The Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

Annual Alumni Education Award

2008 Book Award

Kissinger at 90: Still a Force to Be Reckoned With?

Henry Kissinger: Realism, Domestic Politics, and the Struggle Against Exceptionalism in American Foreign Policy

Legacies of détente: a three-way discussion

John J. McCloy was the “wise man” of the Cold War era who had the longest substantial American connection with Germany. A self-made man of great ambition, enormous vitality, and extraordinary tenacity, McCloy served in several government positions before being appointed High Commissioner of Germany in 1949.



America’s Germany John J. McCloy and the Federal Republic of Germany

“Schwartz’s carefully researched and thoughtfully presented history of Johnson’s European policy is not only fascinating for the light it casts on this enigmatic president; it also shows the degree to which today’s transatlantic tensions reflect permanent fault lines between Cold War partners.”—Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs




Lyndon Johnson and Europe In the Shadow of Vietnam

Using a wide array of recently declassified archival materials in the United States and Western Europe, this collection offers new insights into the changing dynamics of transatlantic relations during the era of détente (1969–1980). Whereas prior studies of this decade have focused on the end of the Vietnam War or U.S.-Soviet relations, this volume reveals why bitter conflicts developed between the U.S. and its European allies, and how, contrary to conventional wisdom, European integration evo



The Strained Alliance US-European Relations from Nixon to Carter

Vanderbilt is a dynamic center of research, learning and growth - a private research university of 6,300 undergrads and 5,300 grad/professional students.

Vanderbilt University

Thomas Alan Schwartz is a historian of the foreign relations of the United States, with related interests in American politics, the history of international relations, Modern European history, and biography. His most recent book is Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography (Hill and Wang, 2020).  The book has received considerable notice and acclaim.  Harvard’s University’s Charles Maier has written: "Thomas Schwartz's superbly researched political biography reveals the brilliance, self-serving ego, and vulnerability of America's most remarkable diplomat in the twentieth century, even as it provides a history of U.S. engagement in global politics as it moved beyond bipolarity."   Earlier in his career, Schwartz was the author of America’s Germany: John J. McCloy and the Federal Republic of Germany (Harvard, 1991), which was translated into German, Die Atlantik Brücke (Ullstein, 1992). This book received the Stuart Bernath Book Prize of the Society of American Foreign Relations, and the Harry S. Truman Book Award, given by the Truman Presidential Library. He is also the author of Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam (Harvard, 2003), which examined the Johnson Administration’s policy toward Europe and assessed the impact of the war in Vietnam on its other foreign policy objectives. He is the co-editor with Matthias Schulz of The Strained Alliance: U.S.-European Relations from Nixon to Carter, (Cambridge University Press, 2009). 

Professor Schwartz has held fellowships from the Social Science Research Council, the German Historical Society, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Center for the Study of European Integration. He has served as President of the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations. He served on the United States Department of State’s Historical Advisory Committee as the representative of the Organization of American Historians from 2005-2008.

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History of U.S. Foreign Policy

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History of the U.S. Presidency

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Brittney Griner pleads guilty in Russia, but experts warn next steps may have serious consequences

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Disunion haunts U.S. on its 245th birthday

Both sides in Israel-Gaza conflict lay groundwork for victory narratives

Bipartisan Disgust Could Save the Republic

Republicans Blast Democrats As Socialists. Here's What Socialism Is

Trump not the first president to be infected in a pandemic, Woodrow Wilson was in the same spot a century ago.

GOP unlikely to reprise role it played in Nixon’s 1974 exit

Trump will likely survive his primary challenge from Joe Walsh — but history suggests that it could hurt him in the general election

Former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony, like his report, promises an ink-blot test for partisans

The Arab Spring: Revolution in the Middle East

Henry Kissinger, Vietnam, and Iraq: The Problem of Realism in American Foreign Policy

vanderbilt-historian-and-henry-kissinger-biographer-on-kissinger-legacy-ahead-of-100th-birthday

Distinguished Professor of History

 Thomas Schwartz, Distinguished Professor of History, is available for commentary surrounding the legacy of Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, ahead of his 100th birthday (May 27, 2023).

A historian of U.S. foreign relations, American politics, international relations and Modern European history, Thomas is the author of “Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography.”   Thomas can discuss Kissinger’s:
Mixed bag legacy, receiving both praise for his guidance throughout the decades and criticism for his more controversial decisions Approach to foreign policy and leadership style, including: ability to recognize failures, penchant for backbiting and reliance on flattery and praise of the president as a source of power Invention of himself as a celebrity diplomat and his domination of TV news Sensitivity to domestic and partisan politics   

Vanderbilt historian and Henry Kissinger biographer on Kissinger legacy ahead of 100th birthday

Watch video of "America and the Vietnam War" from the Osher Lifelong Lecture Series event on Feb. 7.  Thomas A. Schwartz, a professor of history and political science at Vanderbilt, examines the war's history, United States' involvement, anti-war protests and more.

Lifelong learners aged 50 and above can sign up for the non-credit, six-week classes taught by Vanderbilt faculty, alumni and other experts.

To learn more about Vanderbilt, visit http://www.vanderbilt.edu.

Thomas A. Schwartz: "America and the Vietnam War" (2/7/13)

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