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Frederick Lewis Schuman (1904–1981) was an American professor of history, political science and international relations at
Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was killed i ...
.


Career

Schuman was a professor of history at
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the be ...
and then for 32 years at
Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was killed i ...
. He analyzed international relations and social science, focusing on the period between World War I and World War II. In 1932, amid the Great Depression and widespread disillusionment about capitalism's prospects, Schuman had signed an open letter supporting the League of Professional Groups for Foster and
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
, candidates of the
Communist Party of the United States The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
in that year's Presidential election. In a 1936 article titled "Liberalism and Communism Reconsidered" he sought to reconcile liberal and Marxist viewpoints, arguing both had common interests against fascism. Despite such activity, however, Schuman later wrote that "the major premises of Marxism, viewed in retrospect, are demonstrably false... No civilized society has ever been, or can ever be, 'classless' or 'stateless.' Total socialism, where achieved, thus far resembles Aldous Huxley's ''Brave New World'' or George Orwell's ''1984'' far more than Plato's perfect polity or Sir Thomas More's ''Utopia''." On the night of December 7, 1941, Schuman told an audience at the
Ford Hall Forum The Ford Hall Forum is the oldest free public lecture series in the United States. Founded in 1908, it continues to host open lectures and discussions in the Greater Boston area. Some of the more well-known past speakers include Maya Angelou, Isa ...
, "The Nazis, Fascists, and Japanese have made one tragic blunder. They allowed themselves to believe that the work of disintegration in America had gone far enough for them to strike. They're wrong." He also said that the United States should lead "a new world order and world unity." He urged recognition of the Free French and aid to governments-in-exile in overthrowing quisling regimes, leading toward the overthrow of
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
. He predicted that Japan could fight for only three or four months. Schuman came under attack by the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
in 1943 as having a record of "Communist affiliations." Schuman denied the accusations and successfully withstood efforts by the committee to have him removed as a government analyst of German radio broadcasts, a post that he held for several months in 1942 and 1943 while he was on leave from Williams. Many vocal critics, including several Williams alumni, objected to the professor's outspoken liberalism, suspected communism, and continued to call for Schuman's dismissal throughout the rest of his career at the college. In a 1945 ''American Political Science Review'' article, Schuman criticized notions that a new collective security organization could contribute to world peace. Schuman pointed to examples from history of collective security organizations that failed to facilitate world peace. He argued that the organization that would become the United Nations could only facilitate world peace if the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom worked in unison, but that the organization would fail if there were divisions between the three powers. Schuman came under attack again by Senator
Joseph R. McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...
in 1953. In his 1953 book ''Techniques of Communism'', ex-communist and FBI-paid informant Louis Budenz wrote a subsection on Schuman in a chapter on "Affecting Public Opinion." Budenz asserted that Schuman was a CPUSA member in the 1930s and 1940s. Citing
Eugene Lyons Eugene Lyons (July 1, 1898 – January 7, 1985) was an American journalist and writer. A fellow traveler of Communism in his younger years, Lyons became highly critical of the Soviet Union after several years there as a correspondent of United ...
' 1941 book ''Red Decade'', Budenz asserted that Schuman had supported CPUSA head
William Z. Foster William Zebulon Foster (February 25, 1881 – September 1, 1961) was a radical American labor organizer and Communist politician, whose career included serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1945 to 1957. He was previ ...
's bid for the US presidency (1932), traveled to and lectured in the USSR (1933-4), extolled US-USSR friendship at a Carnegie Hall gala (1936), called for closer Soviet ties in an open letter in the ''
Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...
'' (1939), and supported alleged Soviet spy
Gerhart Eisler Gerhart Eisler (20 February 1897 – 21 March 1968) was a German politician, editor and publicist. Along with his sister Ruth Fischer, he was a very early member of the Austrian German Communist Party (KPDÖ) and then a prominent member of the C ...
(1946). He cites several books by Schuman as being subversive: ''American Policy Toward Russia Since 1917'', ''American Politics at Home and Abroad'' (error for ''Soviet Politics at Home and Abroad''?), and ''The Commonwealth of Man''. He also list "Communist fronts" to which Schuman belong. In sum, Budenz claimed, Schuman had "done tremendous damage" to the US. (Budenz also notes that Schuman had attacked ex-communists who had testified for the US government, "particularly
Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938), ...
, Louis Budenz, and
Elizabeth Bentley Elizabeth Terrill Bentley (January 1, 1908 – December 3, 1963) was an American spy and member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). She served the Soviet Union from 1938 to 1945 until she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intellige ...
.") In the 1960s, Schuman undertook several, very public political and social battles at Williams, including his much-publicized refusal to attend ceremonies during a visit from
Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (''née'' Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 when ...
, which he considered to be the college's tacit indication of support for the
Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
Administration's involvement in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and ...
.


Legacy

The term "geo-strategy" was first used by Schuman in his 1942 article "Let Us Learn Our Geopolitics." It was a translation of the German term ''Wehrgeopolitik'', as used by the German geostrategist
Karl Haushofer Karl Ernst Haushofer (27 August 1869 – 10 March 1946) was a German general, professor, geographer, and politician. Through his student Rudolf Hess, Haushofer's conception of Geopolitik influenced the development of Adolf Hitler's expansi ...
. Previous translations had been attempted, such as "defense-geopolitics."
Robert Strausz-Hupé Robert Strausz-Hupé (March 25, 1903 – February 24, 2002) was an Austrian-born American diplomat and geopolitical theorist. Life and career Born in 1903 in Austria, Strausz-Hupé immigrated to the United States in 1923. Serving as an advisor ...
had coined and popularized "war geopolitics" as another alternate translation.


Works

Schuman's 1946 book ''Soviet Politics At Home and Abroad'' was criticised by
Dwight Macdonald Dwight Macdonald (March 24, 1906 – December 19, 1982) was an American writer, editor, film critic, social critic, literary critic, philosopher, and activist. Macdonald was a member of the New York Intellectuals and editor of their leftist maga ...
as "a neo-Stalinist survey, that is, its author admits practically everything and justifies it in turgid surges of clotted prose as necessary and even praise-worthy". A more positive review stated, "To those who do not share the outlook of a particular author, his convictions are apt to appear biased or prejudiced, and Professor Schuman is not likely to escape criticisms on that score. None the less, he has made an earnest attempt at a balanced and temperate account of Soviet development, and has achieved a very considerable measure of success." Marshall D. Shulman, the Columbia University professor who was the
Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Car ...
Administration's leading expert on the Soviet Union, recalled using the book for a class he taught at
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
in the late 1940s. Schuman's 1957 book ''Russia Since 1917'' (which was in some ways an updated version of ''Soviet Politics At Home and Abroad'') was described by ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' as "a compendium, elaborately researched and as fairminded as anyone could reasonably desire." The '' International Socialist Review'' accused the author of having "no understanding of Marxism" and of a "vilification of
Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...
and the
Left Opposition The Left Opposition was a faction within the Russian Communist Party (b) from 1923 to 1927 headed ''de facto'' by Leon Trotsky. The Left Opposition formed as part of the power struggle within the party leadership that began with the Soviet fou ...
," but considered certain other aspects of the book to be valuable and claimed Schuman's argument that "the double-crossing and chicanery of Allied diplomacy was due to the hope that the 'Fascist Triplice' would save 'civilization' from Bolshevism, is ironclad."Hilde Macleod
Dr. Schuman Reconsiders
. ''International Socialist Review'', Vol.20 No.1, Winter 1959, pp.29-30.
;Books * * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * *


References


External links


Frederick Lewis Schuman papers
at Williams College Archives & Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Schuman, Frederick L. 1904 births 1981 deaths American military historians American political scientists Historians of Europe American international relations scholars Williams College faculty 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers 20th-century political scientists