January 28, 2025
SIU’s Paul Simon Institute director to discuss presidential transitions
CARBONDALE, Ill. — John Shaw, director of Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, will discuss presidential transitions during the White House Historical Association’s meeting on Thursday, Jan. 30.
Shaw’s discussion, “A Presidential Transition for the Ages,” is at 5 p.m. and part of the historical association’s “History Happy Hour.” In his talk with Todd Arrington, director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Shaw will focus on the transition between Eisenhower and President John F. Kennedy following the 1960 election.
The discussion, via Zoom, is free and open to the public, but registration to view the conversation is required.
Shaw wrote “Rising Star, Setting Sun: Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and the Presidential Transition that Changed America” in 2018. The book chronicles the 10 weeks between Kennedy’s election on Nov. 8, 1960, and his inauguration on Jan. 20, 1961, and depicts the end of the Eisenhower era and the beginning of the Kennedy administration. Shaw appeared on C-SPAN to discuss that book in October 2018.
“This transition was not just a change in the presidency, but a symbolic moment reflecting the tensions between the wisdom of age and the enthusiasm of youth,” Shaw said, noting that Kennedy had defeated Eisenhower’s vice president, Richard Nixon, and the transition was “shaped by deep contrasts in their backgrounds, visions and leadership styles.”
Despite those stark differences, both Eisenhower and Kennedy were “forced to collaborate amidst global crises in Cuba, the Congo, Berlin and Southeast Asia,” Shaw said.