Paul V. McNutt and the Age of FDR [Hardcover]

In this major biography of an important politician and statesman, Dean Kotlowski presents the life of Paul V. McNutt, a great understudied figure in the era of FDR. McNutt was governor of Indiana, high commissioner to the Philippines (while serving he helped 1,300 Jews flee Nazi Germany for Manila), head of the WWII Federal Security Agency, and would-be presidential candidate. Paul V. McNutt and the Age of FDR explores McNutts life, his era, and his relationship with Franklin Roosevelt. It sheds light on the expansion of executive power at the state level during the Great Depression, the theory and practice of liberalism as federal administrators understood it in the 1930s and 1940s, the mobilization of the American home front during World War II, and the internal dynamics of the Roosevelt and Truman administrations. McNutts life underscores the challenges and changes Americans faced during an age of economic depression, global conflict, and decolonialization.

Paul V. McNutt was famous in the New Deal era and is now forgotten. Dean J. Kotlowski brings McNutt back to life in this engaging, well-researched and readable biography. A must for anyone interested in FDR and his times.

List of Abbreviations
Introduction: A Man, an Era, and a President
1. I See... a Great Future (1891-1913)
2. New Departures, Old Haunts (1913-1925)
3. Triumph and Tragedy (1925-1926)
4. The Legion and Leadership (1926-1928)
5. National Vistas, State Elections (1929-1932)
6. A New Deal for Indiana (1933-1934)
7. Hoosier Hitler (1935-1936)
8. Breaking Away (1937-1938)
9. Humanitarian--and Home (1937-1939)
10. Paul V. and Franklin D. (1939-1940)
11. Ambition Frustrated (1940)
12. Dimensions of Security (1939-1945)
13. Mobilizing Manpower (1942-1945)
14. Returning to the Philippines (1945-1947)
15. Fading Away (1947-1955)
Notes
Index

[Kotlowski] offers a rich portrait of McNutt, his wife, daughter, parents, and close associatel#$