scholarly journals The Fall of Vannevar Bush

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-541
Author(s):  
Johnny Miri
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Significant Loss ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
Vannevar Bush ◽  
Personal Conflict ◽  
American Research ◽  
Franklin Roosevelt

Vannevar Bush was at the forefront of American research policy during World War II, but he suffered a steep fall after the war, and by 1948 had left government service altogether. What motivated such a significant loss of influence? Drawing on previously unexamined sources, this article traces the causes of Bush’s decline in authority to his loss of powerful allies, particularly with the death of Franklin Roosevelt and the retirement of Henry Stimson; to his long-standing feuds with military leaders; and to several political missteps on Bush’s part that alienated figures in Congress and elsewhere. Continued examples of personal conflict in the postwar period not only impacted Bush’s career, but also shaped the structure of the resulting institutions that emerged to fund Cold War–era science. Rather than an abrupt change occurring immediately after the war, the postwar transition to public institutions was both gradual and influenced by the personal networks that preceded it. Bush’s quiet departure from government was tied to the emergence of military dominance in American research, largely at the expense of civilian scientific leaders. Such a shift in control of research policy had a dramatic effect on resulting postwar initiatives, closely connecting scientific advancements to national security.

When the Bombs Fell

Strange Bird ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele K. Troy
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Air Force ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
World War ◽  
Royal Air Force ◽  
Joint Chiefs Of Staff ◽  
Winston Churchill ◽  
Strategic Bombing ◽  
German Capital ◽  
Franklin Roosevelt

This chapter examines how the Allied bombings of Germany affected the lives of people in the Albatross-Tauchnitz fold, particularly Max Christian Wegner and Walter Gey. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Adolf Hitler's reign, the Nazi elite gathered with thousands of party loyalists on January 30, 1943 for an evening of rousing speeches at the Berlin Sportpalast. The Allies commemorated Hitler's tenth anniversary by sending Royal Air Force Mosquito light bombers on a daylight air raid on the German capital. For Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Franklin Roosevelt, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this attack marked the beginning of the “strategic bombing” campaign they had agreed upon at the Casablanca Conference days earlier. This chapter considers Wegner's arrest and imprisonment at the height of World War II as well as Gey's efforts to make the best of the Albatross Press's ever-shrinking terrain.

scholarly journals Maks Samec and his adapting to academic standards after World War II

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Željko Oset
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Academic Standards ◽  
World War ◽  
Administrative Reforms ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
The University ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Second Chance

The paper at hand deals with the academic career of Maks Samec (1881-1964) after World War II. Samec lost his habilitation upon the »purge« at the University of Ljubljana in August of 1945, but was offered a second chance as an irreplaceable scientist – he became the founder of the newly established Institute of Chemistry at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA). He has earned numerous recognitions and state decorations for his work. At the institute, he strived to apply his academic standards, but was not entirely successful, which was also a consequence of administrative reforms and changes to research policy in the 1950s.

Florence Jaffray Harriman

2019 ◽  
pp. 54-77
Author(s):  
Philip Nash
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
York City ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
World War ◽  
The Face ◽  
Party Activist ◽  
Franklin Roosevelt

This chapter looks at the tenure of Florence Jaffray Harriman, minister to Norway (1937–1941). Harriman was a prominent New York City socialite and Democratic Party activist. President Franklin Roosevelt agreed to send the sixty-six-year-old Harriman to Norway because it was a small, neutral country unlikely to become involved in a European war. When World War II broke out in 1939, Harriman was caught in the midst of it. She performed admirably in the episode involving the City of Flint, a US merchant vessel captured by the Germans, and even more so when the Nazis invaded Norway in April 1940. Harriman risked her life trying to keep up with the fleeing Norwegian leadership, which was being pursued by German forces. Her performance in the face of such danger earned her widespread praise, further strengthening the case for female ambassadors.

scholarly journals Undoing the Double-Cross: Promoting Public Accountability in American Science Agencies

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Buckley ◽  
Kristen Ramsey
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
American People ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
Public Accountability ◽  
World War ◽  
Advisory Boards ◽  
American Science ◽  
Vannevar Bush ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Double Cross

The leadership and advisory boards of American science agencies are largely organized according to the ideas set forth by an influential scientist, Dr. Vannevar Bush, after World War II. Although American science agencies are publicly funded, only experts control what research is funded and how each agency operates. Wielding his unique position of power after the war, Dr. Vannevar Bush suppressed the ideas of his adversary, Senator Harley Kilgore, resulting in the absence of public accountability and citizen input that defines American science agencies today. We argue that citizens must have a seat at the table in the leadership of science agencies to promote trust in science, reduce inequity, increase efficiency, embrace democratic principles, and address the needs of the American people. By providing a mechanism for non-expert citizens to influence the direction of American science agencies, Congress can now finally rectify the double-cross of Senator Harley Kilgore by Dr. Vannevar Bush.

scholarly journals The Economics of Crisis Innovation Policy: A Historical Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 346-350
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Gross ◽  
Bhaven N. Sampat
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Medical Research ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
World War ◽  
War Effort ◽  
Flu Vaccine

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers, researchers, and journalists have made comparisons to World War II. In 1940, a group of top US science administrators organized a major coordinated research effort to support the Allied war effort, including significant investments in medical research that yielded innovations like mass-produced penicillin, antimalarials, and a flu vaccine. We draw on this episode to discuss the economics of crisis innovation. Since the objectives of crisis R&D are different than ordinary R&D, we argue that appropriate R&D policy in a crisis requires going beyond the standard Nelson-Arrow framework for research policy.

Jim Crow in Uniform

2021 ◽  
pp. 211-259
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Guglielmo
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Jim Crow ◽  
Military Officers ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
White House ◽  
Military Life ◽  
At Home

Chapter 6 examines the military’s black-white boundaries in the context of troops’ training and stateside service during World War II. These boundaries, the handiwork above all of military officers and leaders, wended their way through nearly every aspect of military life, creating a dense and powerful structure of white domination and black subordination—or in the words of one wartime commentator, “Jim Crow in Uniform.” In the eyes of its creators, this version of Jim Crow was necessary both to win a war for freedom overseas and to shore up faltering white supremacy at home, faltering in part because of the military’s own unwitting actions. As with its civilian cousin, Jim Crow in uniform generated extensive protest, which managed to blur a small but important number of black-white lines. The number would have been higher had protesters not faced formidable opposition in the White House, in Congress, in the courts, and among military leaders.

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