“The Bully Pulpit”by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Presentation by Laura Flippin, Lawyer and Lover of American Government History

Doris Kearns Goodwin

• Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer, historian, and political commentator

• Author of 6 critically acclaimed New York Times best-selling books

• Known for appearances and commentary on TV: NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CNN, The Tonight Show, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report

Doris Kearns Goodwin• Earned a Ph.D in Government from Harvard

University

• She taught Government at Harvard, including a course on the American Presidency

• Was an Assistant to

President Lyndon B.

Johnson for his last year

in the White House and

assisted his preparation

of memoirs

• Resides in Concord, MA with her husband

“The Bully Pulpit”

• Won the 2014 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction

• One of the Best Books of the Year as chosen by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, Time, and USA Today

• A dynamic history of the first decade of the Progressive era- a time when reform was in the air

The Narrative

• The story is told through the friendship of Theadore Roosevelt (L) and William Howard Taft (R)

• Their friendship strengthens until 1912 when they both fight for the presidential nomination

• Their argument results in Democrat Woodrow Wilson’s win for president

Primary Materials

• Goodwin includes the 400 letters between Roosevelt and Taft beginning in their early 30s up to Roosevelt’s death

• Edith Roosevelt and Nellie Taft also kept diaries

• The Muckraker’s letters and journals are also incorporated

Muckrakers• The muckrakers are journalists trying to expose

the governments secrets: corrupt politicians, corporate exploiters of our natural resources

• Ida Tarbell, Ray Stannard Baker, Lincoln Steffens, and William Allen White under the publisher S. S. McClure

Ida Tarbell Ray Stannard BakerLincoln SteffensWilliam Allen White

The Washington Post

“Goodwin’s evocative examination of the Progressive world is smart and engaging, and if she presents a bit too much about family trees and legislative wrangling, her style shows her imitating the amassing of evidence pioneered by the muckrakers. Like them, she presents a highly readable and detailed portrait of an era. ‘The Bully Pulpit’ brings the early 20th century to life and firmly establishes the crucial importance of the press to Progressive politics.”

Laura Flippin• Laura Flippin is currently a partner in DLA

Piper’s Litigation practice

• She attended the University of Virginia School of Law and in addition to her JD, earned a masters in American Government

• Loves reading about biographies of

American presidents, especially

“The Bully Pulpit”