Description
Book SynopsisA remarkable history of one of the most legendary Senators of our time, Birch Bayh: Making a Difference reveals a life and career dedicated to the important issues facing Indiana and the nation, including civil rights and equal rights for women.
Trade Review[A] well-researched and engaging recounting of Bayh's public life.
* The Indiana Laywer *
My friend Birch Bayh has led a life of remarkable public service dedicated, always, to making a difference. His supporters and opponents will long remember his skill as a campaigner combined with his ability to reach across the political aisle and achieve Constitutional Amendments and timely legislation that strengthened our nation.
-- Richard Lugar, former United States Senator from Indiana
In Indiana's, and the nation's, political history, perhaps no elected official has produced the legislative achievements crafted by U.S. Senator Birch Bayh. In addition to authoring two constitutional amendments—the Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth—Bayh produced the landmark Title IX legislation, providing women with equal opportunities in public education. Bayh has long needed a comprehensive biography, and Robert Blaemire has provided an insider's account of Bayh's life and career and places him among Indiana's leading political figures.
-- Ray E. Boomhower, author of
Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana PrimaryHighlights the life of one of our most remarkable United States Senators, not just in Indiana but in the nation. Birch Bayh shows the dedication of a man to his state and country through more than 25 years of elected office.
-- Geoffrey Paddock, author of
Indiana Political HeroesRobert Blaemire's celebration of Birch Bayh's career evokes a different and better time in American politics, when leaders really did think about making a difference. There are many vivid portraits of Bayh's work on landmark civil rights bills and other legislation. My favorite passage cites Bayh's question for his staff when facing a tough choice: "Just tell me what you feel is the right thing to do." Read this memoir and remember a time when people like Bayh, and the decent, compassionate politics of the heartland, were truly the American way.
-- David Ignatius, columnist,
The Washington PostAs the father of Title IX, Birch Bayh has left a lasting impact on our country. In Birch Bayh: Making a Difference, it is clear his influence and his contributions will continue to affect all Americans for generations to come in many ways.
-- Billie Jean King, founder of the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative
The story of Birch Bayh's political career is completely inspiring, especially in an era that has lost touch with bipartisanship and civility. A must read for Hoosiers and for anyone interested in how democracy worked, when it really worked.
-- Ted Widmer, historian and former presidential speechwriter
Robert Blaemire's Birch Bayh is a marvelous biography of Bayh, a dynamo in Indiana politics and the national scene throughout the 20th century. My take-away, after reading, was that Bayh, a consummate public servant, would have made an excellent president. Highly recommended!
-- Douglas Brinkley, author of
Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of AmericaA senior staffer to Bayh for thirteen years, Blaemire performed solid research to fortify his insider's knowledge,mconducting extensive interviews, with Bayh before his death to go along with some fifty-nine interviews with former staff and Senate colleagues. And he did his homework, mining memoirs of other political actors and the accounts of journalists and historians, all of which he uses to supply welcome contextual detail.
-- Daniel A Clark * Indiana Magazine of History *
Table of ContentsChapter 1 – Farmer, Soldier, Legislator
Chapter 2 – U. S. Senator
Chapter 3 –Assassination and Amendment - 1963
Chapter 4 - Crash and Constitution - 1964
Chapter 5 - Civil Rights, Guns & Vietnam – 1965-1968
Chapter 6 - 1968
Chapter 7 – Haynsworth – 1969-1970
Chapter 8 – Carswell – 1970
Chapter 9 - Campaign and Cancer - 1971
Chapter 10 – Title IX - 1972
Chapter 11 – Watergate - 1973
Chapter 12 – Bayh versus Lugar - 1974
Chapter 13 – National Interests - 1975
Chapter 14 – Bayh for President - 1976
Chapter 15 – The Carter Administration - 1977
Chapter 16 – Foreign Intelligence - 1978
Chapter 17 – The Death of Marvella 1979-1980
Chapter 18 – The Last Campaign - 1980
Chapter 19 – Capstone
