Richard Elliott Neustadt (June 26, 1919 – October 31, 2003) was an American
political
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
scientist
A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...
specializing in the
United States presidency. He served as adviser to several presidents. His book ''Presidential Power'' has been described as "one of the most influential books ever written about political leadership."
''Thinking In Time: The Uses Of History For Decision Makers'' won the
Grawemeyer Award.
His other books include ''Alliance Politics'', ''Preparing to be President'', and, with Harvey V. Fineberg, ''The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery Disease''.
Early life
Neustadt was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, the son of Elizabeth (Neufeld) and Richard Mitchells Neustadt, who was a progressive activist and social worker. His family were Jews whose ancestors were from Central Europe. Neustadt received a
BA in History from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
in 1939,
followed by an
M.A. degree from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in 1941.
After a short stint as an economist in the
Office of Price Administration, he joined the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
in 1942, where he was a supply officer in the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...
;
Oakland, California
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
; and Washington.
He then went into the Bureau of the Budget (now known as the
Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...
)
while he was working on his Harvard Ph.D., which he received in 1951.
Political career
Neustadt was the special assistant of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
Office from 1950 to 1953 under President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
. During the following year, he was a
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of
public administration
Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
at
Cornell and, from 1954 to 1964, taught government at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, where he received a Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award in 1961.
It was at Columbia that Neustadt wrote the book ''
Presidential Power: The Politics of Leadership'' (1960) in which he examined the decision-making process at the highest levels of government. He argued that the President is actually rather weak in the US government; is unable to effect significant change without the approval of the Congress; and in practice must rely on a combination of personal persuasion, professional reputation "
inside the Beltway
"Inside the Beltway" is an American idiom used to characterize matters of greater interest to U.S. federal government officials, contractors, lobbyists, and media personnel, than to their general public. The Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) i ...
," and public prestige to get things done.
A revised edition titled ''Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan'' appeared in 1990.
With his book appearing just before the election of
John F. Kennedy, Neustadt soon found himself in demand by the president-elect, and began his advisory role with a 20-page memo suggesting things the President should and should not try to do at the beginning of his term. Neustadt was an official advisor to Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
, and an unofficial advisor to
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
.
A class that Neustadt taught on the presidency influenced
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
to change his major from English to politics and study with Neustadt.
Neustadt was a professor at
Harvard Kennedy School
The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
at Harvard, where he taught as a popular professor for more than two decades and officially retired in 1989 but continued to teach there for years thereafter. Neustadt also served as the first director of the
Harvard Institute of Politics (IOP), which was founded as "a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy that engages young people in politics and public service". After his retirement, he served as chairman of the
Presidential Debates Commission.
Neustadt was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
in 1964 and the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1967.
Neustadt was a recipient of the 1988
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
Grawemeyer Award for ''Thinking In Time : The Uses Of History For Decision Makers'' and its ideas for improving world order, co-authored with
Ernest R. May.
Neustadt was hired by the then-secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
Joseph A. Califano Jr. to write a book analyzing the decision making that led to the swine flu vaccine debacle in the mid-1970s. Neustadt's co-author, his graduate assistant
Harvey V. Fineberg, said later that the book was written as a private document for Califano, who later insisted on publishing it as ''The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery Disease''. The book placed blame for the swine flu vaccine decision on the CDC Director
David Sencer, though Sencer's recommendations were appropriate, given the information available at the time.
Personal life
His first wife, Bertha Cummings "Bert" Neustadt, died in 1984. In 1987, he married the British politician
Shirley Williams, who also served on the faculty at the Kennedy School of Government as Professor of Electoral Politics.
Neustadt died in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
after complications from a fall. In addition to Shirley Williams, Neustadt left a daughter, Elizabeth, and a granddaughter. His son, Richard, predeceased him in 1995.
Books
*1960: ''Presidential Power: The Politics of Leadership''
*1990:
Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan' ()
*1970: ''Alliance Politics'' ()
*1986: ''Thinking In Time : The Uses Of History For Decision Makers'', co-authored with
Ernest R. May ()
*1999: ''Report to JFK: The Skybolt Crisis in Perspective'' ()
*2000: ''Preparing to be President: The Memos of Richard E. Neustadt'', co-authored with
Charles O. Jones, ()
Media
Appearances as moderator
* ''Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited''. Produced for The Idea Channel by the
Free to Choose Network, 1983.
Phase I (U1015)(January 22, 1983)
*** Featuring
McGeorge Bundy
McGeorge "Mac" Bundy (March 30, 1919 – September 16, 1996) was an American academic who served as the U.S. National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 through 1966. He was president of the Ford Fou ...
,
Edwin Martin,
Dean Rusk
David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909December 20, 1994) was the United States secretary of state from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the second-longest serving secretary of state after Cordell Hull from the ...
&
Donald Wilson in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
.
*
Phase II, Part I (U1016)(June 27, 1983)
*** Featuring
McGeorge Bundy
McGeorge "Mac" Bundy (March 30, 1919 – September 16, 1996) was an American academic who served as the U.S. National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 through 1966. He was president of the Ford Fou ...
,
Robert S. McNamara,
George W. Ball &
U. Alexis Johnson in
Washington D.C.
*
Phase II, Part II (U1017)(June 27, 1983)
*** Featuring
McGeorge Bundy
McGeorge "Mac" Bundy (March 30, 1919 – September 16, 1996) was an American academic who served as the U.S. National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 through 1966. He was president of the Ford Fou ...
,
Robert S. McNamara,
George W. Ball &
U. Alexis Johnson in
Washington D.C.
* "The American President"
** Provided commentary for the 2000 PBS film series: "The American President" produced by Kunhardt Productions. Written, produced and directed by Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Kunhardt in association with Thirteen/WNET-TV New York. Based on the book: "The American President" published by Riverhead Books. The ten program series explores the presidencies from George Washington to Bill Clinton.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neustadt, Richard
1919 births
2003 deaths
20th-century American historians
20th-century American male writers
American male non-fiction writers
American political writers
Columbia University faculty
Harvard University alumni
Harvard University faculty
Historians from Pennsylvania
Historians of the United States
Jewish American historians
American public administration scholars
Spouses of life peers
Truman administration personnel
United States Navy officers
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Urban Institute people
Writers from Philadelphia
Members of the American Philosophical Society