Description
Book SynopsisSenator George P. McLean's crowning achievement was overseeing passage of one of the country's first and most important wildlife conservation laws, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The MBTA, which is still in effect today, has saved billions of birds from senseless killing and likely prevented the extinction of entire bird species. A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington: George P. McLean, Birdman of the Senate puts McLean's victory for birds in the context of his distinguished forty-five-year career marked by many acts of reform during a time of widespread corruption and political instability. Author Will McLean Greeley traces McLean's rise from obscurity as a Connecticut farm boy to national prominence, when he advised five US presidents and helped lead change and shape events as a US senator from 1911 to 1929. One reviewer writes: "And there's a bonus: This book is also a love song to a distant relative. We need more historians who truly care about the people they're writing about, and Greeley does just that."
Table of ContentsPreface i Acknowledgmentsix Introduction: A Midlife Comeback (1905) xi Part One: Simsbury, Connecticut Chapter One: Old Days, Old Ways 1 Chapter Two: Climbing the Ladder 23 Chapter Three: A Little Help from His Friends 55 Chapter Four: Reform Governor 71 Chapter Five: A Time to Heal 85 Chapter Six: Seeking the US Senate 109 Part Two: Washington, DC Chapter Seven: Enter Listening 123 Chapter Eight: Saving the Birds 147 Chapter Nine: Working with Wilson 173 Chapter Ten: The Good Ship Normalcy 205 Chapter Eleven: Closing with Coolidge 229 Part Three: Going Home Chapter Twelve: Coming Full Circle 255 Epilogue 275 Bibliography 281 Index 295 Colophon 317
