The Odd Couple of Indiana Politics?: Paul V. McNutt and Wendell L. Willkie Compared

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Dean Kotlowski

Abstract

In this first comparative study of prominent Hoosier politicians Paul V. McNutt and Wendell L. Willkie, author Dean Kotlowski begins at Indiana University where the two met as undergraduates, both ambitious and active in student organizations. U.S. entry into World War I prompted both to volunteer for military service and ultimately shaped their political philosophies. McNutt, an ardent Democrat, won the governorship of Indiana, endorsed Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, and ultimately fell victim to party politics as FDR stymied his presidential aspirations. Willkie, the Progressive Democrat-turned-Republican and businessman, rose to prominence with his internationalist perspective and his opposition to New Deal policies. Willkie’s 1940 presidential campaign resulted in the severing of ties between the two men. Kotlowski posits that “the positions adopted by McNutt and Willkie illuminate parallel and divergent perspectives on New Deal liberalism and America’s role in the world.”

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How to Cite
Kotlowski, D. (2017). The Odd Couple of Indiana Politics?: Paul V. McNutt and Wendell L. Willkie Compared. Indiana Magazine of History, 111(3), 211–247. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/27621
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