Architects of Power: Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and the American Century

The United States is not a preternaturally inward-looking nation, and isolation is not the natural disposition of Americans. The real question is not whether Americans are prone to isolation or engagement, but how their engagement with the world has evolved, how events have made the United States a superpower, and how these developments have been guided by political leadership. Indeed, the great debates on foreign affairs in American history have not been about whether to have debates on foreign affairs; they have been between the competing visions of American influence in the world.

In Architects of Power, Philip Terzian examines two public figures in the twentieth century who personify, in their lives, careers, and philosophies, the rise of the United States of America to global leadership: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Terzian reveals how both men recognized and acted on the global threats of their time and questions whether America can rise to the same challenges today. Without this clear window into the stricken world that Roosevelt inhabited and Eisenhower understood, we are unlikely to recognize the perils and challenges of the world we have inherited.

Publishers Weekly

Terzian, literary editor of the Weekly Standard, describes the impact of Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower on the dramatic transformation of the United States from a relatively quiet secondary position in the world to its current “hyperpower” status. Though vastly different in upbringing and early experiences, Roosevelt and Eisenhower shared, says Terzian, a firm belief in American resources and American capabilities. Each managed to direct his personal ambition toward projecting and protecting the best interests of his country and, through intelligence, ability, and charm, provided leadership to a world in need of fresh ideas and firm responses. Roosevelt understood that American prosperity depended not only on American security but on the security of the world as a whole, and Eisenhower grasped the fact that calm analysis of various crises and a meaningful doctrine of peace through strength would ensure the continuation of that security. This regrettably too brief essay makes its point that the 20th century was indeed “the American century” and that America’s rise to leadership, even with the flaws inherent in that leadership, has produced great benefits for the global community. (June)

Philip Terzian has been a political and cultural journalist for nearly forty years. He has written and edited for the New Republic, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, The New Criterion and the Times Literary Supplement. Since 2005, he has been Literary Editor of the Weekly Standard. He lives in Washington, D.C.