Originally published on July 24, 2023 (Episode 326)
Introduction
At the 1920 Republican Convention the journalist H.L. Mencken observed Senator Henry Cabot Lodge with his typically fierce amusement: “Lodge’s keynote speech, of course, was bosh, but it was bosh delivered with an air… Lodge got away with it because he was Lodge—because there was behind it his unescapable confidence in himself, his disarming disdain of discontent below, his unapologetic superiority.”
Mencken saw Lodge as one of the towering political figures of his age, though now his name is nearly forgotten. Born into a prominent Boston family, Lodge earned one of the first PhDs from Harvard before launching a long career in politics. He entered the U.S. Senate in 1892 and served there until his death in 1924.
For 35 years, Lodge shared a close friendship and political partnership with Theodore Roosevelt. While Roosevelt charged ahead as a force of nature, Lodge provided strategy, intellectual ballast, and political counsel—becoming in effect Roosevelt’s personal political and policy think tank. Though Roosevelt’s third-party run strained their alliance, their bond endured, especially in their mutual opposition to Woodrow Wilson.
In his book The Rough Rider and the Professor: Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and the Friendship that Changed American History (Pegasus, 2023), historian Laurence Jurdem examines how this remarkable friendship influenced both men and shaped the trajectory of American politics.
About the Guest
Laurence Jurdem is an adjunct professor of history at Fairfield University and Fordham College’s Lincoln Center campus. He is the author of Paving the Way for Reagan: The Influence of Conservative Media on U.S. Foreign Policy and a frequent commentator on American politics.
For Further Investigation
Laurence Jurdem, The Rough Rider and the Professor: Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and the Friendship that Changed American History (Pegasus, 2023)
Henry Cabot Lodge & Theodore Roosevelt, Hero Tales from American History—not surprisingly, nearly all of these heroes were Federalists and/or Bostonians
H.L. Mencken, “Lodge” in A Mencken Chrestomathy
💬 Listen & Discuss
How did the personalities of Roosevelt and Lodge complement each other in political life? What lessons does their alliance hold for understanding political friendships today? Share with the political junkie in your life.
