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Albert Gore, Sr.: A Political Life
In chronicling the life and career of Albert Gore, Sr., historian Anthony J. Badger seeks not just to explore the successes and failures of an important political figure who spent more than three decades in the national eye--and whose son would become Vice President of the United States--but also to explain the dramatic changes in the South that led to national political realignment.
Born on a small farm in the hills of Tennessee, Gore served in Congress from 1938 to 1970, first in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate. During that time, the United States became a global superpower and the South a two party desegregated region. Gore, whom Badger describes as a policy-oriented liberal, saw the federal government as the answer to the South's problems. He held a resilient faith, according to Badger, in the federal government to regulate wages and prices in World War II, to further social welfare through the New Deal and the Great Society, and to promote economic growth and transform the infrastructure of the South.
Gore worked to make Tennessee the "atomic capital" of the nation and to protect the Tennessee Valley Authority, while at the same time cosponsoring legislation to create the national highway system. He was more cautious in his approach to civil rights; though bolder than his moderate Southern peers, he struggled to adjust to the shifting political ground of the 1960s. His career was defined by his relationship with Lyndon Johnson, whose Vietnam policies Gore bitterly opposed. The injection of Christian perspectives into the state's politics ultimately distanced Gore's worldview from that of his constituents. Altogether, Gore's political rise and fall, Badger argues, illuminates the significance of race, religion, and class in the creation of the modern South.
Born on a small farm in the hills of Tennessee, Gore served in Congress from 1938 to 1970, first in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate. During that time, the United States became a global superpower and the South a two party desegregated region. Gore, whom Badger describes as a policy-oriented liberal, saw the federal government as the answer to the South's problems. He held a resilient faith, according to Badger, in the federal government to regulate wages and prices in World War II, to further social welfare through the New Deal and the Great Society, and to promote economic growth and transform the infrastructure of the South.
Gore worked to make Tennessee the "atomic capital" of the nation and to protect the Tennessee Valley Authority, while at the same time cosponsoring legislation to create the national highway system. He was more cautious in his approach to civil rights; though bolder than his moderate Southern peers, he struggled to adjust to the shifting political ground of the 1960s. His career was defined by his relationship with Lyndon Johnson, whose Vietnam policies Gore bitterly opposed. The injection of Christian perspectives into the state's politics ultimately distanced Gore's worldview from that of his constituents. Altogether, Gore's political rise and fall, Badger argues, illuminates the significance of race, religion, and class in the creation of the modern South.
- GenresHistory
376 pages, Hardcover
Published December 7, 2018
10 people want to read
About the author
Anthony J. Badger
22 books5 followersAnthony John "Tony" Badger is a British academic and historian. Until 2014 he was Paul Mellon Professor of American History at Cambridge University and Master of Clare College, Cambridge.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 5, 2019
While most people today associate the name Al Gore with the Nobel laureate and former presidential nominee, two generations ago it was one that brought his father to mind for politically-aware Americans. As first a representative and then a senator, Albert Gore, Sr. represented his state in Congress for over three decades, during which time he played an important role in some of the key legislative achievements of the era. In this book, Anthony Badger, a longtime historian of the twentieth-century South, focuses on Gore's long political career, documenting his accomplishments and revealing how his career reflected the many changes that took place in the region during his decades in office.
Gore's success was all the more remarkable given his background. The son of a farmer, the young Albert Gore grew up in rural Tennessee, where he struggled to gain his educational opportunities. Though he worked as a teacher and went to night school to become a lawyer, his ambitions soon led him to embark upon a career in politics, and after a short period in local and state offices he won election to the House of Representatives in 1938. In the House Gore distinguished himself as a pro-New Deal moderate, though Badger notes the conservatism of his positions on matters such as immigration that reflected both his background and the views of his constituents. Gore's hard work and growing prominence as a legislator paid off in 1952 when he challenged his state's longtime incumbent senator Kenneth McKellar, defeating him for the Democratic nomination and winning election to the United States Senate.
Gore's three terms in the Senate serve as the heart of Badger's book. While he notes that Gore was never one of the great insiders, he describes his important contributions on many subjects, most notably with his championing of the legislation creating the interstate highway system. Yet Gore's tenure coincided with the emergence of civil rights as an issue both within his state and nationally. Though Gore refused to sign the infamous 1957 "Southern Manifesto," Badger shows that Gore was hardly a liberal when it came to civil rights, preferring a more moderate stance that fit with his often populist perspective. While this was sufficient for him to win reelection in 1958 and 1964, Gore's support for civil rights legalization in his final term, along with his prominent opposition to the Vietnam War, combined to alienate many of the conservative white voters in his state, leading to his defeat in his bid for a fourth term in 1970.
In chronicling Gore's political career, Badger employs a lifetime of knowledge gained from his study of both the South and modern American politics. He employs well the extensive archival work he undertook in writing the book, which he supplemented with interviews over several decades with many of the key figures in Gore's political career. The insights he presents of these efforts make his book one that is unlikely to be bettered as an account of the life and times of an important postwar American leader, one who deserves to be remembered as more than just the father of his famous son.
Gore's success was all the more remarkable given his background. The son of a farmer, the young Albert Gore grew up in rural Tennessee, where he struggled to gain his educational opportunities. Though he worked as a teacher and went to night school to become a lawyer, his ambitions soon led him to embark upon a career in politics, and after a short period in local and state offices he won election to the House of Representatives in 1938. In the House Gore distinguished himself as a pro-New Deal moderate, though Badger notes the conservatism of his positions on matters such as immigration that reflected both his background and the views of his constituents. Gore's hard work and growing prominence as a legislator paid off in 1952 when he challenged his state's longtime incumbent senator Kenneth McKellar, defeating him for the Democratic nomination and winning election to the United States Senate.
Gore's three terms in the Senate serve as the heart of Badger's book. While he notes that Gore was never one of the great insiders, he describes his important contributions on many subjects, most notably with his championing of the legislation creating the interstate highway system. Yet Gore's tenure coincided with the emergence of civil rights as an issue both within his state and nationally. Though Gore refused to sign the infamous 1957 "Southern Manifesto," Badger shows that Gore was hardly a liberal when it came to civil rights, preferring a more moderate stance that fit with his often populist perspective. While this was sufficient for him to win reelection in 1958 and 1964, Gore's support for civil rights legalization in his final term, along with his prominent opposition to the Vietnam War, combined to alienate many of the conservative white voters in his state, leading to his defeat in his bid for a fourth term in 1970.
In chronicling Gore's political career, Badger employs a lifetime of knowledge gained from his study of both the South and modern American politics. He employs well the extensive archival work he undertook in writing the book, which he supplemented with interviews over several decades with many of the key figures in Gore's political career. The insights he presents of these efforts make his book one that is unlikely to be bettered as an account of the life and times of an important postwar American leader, one who deserves to be remembered as more than just the father of his famous son.
October 6, 2019
This scholarly biography of Al Gore Sr, whose son became Vice President, is a tonic for today's political world where getting re-elected seems to be the priority. Gore's long political career came to an end in 1970 when he lost his re-election bid largely because of his political stands that were unpopular in his Tennessee; he vocally opposed the Vietnam war, voted against Nixon's two "Southern" choices for the Supreme Court, he had moderate to liberal views on civil rights starting from his refusal to sign the anti Brown vs Board of Education "Southern Manifesto" But while this could have been a fawning biography about a hero who often stood for principle, it instead includes Gore's flaws and nuances, he neglected to build a political organization that would help his progressive causes, he developed a reputation of loving to hear the sound of his own voice which limited his effectiveness in the Senate.
The biography describes Gore's early life, he grew up in rural, poor, pre-TVA Tennessee, his going to college, albeit a non prestige one, was an anomaly for his small town, he met his wife Pauline in law school where they both worked to meet the financial challenges, Pauline comes off as a true hero in the book, she remembered campaign worker's names and her warmth balanced Gore's sometime aloofness and she had great legal skills and political instincts. His early political career started off modestly and was shaped by New Deal projects such as, and especially the TVA. When Gore was elected to the House and then the Senate he maintained his populist roots, he was an advocate against giving too many breaks to the wealthy and powerful, his legislative proposals were designed to help the types of people he grew up with in poor Tennessee.
While Gore had a deserved reputation for being a racial moderate at odds with the overwhelming majority of other elected Southerners, the author shows that it was not a passion for Gore and implies that John Sparkman and Lister Hill from Alabama may have had similar votes if they represented Tennessee where there was not total disenfranchisement of the African American vote and some relatively racially moderate forces that did not exist in Alabama. In contrast, foreign policy and banking/economic issues were a passion for Gore. He always regretted his vote for the Gulf of Tonkin resolution and became an effective questioner of the establishment positions while always voting for funding for the soldiers sent to Vietnam, arguing that while the war may be a mistake, it would be wrong to not support the soldiers who went there.
The book is also about Southern political and cultural history, describing times of optimism of a changing south that was to come after Gore's political career, optimism that the author notes did not come to fruit given the politics and polarization of today's south.
This is a well researched, well told biography whose balance and acknowledgment of flaws, leads to the conclusion that Gore was a great, if imperfect, man who was ahead of his time
The biography describes Gore's early life, he grew up in rural, poor, pre-TVA Tennessee, his going to college, albeit a non prestige one, was an anomaly for his small town, he met his wife Pauline in law school where they both worked to meet the financial challenges, Pauline comes off as a true hero in the book, she remembered campaign worker's names and her warmth balanced Gore's sometime aloofness and she had great legal skills and political instincts. His early political career started off modestly and was shaped by New Deal projects such as, and especially the TVA. When Gore was elected to the House and then the Senate he maintained his populist roots, he was an advocate against giving too many breaks to the wealthy and powerful, his legislative proposals were designed to help the types of people he grew up with in poor Tennessee.
While Gore had a deserved reputation for being a racial moderate at odds with the overwhelming majority of other elected Southerners, the author shows that it was not a passion for Gore and implies that John Sparkman and Lister Hill from Alabama may have had similar votes if they represented Tennessee where there was not total disenfranchisement of the African American vote and some relatively racially moderate forces that did not exist in Alabama. In contrast, foreign policy and banking/economic issues were a passion for Gore. He always regretted his vote for the Gulf of Tonkin resolution and became an effective questioner of the establishment positions while always voting for funding for the soldiers sent to Vietnam, arguing that while the war may be a mistake, it would be wrong to not support the soldiers who went there.
The book is also about Southern political and cultural history, describing times of optimism of a changing south that was to come after Gore's political career, optimism that the author notes did not come to fruit given the politics and polarization of today's south.
This is a well researched, well told biography whose balance and acknowledgment of flaws, leads to the conclusion that Gore was a great, if imperfect, man who was ahead of his time
May 2, 2019
Anyone who is intrigued by Caro and LBJ would like this. I’m not sure I would have liked Albert Gore, but I think, like the author, I would have respected him. I was struck by his independence wanting to follow his conscience in what he thought was right. Alas that his initiative to restrict campaign finance wasn’t followed through...
impeccably researched and lively annecdotes make this as much a history of the changing politics of the South as an account of one man.
impeccably researched and lively annecdotes make this as much a history of the changing politics of the South as an account of one man.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews