Thomas A. Bailey Quotes

Thomas Andrew Bailey was a professor of history at his alma mater, Stanford University, and wrote many historical monographs on diplomatic history, including the widely used American history textbook, The American Pageant. He was known for his witty style and clever terms he coined, such as "international gangsterism." He popularized diplomatic history with his entertaining textbooks and lectures, the presentation style of which followed Ephraim Douglass Adams. Bailey contended foreign policy was significantly affected by public opinion, and that current policymakers could learn from history. Wikipedia

✵ 14. December 1902 – 26. July 1983

Thomas A. Bailey: 5 quotes 0 likes

Famous Thomas A. Bailey Quotes

“The two-thirds rule [of the Senate], which can be changed only by constitutional amendment, will no doubt continue for a long time to come. Like monogamy, it is not completely satisfactory, but, like monogamy, it has won general if somewhat grudging acquiescence.”

Thomas A. Bailey

A Diplomatic History of the American People, 7th ed., p. 17

“Vietnam is the dead albatross around Johnson's neck that may pull him down.”

Thomas A. Bailey

As quoted in The New York Times (November 6, 1966)

“The teacher asked us to write an essay based on an artist's visual version of the cold and other hardships endured by Washington's men at Valley Forge. I dashed off a page or so of commentary, which brought from the teacher public commendation for my historical empathy and perception. This juvenile effort may have influenced my instructor when he gave me a grade on my report card of 100 percent in history. I thought then, and still think, that no pupil is worth 100 percent in history.”

Thomas A. Bailey

The American Pageant Revisited, p. 9

“Too many historical writers are the votaries of cults, which, by definition are dedicated to whitewashing warts and hanging halos.”

Thomas A. Bailey

Essays Diplomatic and Undiplomatic of Thomas A. Bailey (1969), p. 15

“Too many so-called historians are really 'hysterians'; their thinking is more visceral than cerebral. When their duties as citizens clash with their responsibilities as scholars, Clio frequently takes a back seat.”

Thomas A. Bailey

Essays Diplomatic and Undiplomatic of Thomas A. Bailey (1969), p. 10

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