American political scientist (1919?2003)
Richard Neustadt
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Neustadt in 2003
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Born
| Richard Elliott Neustadt
(
1919-06-26
)
June 26, 1919
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Died
| October 31, 2003
(2003-10-31)
(aged 84)
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Education
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Occupation(s)
| Political scientist, adviser, and professor
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Spouses
| -
Bertha Cummings
(died 1984)
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Children
| 2
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Richard Elliott Neustadt
(June 26, 1919 ? October 31, 2003) was an American
political
scientist
specializing in the
United States presidency
. He served as adviser to several presidents. His book
Presidential Power
has been described as "one of the most influential books ever written about political leadership."
[1]
Thinking In Time: The Uses Of History For Decision Makers
won the
Grawemeyer Award
.
[2]
His other books include
Alliance Politics
,
Preparing to be President
, and, with Harvey V. Fineberg,
The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery Disease
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Neustadt was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, the son of Elizabeth (Neufeld) and Richard Mitchells Neustadt, who was a progressive activist and social worker.
[3]
His family were Jews whose ancestors were from Central Europe.
[4]
[5]
Neustadt received a
BA
in History from the
University of California, Berkeley
in 1939,
[1]
followed by an
M.A.
degree from
Harvard University
in 1941.
[6]
After a short stint as an economist in the
Office of Price Administration
, he joined the
US Navy
in 1942, where he was a supply officer in the
Aleutian Islands
;
Oakland, California
; and Washington.
[1]
He then went into the Bureau of the Budget (now known as the
Office of Management and Budget
)
[6]
while he was working on his Harvard Ph.D., which he received in 1951.
[7]
Political career
[
edit
]
Neustadt was the special assistant of the
White House
Office from 1950 to 1953 under President
Harry S. Truman
. During the following year, he was a
professor
of
public administration
at
Cornell
and, from 1954 to 1964, taught government at
Columbia University
, where he received a Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award in 1961.
[1]
It was at Columbia that Neustadt wrote the book
Presidential Power
[8]
(1960; a revised edition titled
Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership
appeared in 1990),
[9]
in which he examined the decision-making process at the highest levels of government. He argued that the President is actually rather weak in the US government; is unable to effect significant change without the approval of the Congress; and in practice must rely on a combination of personal persuasion, professional reputation "
inside the Beltway
," and public prestige to get things done.
[10]
[11]
With his book appearing just before the election of
John F. Kennedy
, Neustadt soon found himself in demand by the president-elect, and began his advisory role with a 20-page memo suggesting things the President should and should not try to do at the beginning of his term. Neustadt was an official advisor to Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon B. Johnson
, and an unofficial advisor to
Bill Clinton
.
[9]
[12]
A class that Neustadt taught on the presidency influenced
Al Gore
to change his major from English to politics and study with Neustadt.
[13]
Neustadt was a professor at
Harvard Kennedy School
at Harvard, where he taught as a popular professor for more than two decades and officially retired in 1989 but continued to teach there for years thereafter. Neustadt also served as the first director of the
Harvard Institute of Politics
(IOP),
[14]
which was founded as "a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy that engages young people in politics and public service".
[15]
After his retirement, he served as chairman of the
Presidential Debates Commission
.
[16]
Neustadt was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1964 and the
American Philosophical Society
in 1967.
[17]
[18]
Neustadt was a recipient of the 1988
University of Louisville
Grawemeyer Award
for
Thinking In Time : The Uses Of History For Decision Makers
and its ideas for improving world order, co-authored with
Ernest R. May
.
[2]
Neustadt was hired by the then-secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
Joseph A. Califano Jr.
to write a book analyzing the decision making that led to the swine flu vaccine debacle in the mid-1970s. Neustadt's co-author, his graduate assistant
Harvey V. Fineberg
, said later that the book was written as a private document for Califano, who later insisted on publishing it as
The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery Disease
.
[19]
The book placed blame for the swine flu vaccine decision on the CDC Director
David Sencer
, though Sencer's recommendations were appropriate, given the information available at the time.
[20]
Personal life
[
edit
]
His first wife, Bertha Cummings "Bert" Neustadt, died in 1984. In 1987, he married the British politician
Shirley Williams
, who also served on the faculty at the Kennedy School of Government as Professor of Electoral Politics.
[21]
Neustadt died in
London
after complications from a fall. In addition to Shirley Williams, Neustadt left a daughter, Elizabeth, and a granddaughter. His son, Richard, predeceased him in 1995.
[21]
Books
[
edit
]
Media
[
edit
]
Appearances as moderator
- Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited
. Produced for The Idea Channel by the
Free to Choose Network
, 1983.
- "The American President"
- Provided commentary for the 2000 PBS film series: "The American President" produced by Kunhardt Productions. Written, produced and directed by Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Kunhardt in association with Thirteen/WNET-TV New York. Based on the book: "The American President" published by Riverhead Books. The ten program series explores the presidencies from George Washington to Bill Clinton.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Jones, Charles O. (June 2003).
"Richard E. Neustadt : Public Servant as Scholar"
.
Annual Review of Political Science
.
6
(1): 1?22.
doi
:
10.1146/annurev.polisci.6.121901.085848
.
ISSN
1094-2939
. Retrieved
March 23,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"2 Harvard Professors Get World Order Prize"
.
The New York Times
. June 29, 1988
. Retrieved
March 23,
2023
.
- ^
"Neustadt, Richard Elliott | Encyclopedia.com"
.
www.encyclopedia.com
.
- ^
Edwards, George C. (January 2004).
"Richard E. Neustadt"
.
PS
.
37
(1): 125?127.
doi
:
10.1017/S1049096504003889
.
S2CID
154291153
.
- ^
Hodgson, Godfrey (November 3, 2003).
"Richard Neustadt: US political scientist and expert on the power of the presidency"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
May 6,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"Richard Elliott Neustadt"
.
Harvard Gazette
. October 13, 2005
. Retrieved
March 23,
2023
.
- ^
"Richard E. Neustadt Personal Papers"
.
JFK Library
. Retrieved
March 23,
2023
.
- ^
"Richard Neustadt, adviser to presidents, died on October 31st, aged 84"
.
The Economist
. Associated Press. November 13, 2003
. Retrieved
May 6,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Hodgson, Godfrey (November 3, 2003).
"Richard Neustadt US political scientist and expert on the power of the presidency"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
May 6,
2012
.
- ^
Bailey, Harry A. (1981).
"Neustadt's Thesis Revisited: Toward the Two Faces of Presidential Power"
.
Presidential Studies Quarterly
.
11
(3): 351?357.
ISSN
0360-4918
. Retrieved
March 23,
2023
.
- ^
Hargrove, Erwin C. (2001).
"Presidential Power and Political Science"
.
Presidential Studies Quarterly
.
31
(2): 245?261.
ISSN
0360-4918
.
- ^
Lueck, Thomas J. (November 3, 2003).
"Richard E. Neustadt, Historian, Dies at 84; Studied Power and Advised Three Presidents"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
May 6,
2012
.
- ^
Sullivan, Patricia (November 3, 2003).
"Presidential Scholar, White House Adviser Richard Neustadt Dies"
.
Washington Post
. Retrieved
March 23,
2023
.
- ^
"Richard Neustadt remembered as guiding force at KSG"
.
Harvard Gazette
. November 6, 2003
. Retrieved
March 23,
2023
.
- ^
May, Ernest R. (2007). "Placing Richard E. Neustadt". In Dickinson, Matthew J.; Neustadt, Elizabeth A. (eds.).
Guardian of the presidency : the legacy of Richard E. Neustadt
. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. pp. 1?13.
ISBN
978-0815718420
.
- ^
"CPD: Overview"
.
www.debates.org
. Retrieved
March 23,
2023
.
- ^
"Richard Elliott Neustadt"
.
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
. Retrieved
September 23,
2022
.
- ^
"APS Member History"
.
search.amphilsoc.org
. Retrieved
September 23,
2022
.
- ^
Neustadt, Richard E.; Fineberg, Harvey V. (1978).
The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery Disease
. National Academies Press.
PMID
25032342
.
- ^
Lewis, Michael (2021).
The Premonition: A Pandemic Story
. W.W. Norton.
ISBN
978-0-393-88155-4
.
[
page needed
]
- ^
a
b
Hodgson, Godfrey (November 3, 2003).
"Obituary: Richard Neustadt"
.
The Guardian
. London.
External links
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International
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National
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Academics
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Other
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