James MacGregor Burns

James MacGregor Burns (born August 3, 1918 in Boston , Massachusetts , † July 15, 2014 in Williamstown , Massachusetts) was an American political scientist and historian .

Burns taught leadership studies and was Woodrow Wilson Professor of Political Science at Williams College , where he also graduated. Burns later worked at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland , College Park .

Life

Burns received his bachelor's degree from Williams College in 1938. He worked for some time as a staff member for Democratic Congressman Orrice Abram Murdock . From 1943 to 1946 Burns worked as a historian for the US Forces in the Pacific. As part of this activity, he was awarded a Bronze Star and four Battle Stars for his participation in the conquest of Saipan , Guam and Okinawa. Returning from the war, he continued his studies at Harvard University , where he was awarded his doctorate in 1947. He then taught "Leadership Studies" at Williams College. In 1958 Burns ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Representatives for the Democratic Party. He was delegated to a “Democratic National Convention” four times. In 1978 he published one of the most important works on leadership in organizational sciences, Leadership .

Burns had a significant impact on organizational research through his investigations into the leadership behavior of presidents and introduced the concept of transaction-oriented leadership (focus on immediate processes) as opposed to transformational leadership (long-term, visionary). With this differentiation, the focus on the characteristics of “great men” and the management of change also went over to the interactions between the leader and the led as cooperation with advantages for both sides. Burns became widely known through his biographies on US Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy ; In 1971 he received a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award for Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945 . Since 1957 he was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . In 1971 he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society .

Burns campaigned politically to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the American Constitution , which limits the presidential terms to two. He died on July 15, 2014 at the age of 95 in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

bibliography

• Roosevelt. The Lion and the Fox . Bombay Jaico Publishing, New York 1968.
• Roosevelt. Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945 . Harcourt Trade Publishers, New York 1970, ISBN 0-15-602757-7 .
• Transforming leadership. The Pursuit of Happiness . Atlantic Monthly Press, New York 2003, ISBN 0-87113-866-2 .
• (with Susan Dunn): The Three Roosevelts. Patrician Leaders Who Transformed America . Grove Press, New York 2001, ISBN 0-8021-3872-1 .
• Leadership . Harper Collins, New York 1978, ISBN 0-06-010588-7 .
• John Kennedy. A Political Profile
• Government by the people .
• Packing the Court. The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court . Penguin Group, New York 2009, ISBN 1-594-20219-2 .

Web links

• University of Maryland's James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership
• Booknotes interview with Burns on The Crosswinds of Freedom , June 4, 1989.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Website ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. the JM Burns Academy  
2. ↑ ^{a b} Jepson School of Leadership Studies  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b} S9 biography
4. ^ The Globe, December 26, 2007, accessed November 30, 2010
5. ↑ Stuart Crainer (1998) key management ideas, the thinkers who change the way we manage ; Third edition; London / Edinburgh Gate; Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-273-63808-4 paperback
6. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter B. (PDF; 1.2 MB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved May 26, 2018 (English). 
7. ^ Member History: James MacGregor Burns. American Philosophical Society, accessed May 26, 2018 (English, with short biography). 
8. ↑ James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn: No More Second-Term Blues , The New York Times: Op-Ed . January 5, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2009. "Some defenders of the 22nd Amendment might argue that anincumbent second-term president would have an even more formidable and undeserved advantage in recognition, experience and the prestige of his office today than in the 1940's. " 
9. ↑ Bruce Weber: James M. Burns, a Scholar of Presidents and Leadership, Dies at 95. Obituary in The New York Times, July 15, 2014 (accessed July 15, 2014).