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Arnold A. Rogow Papers on James V. Forrestal
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Arnold A. Rogow (1924-2006) was a political scientist, author, and psychotherapist. His main area of research was psychological explanations for politics, especially the decision-making of leaders, notably James Forrestal and Alexander Hamilton.
Rogow taught at the University of Iowa and Stanford University before becoming a professor of political science at the City College of New York (part of CUNY) in 1966, where he remained for the rest of his career. Soon after coming to New York, Rogow studied at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute and became a practicing psychotherapist in addition to his academic responsibilities. Rogow became a leading figure in the study of the psychodymanics of political behavior and was instrumental in establishing it as a cross-field interdisciplinary concentration at CUNY. He also served as the associate editor of the Journal of Conflict Resolution from 1956 to 1963 and was a member of the original editorial committee of Comparative Politics.
Rogow was a pioneer and prolific writer in the field of psychiatry and politics, and wrote or edited over a dozen books, as well as numerous articles, during his career utilizing his psychoanalytic expertise. His major works include James Forrestal: A Study of Personality, Politics, and Policy (1963), Power, Corruption and Rectitude with Harold D. Laswell (1963), The Psychiatrists (1970), The Dying of the Light: A Searching Look at America Today (1975), Thomas Hobbes: Radical in the Service of Reaction (1986), and A Fatal Friendship: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr (1998). His book on James Forrestal, the first Secretary of Defense and the nation's highest-ranking individual to later commit suicide, was Rogow's first major work to utilize psychology to examine a political figure. Rogow relied on both the archival record and interviews or correspondence with over fifty individuals who knew Forrestal in various capacities, including some of the psychiatrists involved in treating his illness, to identify the factors which led Forrestal to commit suicide in 1949.
Arnold Austin Rogow was born on August 10, 1924 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin in 1947 after interrupting his undergraduate education to serve in the Army as an infantryman during World War II. Rogow earned his Ph.D. in political science from Princeton University in 1953, where he wrote his dissertation on "The Labor Government and British Industry, 1945-1951." He married Patricia Evans and they had three children: Jennifer, Sarah, and Jeanne. Rogow died on February 14, 2006 at the age of 81.
The Rogow Papers are composed of materials he collected for his book James Forrestal: A Study of Personality, Politics, and Policy (The Macmillan Press: New York, 1963) and include correspondence with individuals who knew Forrestal, Rogow's notes, and other research materials. Also included are copies of some of Forrestal's correspondence and materials related to the publication of the book.
The following sources were consulted during the preparation of the biographical note: "Arnold A. Rogow, 81, a Writer Who Put History on the Couch" by Douglas Martin. The New York Times, March 2, 2006. Daily Closeup: "A Sickness..." by Lindsy Van Gelder. The New York Post, April 10, 1970. Obituary of Arnold A. Rogow by Benjamin Rivin. Comparative Politics, v. 39, no. 1, October 2006.
Gift of Arnold A. Rogow in November 2001 [ML.2001.009].
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by Adriane Hanson in 2009. During processing in 2009, materials were arranged into series and re-housed. Finding aid written by Adriane Hanson in April 2009.
No information is available about whether material was separated during accessioning in 2001 or processing in 2009.
People
Organization
Subject
- Biography -- Research
- Cabinet officers -- United States
- National security -- United States
- Suicide -- Psychological aspects
- World War, 1939-1945 -- United States
- United States -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union
Place
- Publisher
- Public Policy Papers
- Finding Aid Author
- Adriane Hanson
- Finding Aid Date
- 2009
- Sponsor
- These papers were processed with the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
The Chapter Files series contains materials Rogow collected to write chapters 2-9 of his book James Forrestal: A Study of Personality, Politics, and Policy (The Macmillan Press: New York, 1963). The majority of the material is copies of or excerpts from articles in The New York Times and other newspapers, portions of Forrestal's published diaries, and articles and speeches written during and after Forrestal's career in the U.S. military during World War II. Also included are Rogow's notes on his research and interviews he conducted and partial drafts of a few of the chapters.
Arranged in numerical order by chapter number.
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The Correspondence series is composed of Rogow's correspondence with individuals that Rogow wanted to interview for his book James Forrestal: A Study of Personality, Politics, and Policy (The Macmillan Press: New York, 1963). The correspondents included military officials, civilians Forrestal worked with in government and in business, Congressmen, doctors involved with his medical treatment, and Princeton University classmates. Rogow wrote each individual requesting interviews or information and access to any documents they had pertaining to Forrestal. Their responses typically included their impressions of Forrestal, suggestions of other people Rogow should contact, and acceptance or declination of his request for an interview.
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
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The Related Materials series includes materials pertaining to Rogow's research for his book James Forrestal: A Study of Personality, Politics, and Policy (The Macmillan Press: New York, 1963) and to the book's publication. Research materials include excerpts from speeches and articles by and about Forrestal, newspaper clippings about Forrestal and the medical treatment and privacy rights of public figures, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (F.B.I.) file on Forrestal, Rogow's notes on his research, and notes and interview questions written by journalist John McLain in preparation for a biography he intended to write on Forrestal. Materials on the book's publication include correspondence to obtain permission to publish quotes and regarding the possibility of publishing a paperback edition of the book, and readers' responses to the book.
Arranged alphabetically by type (e.g. correspondence) or subject, with miscellaneous files at the end of the series.
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(Includes a copy of the F.B.I.'s file on Forrestal.)
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