This is an interesting biography of the turn-of-the-century giant Elihu Root for a few different reasons. First, it approaches the whole of Root, not just his actions and behavior as seen through the prism of a single position that he once occupied, such as Secretary of War. Second, it uses new sources different from those that Root's original biographer, Professor Jessup, used when he wrote on Root in 1938. While this book does not even attempt to cover the whole of Root's life, it still does an admirable job explaining the major aspects of his thoughts and personality, and how those effected the roles that he fulfilled in the beginning of the 20th Century.
Leopold wrote this book as part of a series then being assembled, the Library of American Biographies. The series was edited by Oscar Handlin. At the time of writing, Leopold was a professor of history at Northwestern University. The book does not contain any footnotes, but I assume that this is more due to the stylistic considerations of the profession at the time. It does contain a rather extensive section entitled "Notes on Sources" which I actually found more useful than I usually find the modern practice of footnotes or endnotes.
It is practically impossible to survey the turn of the last century, from any perspective, without running smack dab into the formidable character and personality that was Elihu Root. As the Secretary of War, the Secretary of State, a United States Senator, an Elder Statesman and close friend to presidents, Root cut a broad swath through history and left his mark indelibly upon several institutions.
Editor of the series Oscar Handlin put it well in his introduction, "The lot of the conservative in America has not been an easy one. In a society given to radical rapid change, he has been the advocate of caution. Against those who argued the advantages of the continually new, he has preached the utility of the old." (Editor's Preface, no page number) It was educational to see Root in this new light.
For historians, Root actually represents Progressive movement. His tenure as the Secretary of War, from 1899 to 1904 was the culmination of almost fifteen years of institutional and cultural reform within the Army establishment. Through his masterful manipulation of the system he was able to create changes within that bastion of tradition, the United States Army. In both structure and systems Root brought the Army, some parts of it screaming in protest, as others cheered, into the twentieth century. Through his creation of a viable General Staff system, to putting his shoulder behind the schools system, Root very much is at the base of the tower of the modern U.S. military. I have had to revise my own appraisal of Root in his role as the Secretary of War. I now subscribe, though Leopold did not identify this himself, to the vision of Root as an organizational man, in the Weibe tradition.
Root was, Leopold shows us, first a corporate lawyer. Leopold makes much of this, and attributes quite a lot of weight to this training and others perceptions of him due to that work. I am not sure that I subscribe as wholly to that thesis, but Leopold's depth of knowledge on this topic is undoubtedly greater than mine, so I cede the point.
Root was, for those that forget, also the Secretary of State to his good friend (and initially his mentee) Theodore Roosevelt. It was here that Leopold feels that Root made his greatest contributions, especially as the architect of the hemispheric policy of America as the "Good Neighbor." Prior to Root's tenure, the nations of Latin and Southern America had been treated in official Washington somewhat as "poor cousins." Root reversed that trend and instituted a policy whereby he, personally, developed good friendships with several Latin/Southern diplomats and ambassadors. He also associated the United States with Mexico as guarantors of hemispheric peace and stability. He also worked hard to bolster the representation of the hemisphere in The Hague, raising their representation from a mere two in 1899 to eighteen in 1899. All of this very personal and direct attention paid dividends, as friends are easier to persuade in larger issues than enemies are to coerce.
During the First World War, while he held no official position, Root cannot be ignored either. Though always a prominent and personal critic of Wilson, it took some time for Root to shift towards interventionism, which he eventually did. It was in this era, and primarily through his opposition to Wilson, that Root became labeled as a Conservative. As he ruminated over the issue of the great peace to follow the great war, Root adapted the position of the conservative. More deeply grounded in the older traditions of the American role in the world, Root hesitated. He argued against the Wilsonian leap into the void, and preferred instead a more systematic approach, as befits a man who organized his mind first as a lawyer.
That Root also personally disliked, in fact hated, Wilson is also an important aspect that Leopold brings out. As a member of the Russian Mission in 1918 Root had recognized that his job was thankless, and to some a deliberate attempt by Wilson to appear broad, while simultaneously marginalizing one of his most prominent opponents. Root neither forgave nor forgot. This too added to his opposition.
It is difficult, as you may have surmised by now, to write a critical analysis of a biography. There is no thesis to counter, and unless you too are a biographer of that same person, you are forced to rely upon the facts as they are presented by the author. That has led to the fact that this review has been largely a recitation of facts, devoid of any deeper analysis. So be it. For all of that, I found this biography enlightening in several respects. Leopold does a marvelous job, albeit in an almost postscriptive chapter titled "Appraisal" of exploring and bringing to light the very real human being that was the subject of the biography. It helps the reader, especially in a work as short and as focused as this one is, to make contact with the subject. No review can comfortably encompass a life which is only incompletely analyzed in a book. I suggest that you look at this book, read the preface and the "Appraisal."