Benjamin V. Cohen: Architect of the New Deal

A key figure in the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, Benjamin V. Cohen (1894-1983) was made a major architect of public policy from the first days of FDR's presidency through the early days of the Cold War. Although he kept a low public profile, Cohen's influence extended across a wide range of domestic and foreign policy initiatives. In this biography, William Lasser offers an account of Ben Cohen's life and career, and an assessment of his contribution to the origin and development of modern American liberalism. The volume traces Cohen's contributions to domestic financial policy, his activities during the war years in London and Washington, his service as counsellor to the State Department and member of the American delegation to the United Nations after the war, and his role in the American Zionist movement.