LBJ and Grassroots Federalism

[click to enlarge]

BUY NOW

Cloth $45.00^s

Ebook edition available -

apple nook Google Play Books amazon

Media:
Request a review copy

Professors:
Exam copy availability

Related Subjects

American History

Texas History

Political Science

LBJ and Grassroots Federalism: Congressman Bob Poage, Race, and Change in Texas reveals the local ramifications of federal policy. Three case studies in the rising career of Lyndon B. Johnson show this in action: LBJ's formative experience as a New Dealer directing the National Youth Administration (NYA) in Texas; his key role as senate majority leader in breaking the deadlock to secure funds for the Lake Waco dam project; and the cumulative effect of his Great Society policies on urban renewal and educational reform among the Mexican American community in Waco.

In each of these initiatives, Bob Poage—though far more politically conservative than Johnson—served as a conduit between LBJ and citizen activists in Poage’s congressional district, affirming the significance of grassroots engagement even during an era usually associated with centralization.

Robert Harold Duke's careful analysis in LBJ and Grassroots Federalism also offers a unique insight into a transformational period when the federal government broke down barriers and opened doors to the engagement of African Americans and Mexican Americans in community planning processes and social policy.

Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University

About the Author

Praise

"LBJ and Grassroots Federalism's important findings shed light on a lively topic today: the complex and often surprising nature of federal initiatives as played out on the local level, notably in a region supposedly championing limited government. In the process, Robert Harold Duke also provides fascinating new insights into that twentieth century political giant, Lyndon Baines Johnson."--Julie Leininger Pycior, author of LBJ and Mexican Americans: The Paradox of Power

“. . . offers a significant contribution to our understanding of the period on many levels. His detailed analysis of the different histories of Waco and the Texas Hill Country helps us to understand the way that place shapes ideology, and explains how two men with so much in common on the surface could embrace such disparate views on civil rights. . . a noteworthy book. It asks interesting questionsa bout federalism, place, race, and ideology, and provides thoughtful and convincing answers. The writing is clear, the research is thorough, and the conclusions are sound. Congressman Bob Poage may have been largely lost to history, but in Robert Duke's hands, his life and career make a valuable contribution to the literature on Lyndon Johnson and the politics of his times.”—American Historical Review

“LBJ and Grassroots Federalism is an important contribution to the historiography on the local impact of the New Deal and the Great Society. . . [Duke] challenges readers to see the significance both of prominent figures on the national scene and local actors on the grassroots level in bringing change. . . will provoke thoughtful discussion on these critical themes.”—Presidential Studies Quarterly

"LBJ and Grassroots Federalism: Congressman Bob Poage, Race, and Change in Texas is a fantastic examination of the similarities and differences between two of the most powerful Texas Politicians of the mid-twentieth century." -- The Journal of Southern History

Published by Texas A&M University Press