Overview

"George D. Aiken, a hillside farmer and a liberal Republican Depression-era Governor, rose to national prominence as a leading GOP U. S. Senator and enduring critic of the Vietnam War from 1962-1975. Aiken's long-standing friendship with Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, an unheard of political alliance in today's sharply divided Washington, forged bi-partisan opposition to the war. Aiken was neither ""hawk"" nor ""dove"", but a ""wise owl"" who spoke his mind forcefully and bluntly to all against the war. He advised President Johnson to declare that the U. S. won the Vietnam War and to get out. Later, Aiken told President Nixon to stop bombing in Cambodia or he couldn't be elected ""dogcatcher."" This is pure Aiken speaking truth to power for ending America's most controversial war, a common-sense voice that the Nation sorely needs today. This book demonstrates that bi-partisan Senate leadership has worked in the past and must be present in order to solve urgent national problems. Senator Aiken was a catalyst for forging consensus on issues from civil rights to foreign policy by being open-minded to all ideas that would help his constituents. Aiken's philosophy was always to help people first. He never made decisions based on his party, a lost art in the current political environment. A Senator like George Aiken today would help show how to restore bi-partisanship."

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9781887043649

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Reviews

A portrait of one of Vermont's finest senators by one of the state's finest editors. -- Jane Mayer, Chief Washington Correspondent, The New Yorker In his long and accomplished lifetime, George Aiken went from being a hill farmer in Putney specializing in fruits, berries and wildflowers to one of the nation's most re- spected experts on foreign affairs. This journey -- and particularly the last years of it -- is described vividly by Stephen Terry, who covered Aiken as a young reporter and later worked for him as a Senate aide. Terry's meticulously detailed account shows how Ai- ken's growing opposition to the Vietnam War remains powerfully relevant today, nearly fifty years later. -- Tony Marro, former Editor of Newsday Steve Terry has given us two books in one: a Capitol Hill insider's account of the critical years of the Vietnam War and a brief biography of George Aiken, ar- guably the most influential Vermonter of the 20th century. This is a must read for serious students of recent Vermont politi- cal history. -- James H. Douglas, 80th Governor of Vermont, 2003-2010 In the long history of iconic Vermont US Senator George D. Aiken's distinguished career, the most quoted reference about him is to Senator Aiken's purported suggestion that the United State should declare a military vicory in Vietnam and leave. There is much more to the story of the remark and its context that needs re-examnation. Fortunately, Steve Terry, Senator Aiken's last Legislative Assistant was there at the time and his acute eye-witness recollections of the remark and the context is an invaluable snapshot of a time when the nation fought its most divisive war, a war that haunts us still. -- Garrison Nelson, Elliott A. Brown Green and Gold Professor Emeritus of Law, Politics and Political Behavior

Author Information

"Stephen C. Terry of Middlebury served from 1969 to 1975 as Legislative Assistant for Senator George D. Aiken. Terry spent 16 years as a reporter and Managing Editor at the Rutland Herald where he often reported on Senator Aiken. Terry and the University of Vermont historian Sam Hand co-authored in 2004, ""The Essential Aiken"" a compilation of Senator Aiken's important speeches. He also wrote with Hand and Anthony Marro in 2011, ""Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State."" After a long career in business and service on non-profit Board of Directors, Terry was named 2014 Citizen of the Year by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. He is a 1964 University of Vermont graduate, and Chair of the George D. Aiken Lecture Series at UVM. Louis D. Augeri, originally from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, is a Senior at the University of Vermont studying History and Political Science. This is Augeri's second book project after working with historian Nick Muller on another Center for Research on Vermont publication, Samuel B. Hand: Green Mountain Scholar (2018). Augeri is the winner of the 2018 Green Mountain Scholar Award for outstanding student research and a member of the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society."

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