Walter Lippmann and the American Century — 1 The Only Child

1. 1. Walter Lippmann was raised in a wealthy German-Jewish family in New York, sent to elite schools and annual European tours, and was an only child.
2. 2. At age eight, Lippmann met Admiral George Dewey and heard Theodore Roosevelt speak, becoming an unqualified hero-worshiper of Roosevelt.
3. 3. Lippmann believed the essence of statesmanship is acting upon the hidden realities of a situation despite appearances.
4. 4. As a child, Lippmann conquered his fear of ghosts by rationally identifying a ghost with a lace curtain, illustrating his lifelong reliance on reason.
5. 5. Lippmann's relationship with his father Jacob was distant; he felt indifference rather than anger, and his father's death in 1927 brought relief, not sorrow.
6. 6. Lippmann's geography teacher Fred Thompson became a crucial father figure, model of masculinity, and lifelong friend.
7. 7. Lippmann attended the secular Sachs School for Boys, which served the German-Jewish elite and emphasized assimilation into American culture.
8. 8. Lippmann's family, like other German Jews, looked down on Eastern European Jewish immigrants, viewing them as 'Oriental' and unassimilable.
9. 9. Lippmann initially aspired to be an art historian, inspired by John Ruskin, and was mentored by Isabella Stewart Gardner at the Louvre.
10. 10. At Harvard, Lippmann soon lost interest in art history and replaced Ruskin with other heroes, beginning his shift toward journalism and public affairs.