Big companies were buying up small businesses. For the first time, a gap had opened up between rich and poor, between capitalists and workers,” said Goodwin. “Teddy Roosevelt warned that the greatest danger to democracy was that people of different classes, backgrounds or religions would see each other as the other and not as ordinary American citizens, something that is all too familiar to us today.”

She told how Roosevelt united the country because of his background as a western cowboy and because he was a graduate of Harvard University. After Roosevelt was elected to office, he remained in the public eye because of his charisma. He was famous for saying things like, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

Goodwin turned his attention once again to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served throughout the Great Depression. In his inaugural address, Roosevelt promised to provide leadership during this difficult time the country was going through. He promised to call Congress into emergency session to find a way to get people back to work.

“It seemed to defy all logic, but that single speech, the confidence he exuded, changed the mood of the country,” Goodwin said.

During the emergency session of Congress, Roosevelt passed legislation to resolve the banking crisis. Roosevelt became famous for his “fireside chats,” a series of radio addresses the president gave from 1933 to 1944.

“He always started with 'my friends' and then explained what the problem was and what the hoped-for solution was,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin then spoke about her good friend Johnson. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Johnson took office and ensured the passage of Kennedy's Civil Rights Act, which was then stuck in a filibuster in the Senate.

He invited members of Congress to dinner at the White House and convinced them that the Civil Rights Act should be voted on. The filibuster eventually broke down due to Johnson's influence.

The dinner of the lecture series then addressed questions that had been submitted by members of the audience before the event.

Goodwin was asked if there was one lesson that gave the greatest hope that the new generation could carry the torch of American democracy.

“You have to believe that if you come together in collective action and do it in the nonviolent way that the civil rights movement did, you can make a difference and change public opinion,” Goodwin said.

This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure, Ismael Lele and Ana Barboza. Josh McDaniel and Mary Ann Livingood edited this story.