Background
Claude Bowers was born on November 20, 1878, in Westfield, Indiana. He was the son of Lewis and Juliet Bowers.
(The Tragic Era: The Revolution after Lincoln, was one of ...)
The Tragic Era: The Revolution after Lincoln, was one of Bowers's pro-democratic look at history. In this book, Bowers created a sympathetic account of the “problems of unreconstructed white Democrats,” according to Bordelon.
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Claude Bowers was born on November 20, 1878, in Westfield, Indiana. He was the son of Lewis and Juliet Bowers.
Bowers's formal education consisted of private tutoring, high school in Indianapolis, and a brief period reading law. In fact, Bowers never attended any university.
After graduating from high school, Bowers began a career in journalism, working on various Indiana newspapers and then the New York Evening World. The style in which he wrote throughout his career, which surely was a reflection of his journalistic background, proved to be one that was accepted and appreciated by his readers.
By chance, he became a newspaperman, writing editorials for the Indianapolis Sentinel (1901 - 1903) and for the Terre Haute Star (1903 - 1906). From his high school-days, when he had read the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Bowers espoused the cause of democracy and the Democratic party. He ran unsuccessfully for the U. S. House of Representatives in 1904 and again in 1906. He served on the Terre Haute Board of Public Works (1906 - 1911) and was secretary to U. S. Senator John Worth Kern (1911 - 1917).
In the years between 1910 and 1916, he managed to combine his career as an editorial columnist with a six-year tour of duty as Democratic Senator John W. Kern’s personal secretary in Washington, D.C. It was this combination of writing and political activities that allowed Bowers to become the party’s favorite historian. Bowers's versatility as a writer earned him a position on the editorial staff of the New York World, at that time the major spokesman for the liberal wing of the Democratic party. He worked on the newspaper from 1923 to 1931, and then wrote an independent political column for two years. In 1925, Bowers published Jefferson and Hamilton: The Struggle for Democracy in America. The book became a bestseller and revitalized the reputation of Thomas Jefferson. The book increased the demand for Bowers's services as a political speaker, and he climaxed his oratorical career with a stirring keynote address at the 1928, Democratic National Convention.
While there is no reason to believe that he wrote solely to gain favor with these Democratic political powers, it would be impossible to deny that his biased writing didn’t help him. During the Roosevelt years, Bowers served as ambassador to Spain from 1933 to 1939. He also held a similar post in Chile from 1939 to 1953. It was these experiences that prompted him to write My Mission to Spain: Watching the Rehearsal for World War II (1954) and Chile through Embassy Windows (1958).
During the twenty years, he lived abroad, Bowers was especially interested in the politics of other nations, particularly in the absence of democracy. This led him to study of one of his childhood heroes, Pierre Vergniaud, the Girondin leader who was executed during the frenzies of the French Revolution. This fascination led to a book in 1950, Pierre Vergniaud, Voice of the French Revolution.
After his return to America in 1953, Bowers’s writing style did not really change much, and his literary output began to decrease.
Bowers died on January 21, 1958, in New York City.
(The Tragic Era: The Revolution after Lincoln, was one of ...)
As early as high school, Bowers was a passionate democrat, filling his journal with expressions of ardor for his country and his fellow man. In 1896, when William Jennings Bryan delivered one of his rousing speeches in Indianapolis, Bowers was there, taking in every word. This speech would spark an interest in Bowers that would span a lifetime.
Bowers was steadfast in his portrayal of democracy, creating history almost as much as he was retelling it. The democrat of the day was always portrayed as a Robin Hood of sorts, invariably honorable while Federalists and Republicans were usually portrayed as the tarnished villains. His vision of the American political tradition was clear: the forces of democracy had both justice and virtue on their side without exception in their never ending battle against privilege.
The sixteen-year period of political domination that followed Jefferson’s retirement from office was generally known as the Era of Good Feelings, which was surely a misnomer, as Bowers described this time as one of complete stagnation. Bowers believed that Jackson’s time in office was extremely beneficial to the people, giving them the opportunity to make real choices on the leadership and programs of their day. Bowers staunchly believed in the value of a good politician because of the ever-present chaos in society.
Bowers's attention to detail and his flair for drama were among his many literary talents.
His writing includes richly painted characters, with descriptions so detailed that they would often go on for an entire chapter. Readers were amazed at the skill with which Bowers presented details and facts in such an entertaining way.
There’s no doubt that Bowers was often criticized by some. His views were extremely biased, according to Bordelon, but with a dramatic flair that was undeniable.
Quotes from others about the person
“Mr. Bowers is frank and aboveboard as a partisan of Jefferson. He strives to be fair, and he succeeds better than most special pleaders. Mr. Bowers’s book is the best story of the origin of Jeffersonian democracy that has been published.”
“Bowers’s enthusiasm and his indignation that give pace to his narrative. He becomes a notable and memorable voice in our historical writing.”
“I personally have found all Bowers’s books stimulating, and in spite of faults few men have done more to arouse interest among the people in crucial episodes of the past in the nation’s history.”
“Bowers weighted his materials in favor of the forces of democracy for a reason, he sought to make history as he was writing it. At his best he made history by making it live again. At his worst he made history by inventing it, mainly through his own slanted judgments and excessive reliance on biased materials.” - Bordelon