Intellectual History Assignment
“History is, indeed, an argument without end” - A.M. Schlesinger
Author M. Schlesinger Jr. was a man who excelled in academics and showed an
admiration for research. As a liberal democrat he produced scholarly works and worked
with well known men involved in campaigns. Growing up under the guidance of two
historians, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr strived to learn. He went on to study at Cambridge
for the majority of his beginning years. Following Cambridge, Schlesinger attended
Harvard College where he joined The Society of Fellows. In this society he published
books and won prizes for his works. He believed that the relationships and “circles of
friends” was what the real history wass. A group of men would compete with each
other’s ideas and beliefs and that is what fascinated Schlesinger the most. If you did not
personally know a figure, then you would assume and talk about who each of them
really were. A.M. Schlesinger said, “History is, indeed, an argument without end”.
One of Schlesinger’s major writings of his time was The Age of Roosevelt. This is
a three volume series in which he let out his admiration for Roosevelt and all of the
concepts put in place around that time. For example, Schlesinger interpreted The New
Deal. Explaining how this was directly a product of progressivism, and the New Deal
also consisted of two parts. Another book written by Schlesinger was The Vital Center.
He explain his thoughts on liberalism in abstract ways. That was his main part of his
works, abstract thinking. Viewing history from many different lenses was the way of his
studies and views on history. One of his prize winning works was The Age of Jackson.
This book won the Pulitzer Prize because of its achievement in literature. In the book
The Politics of Hope, Schlesinger explained how he believed both the conservatives
and liberals would come together eventually. A Thousand Days was also a winner of the
Pulitzer Prize. Schlesinger wrote many books throughout his lifetime winning prizes and
became well known.
During WWll Schlesinger lived in London. His time there allowed him to have a
position in the Office of Strategic Services. This service influenced today’s CIA and
military thoughts since it was the...
