1001 People Who Made America - Alan Axelrod [94]
Ness, Eliot (1903–1957) In 1929, Ness was hired as a Department of Justice agent to lead the Chicago branch of the Prohibition Bureau for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting the infamous Al Capone. His force of nine investigators, regarded as immune to corruption, were dubbed the Untouchables. Information gathered by the Untouchables eventually resulted in Capone’s conviction for income tax evasion.
Nevelson, Louise (1899/1900–1988) Born Louise Berliawsky in Kiev, Ukraine, she immigrated to the United States with her family in 1905 and in 1920 married businessman Charles Nevelson, whom she subsequently left in order to pursue her artistic career. Nevelson created unique abstract sculptures, typically monochromatic, and almost always interlocking assemblages of found objects. Although she exhibited as early as 1941, it was not until the 1950s that she received wide recognition.
Newton, Huey P. (1942–1989) Newton was an African American political activist who co-founded (with Bobby Seale) the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California, in 1966, to defend the black community against police brutality. Many in the white community considered the Black Panthers a street gang and Newton an example of dangerous black militancy; however, Newton saw the Panthers as a means of providing social services to the black community. Accused of murder in 1974 (he had previously served time for manslaughter), Newton fled to Cuba, but returned to face charges. Two trials ended in hung juries. Newton earned a Ph.D. in social philosophy from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1980. He was found, shot to death, on an Oakland street in 1989.
Niebuhr, Reinhold (1892–1971) Niebuhr’s critique of theological liberalism during the 1920s profoundly shaped modern American Protestantism. For many intellectual Protestants, it was Niebuhr’s philosophy that helped them to maintain their faith. During World War II, this former pacifist played an important role in persuading American Christians to support the struggle against Hitler and Nazism.
Nimitz, Chester W. (1885–1966) A brilliant administrator, strategist, and naval leader, Nimitz was the principal architect of the U.S. naval victory against Japan in the Pacific during World War II. He had overall command of all naval and land forces and, in conjunction with General Douglas MacArthur, formulated the “island-hopping” strategy that closed in on the Japanese home islands, leading to the defeat of the enemy and the end of the war.
Nixon, Richard M. (1913–1994) A California Republican, Nixon rose to national prominence as a red-baiting U.S. representative (1948–1951) and senator (1951–1953), earning the epithet “Tricky Dick” for his ruthless campaign tactics. Tapped as Dwight Eisenhower’s running mate in 1952, he served two terms as vice-president (1953–1961), then was defeated by John F. Kennedy in the presidential elections of 1960 and also lost the California gubernatorial race in 1962. Although many wrote off his political career, he reemerged as the Republican presidential candidate in 1968 and defeated Democrat Hubert Humphrey. Nixon promised to end the war in Vietnam, and although he did withdraw large numbers of U.S. troops, he expanded the air war with massive bomb strikes and invaded Vietnam’s neighbor, Cambodia. His Vietnam policy increased the tempo and severity of antiwar demonstrations in the U.S. Conservative though it was, the Nixon administration also saw great strides in environmental legislation and in progress toward the end of the Cold War, as this hardline “Cold Warrior” reached out to the Soviet Union and, more