Washington, D.C. by Gore Vidal
**Overview of "Washington, D.C." by Gore Vidal**
"Washington, D.C." is a historical novel set against the backdrop of American political evolution, focusing on the intricate dynamics of power, governance, and individual agency. The narrative begins in July 1937 and chronicles the experiences of a fictitious southern senator, James Burden Day, who opposes President Franklin D. Roosevelt's expansive New Deal policies. This tension reflects broader ideological conflicts regarding the role of government in American life. Vidal explores themes of moral responsibility and the impact of individual leaders on historical events, positing that while individuals can influence outcomes, they are often swept along by larger impersonal forces, such as nationalism and imperialism.
The novel traverses significant historical moments, including the Great Depression, World War II, and the onset of the Cold War, culminating in Day's struggle to maintain relevance in an evolving political landscape dominated by militarization and global aspirations. Through the character of Burden Day and his adversaries, Vidal critiques the transition from a republic rooted in individual freedom to an empire engaged in global power plays. The juxtaposition of Day's decency against the ambition of his manipulative assistant, Clay Overbury, serves as a poignant reflection on the moral complexities within political life. Ultimately, "Washington, D.C." serves as a meditation on the fragility of ideals and the disillusionment that can accompany a life in politics.
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Washington, D.C. by Gore Vidal
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1967
Type of work: Novel
The Work
Vidal has said that he was born to be a writer but was trained to be a politician; he grew up in the environment he describes in Washington, D.C. The origins of the United States fascinate him, and he uses his historical novels to trace the evolution of the nation’s history. Vidal keeps his focus on the elite, as he believes that the masses of people have little to do with shaping the course of American national history. He confronts one of the oldest and hardest questions that historians face: Do individuals (the “great” men and women) shape history, or do impersonal forces (such as the rise of nationalism or the intertwining of global economies) shape history and sweep individual leaders along with the tide? Vidal says, “A good ruler in a falling time falls, too, while a bad ruler at a time of national ascendancy rises,” then adds, “But, men certainly affect events. . . . the only moral life is to act as if whatever one does is of great moment.”
Washington, D.C. moves through the years of the Great Depression, World War II, the beginning of the Cold War, the Joseph McCarthy period of anticommunist hysteria, and the Korean War. It opens in July, 1937. A fictitious southern senator, James Burden Day, has successfully led the fight to block an attempt by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) to pack the Supreme Court with supporters of his New Deal program. Day, who has similarities to Vidal’s grandfather, Senator Gore, is being pushed for the presidency by anti-Roosevelt conservatives, and he wants to save the republic from FDR. He and the president represent two opposing principles, Day says: FDR believes that government must do everything for the people, while he, Senator Day, believes it cannot do much more than it is doing if individuals are going to retain any sort of private freedom.
Day is a decent, restrained man. He does not have much idealistic feeling for others, although “he tried, for he truly believed that one ought to be good.” In his quest for the presidency, he is supported by his smart, cold assistant, Clay Overbury, and by Blaise Sanford, a ruthless newspaper publisher who wants to make someone—anyone—president. Burden Day has a major problem, however: He lacks money to run a campaign, as he has not used his office to enrich himself. Blaise introduces him to a man who represents oil interests. He offers Senator Day money in return for a favor that will benefit those interests. Day agrees, but in the contest for the presidency, Roosevelt outmaneuvers him and goes on to win the 1940 and 1944 elections.
Burden Day remains senator but finds himself on the periphery of power as Roosevelt and his successors, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, move the United States into a new arena as a world imperial power and leader of the so-called free world during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. A central point in the mind of Day (and Vidal) is that the American empire is no different from any other empire. The republic, based on the ideal of a small government with limited power and on the dignity of the individual, is submerged within a militarized empire that operates on a global scale.
As an old man who has served in Washington since the days of Woodrow Wilson, Day decides in the early 1950’s to run for one last term in the Senate. Overbury, however, now the son-in-law of Sanford, uses his knowledge of the bribe to force his friend Day to withdraw from the race. Overbury takes Burden’s seat in the Senate. If Day is a decent, modest, flawed man, Overbury, with some similarities to John F. Kennedy, is an empty man without belief in friends, ideals, or issues. He only wants power. At the end, Overbury has his power and Burden Day dies, perhaps by suicide. As Burden dies, he tells a ghostly vision of his father, “It has all gone wrong.” Presumably he means that not only his life has gone wrong but the promise of the American republic has also been lost.
Bibliography
Dick, Bernard F. The Apostate Angel: A Critical Study of Gore Vidal. New York: Random House, 1974.
Ebersole, Lucinda, and Richard Peabody, eds. Conversations with Gore Vidal. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2005.
Kaplan, Fred. Gore Vidal: A Biography. New York: Doubleday, 1999.
Stanton, Robert J. Gore Vidal: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1978.
Stanton, Robert J., and Gore Vidal, eds. Views from a Window: Conversations with Gore Vidal. Secaucus, N.J.: Lyle Stuart, 1980.
White, Ray Lewis. Gore Vidal. New York: Twayne, 1968.