The White House Looks South

Perhaps not southerners in the usual sense, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson each demonstrated a political style and philosophy that helped them influence the South and unite the country in ways that few other presidents have. Combining vivid biography and political insight, Leuchtenburg offers an engaging account of relations between these presidents and the South while also tracing how the region came to embrace a national perspective without losing its sense of distinctiveness. In The White House Looks South, Leuchtenburg explores in fascinating detail how a unique attachment to ?place? helped these presidents adopt shifting identities, heal rifts between North and South, alter behavior with regard to race, and foster southern economic growth. Here is the monumental work of a master historian. At a time when race, class, and gender dominate historical writing, Leuchtenburg argues that place is no less significant.