Bruce Campbell Hopper

Bruce Campbell Hopper (born August 24, 1892 , † July 6, 1973 ) was a World War I pilot, newspaper reporter, author, historian and lecturer who worked from 1930 to 1961 as a government assistant professor at Harvard University . An early expert on the Soviet Union , he wrote influential articles, taught politics at the United States Department of State, and lectured for over thirty years. Its numerous students include such people as Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. , John F. Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy . Dr. Hopper accompanied and advised John F. Kennedy during the completion of his diploma thesis at Harvard, which was finally published as a book entitled " Why England Slept ".

Childhood and youth

Hopper was born in Litchfield, Illinois to Josepf Hopper and Katherine Turnbull. Joseph Hopper was a farmer and immigrated to the USA from Balloch in Scotland in 1882 . Bruce Campbell Hopper spent his childhood in Billings, Montana . In 1913 he enrolled at the University of Montana . In 1914 he became a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. Shortly after the Montana Harvard Club realized his potential and intelligence, he received a scholarship and moved to Harvard.

First World War

Hopper left the university in the spring of 1917 and volunteered for the AFS Intercultural Encounters as a truck driver. There he was responsible for the supply of supplies for the French army on the fronts in Soissons and Reims . When the USA joined the war, he left the AFS and enrolled in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) as private first class with the United States Army Signal Corps . The army selected him for flight training. After completing the training, he received the title of first lieutenant. He then served as a fighter pilot in the 96th Aero Squadron in France. He flew a Breguet 14 -B.2 bomber. In early 1918 he was injured in a collision. He recovered quickly and then flew until the fighting ended. He was honored after shooting down two enemy planes and was promoted to captain in October 1918. Awarded for his services, he received the French Legion of Honor , the French Croix de guerre , a Silver Star citation and a Pershing citation. At the time of the armistice, Hopper was one of two survivors of the original 96th Aero squadron.

During his time at the General Headquarters in Paris in 1919, he wrote both the history of the 96th Aero Squadron and the official military history of the Army on the day of the bombing campaign in France. This was later published under the title When the Air Was Young: American Day Bombardment, AEF, 1917-1918.

Interwar period

After leaving the army in 1919, he briefly studied at the Sorbonne , Exeter College and Oxford University .

From 1921 to 1923 he traveled around the world with a friend. They supported each other while working as reporters for some English language newspapers and while traveling around Europe , Mid-Easter, Russia , India , Southeast Asia, and China .

He then continued his studies at Harvard in 1923, completing his Bachelor's degree in 1924, followed by a Master's in 1925. In August 1924, Hopper married in Dublin , New Hampshire, 26-year-old Effie Toye from New York.

From 1927 to 1929 he continued his studies in the Soviet Union as a member of the Institute of current World Affairs , sponsored by the businessman and philanthropist Charles Richard Crane . Until his return to the United States, he could be called one of the first academic experts in the field of the Soviet Union.

Hopper received his PhD from Harvard in 1930 and joined the faculty as a state assistant professor. Harvard President Abbott Lawrence Lowell encouraged him to publish articles and make public speeches on the Soviet Union during the 1930s. Both shared the common interest to explore how the experience of the Soviet Union could have on the American economy helpful under the "Great Depression" ( Great Depression suffered).

Hopper made frequent returns to the Soviet Union in the 1930s, again sponsored by Charles Richard Crane. His travels were both out of academic interest and in the interest of the United States Department of State , which questioned him in depth about his trip and promptly classified many of his observations. This had the effect of minimizing his ability to publish works. His supporters got the feeling that this fact reduced his chances of advancement to a full professor. Others, however, saw the reason for this in the lack of documentation of his research results and in his works. But everyone agreed that Hopper was an excellent speaker. His lectures were also very popular. During the 1930s, Hopper was in regular contact with some officials of the United States State Department , including people such as George F. Kennan and Loy W. Henderson , because of the policy towards the Soviet Union .

Originally, Dr. Hopper sympathized with the Soviet idea of ​​progress towards industry and agriculture and thought that the US could benefit from the centralized planning models. He also correctly predicted the rising power of the Soviets in the early 1930s and that influence in the east would lead to conflict with the United States. Regarding the famine and widespread malnutrition that arose in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, Hopper coined the phrase that Russia was ready to "starve itself to greatness."

His Russophile view began to wane in 1938 when he wrote that "virtue has gone from the leaders in Russia".

Collaboration with John F. Kennedy

In 1937 Hopper became a state lecturer. He taught political science and international affairs. Among his students were the three Kennedy brothers Joseph, John and Ted.

Dr. Hopper was also an advisor on John F. Kennedy's master's thesis , which was later published under the title " Why England Slept ". Kennedy began this work in the winter of 1939/40 and visited Dr. Hopper once a week to talk to him about his progress. JFK believed that no matter the risk, going to war with the United States was a moral imperative to help Britain and France. The two men discuss JFK's master's thesis and the prospect of war in detail, and Hopper's past as a war veteran also gave him great credibility.

Second World War

Hopper took a six year hiatus from teaching, during and shortly after World War II, to serve at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency ) in Sweden, where he studied and interpreted Soviet actions around the Baltic States. Hopper also served as chief historian for the Eighth Air Force and the US Strategic Air Forces. He then worked at the Pentagon as a special advisor and speechwriter to General Carl A. Spaatz . Hopper and Spaatz had served together in World War I.

post war period

In 1946 and 1947, Hopper was involved in the site selection for the new United States Air Force Academy . After returning to the academy in 1947, he was promoted to assistant professor. Hopper's research did not help his prospects, and neither did the long time he spent away from the academy in the military, which at two was more than most of his colleagues, got him no further. After the war, his interests in teaching increasingly shifted towards aviation as an influence on international affairs. He played a key role in the new Russia Research Center, now known as the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Hopper spoke frequently about Soviet and Russian affairs at Naval War College and Army War College . He also traveled extensively and made many speeches on his travels in Europe and Central America. He was a trustee of the World Peace Foundation and a member of the Institute of Pacific Relations, the American-Russian Institute, the Council of the Foreign Policy Association, and the Council on Foreign Relations .

After he left Harvard to retire in 1961, Hopper lived in Santa Barbara, California .

Shortly before his death, he wrote that "his gratitude to Harvard is beyond measurable". He further said: "Of all the privileges that have been granted to me, teaching was the most important thing to me, especially after my return after the Second World War". At the end he added: “I miss the classroom where it's always morning and night never enters”.

Hopper died on July 6, 1973. His works were shared between the Library of Congress, the University of Montana, and the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Ido Oren: Our enemies and US: America's rivalries and the making of political science , 1st publ. Edition, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY 2003, ISBN 9780801435669 .
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} archiveswest.orbiscascade.org bruce hopper
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Government Professor Bruce Hopper, Teacher of Three Kennedys, Dies .
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Jack .
5. ↑ ^{a b} Yellowstone County, Montana, in the World War, 1917-1918-1919 .
6. ^ ^{A b c} Full text of "The Delta of Sigma Nu Fraternity" .
7. ^ ^{A b} New Perspectives on Russian-American Relations .
8. ↑ ^{a b c} Hostile Skies .
9. ^ ^{A b} Harvard's Military Record in the World War .
10. ^ Vassar Miscellany News December 11, 1940 - Vassar Newspaper Archive .
11. ↑ https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DT5K-4M?mode=g&i=876&wc=MJ7D-JWL%3A1042766401%3Fcc%3D1520640&cc=1520640
12. ↑ Modernization from the Other Shore: American Observers ...
13. ↑ Harvard Observed .
14. ^ Letter from Gertrude Sanford Legendre, Aug. 29, 1944 - LCDL Scholar Search .
15. ^ On the Wings of Modernism .
16. ↑ Home Page . In: Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies .