United States
£ GBP
US Senator George P. McLean’s crowning achievement was overseeing the passage of one of the country’s first and most important wildlife conservation laws, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The MBTA, which is still in effect today, has saved billions of birds from senseless killing and likely prevented the extinction of entire bird species. A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington: George P. McLean, Birdman of the Senate puts McLean’s victory for birds in the context of his distinguished forty-five-year career marked by many acts of reform during a time of widespread corruption and political instability. Author Will McLean Greeley traces McLean’s rise from obscurity as a Connecticut farm boy to national prominence when he advised five US presidents and helped lead change and shape events as a US senator from 1911 to 1929.
Will McLean Greeley grew up in western Michigan with a passion for American history, politics, and birds. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan and then a master’s degree from Michigan in archives administration. After retiring from a thirty-five-year career in government and corporate market research, he embarked upon a three-year research and writing journey to learn about his great-great-uncle George P. McLean and his legacy. A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington is his first book.
"On one level this is a fascinating, and thoroughly researched, glimpse into the workings of US politics in the early twentieth century. On another level it's an inspiring story of one man's determination and steadfast commitment to securing legal protections for birds. I am glad to know more about George McLean."
– David Allen Sibley, author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds
"This engaging biography reconstructs the career of Senator George P. McLean, highlighting his spirited campaign to protect migratory birds from excessive game-hunting. McLean skillfully shepherded his bill through both Republican and Democratic administrations, overcame strident opposition in Congress, and established an enduring environmental policy."
– Donald A. Ritchie, US Senate Historian Emeritus
"Will Greeley has written a careful scholarly work about an influential politician whom historians have, unfortunately, neglected. This is a thoughtful, and very nicely written, book about people and politics. Not to mention: birds too! And there's a bonus: this book is also a love song to a distant relative. We need more historians who truly care about the people they're writing about, and Greeley does just that."
– Robert D. Johnston, PhD Historian, University of Illinois/Chicago
"This book provides wonderful insights into Connecticut politics from the Civil War to the Roaring 20's. George P. McLean was a Connecticut powerhouse, serving in its legislature, Governor, United States Attorney and United States Senator. Will Greeley does a tremendous job in telling the extraordinary story of this man, his contributions and his times."
– The Honorable Stanley A. Twardy, Jr., Partner, Day Pitney LLP, former United States Attorney for Connecticut, and chief of staff and aide to Lowell Weicker, Governor and U.S. Senator for Connecticut
"One of the tragedies of American politics is that we focus so much on presidents and, even then, only the most charismatic. Lost to posterity are the state legislators, governors, and congresspeople that have shaped the American experience. Greeley's biography reminds us of Senator George P. McLean and the politics behind the progressive movements of Roosevelt and LaFollette, the crucible of World War I, and the irrational exuberance of the Roaring Twenties. Greater still is McLean's conservation legacy. A richly painted portrait, no other book does as much to illustrate the life of this Connecticut icon."
– Dr. Michael P. Cullinane, PhD, MA, BA, Professor, School of Humanities, University of Roehampton (England)
"I highly recommend A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington to those interested in the history of the conservation movement in the U.S. For a quarter century, I have taught my ornithology students about the vital importance of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, but until I read this wonderful book, I had no knowledge of its origins. Will Greeley has done a great service to avian conservation by explaining, in lucid and engaging prose, how political maneuvering and strategies that sound all too familiar to a 21st century ear produced the Weeks-McLean Act, and then the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which has weathered political challenges for more than 100 years."
– Dr. Geoffrey Hill, Ph.D., M.S., B.S., Professor and Curator of Birds, Auburn University
"The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 is considered to be one of the most important conservation achievements of the 20th century, credited for saving millions or even billions of birds, but few of us who value and appreciate this law know the history and sausage-making behind it. During the current era of deep partisan and cultural divide, it is useful and inspiring to be reminded that, historically, both Democrats and Republicans have championed environmental conservation. Senator George McLean was a wealthy, progressive Republican who witnessed declines in bird populations during the course of his lifetime, and understood that federal and international laws – with teeth – were necessary to reverse this disturbing and dangerous trajectory. While most of this book is an interesting biography of McLean, Chapter 9: The Birdman of the Senate, is an essential and fascinating read for anyone who wishes to understand the history of the MTBA."
– Dawn Hewitt, editor, Bird Watcher's Digest
"In the process of recovering the story of an esteemed ancestor, Will McLean Greeley has expansively illuminated a significant figure in Connecticut history and the transformative era of industrial growth and reform through which he lived. Greeley's book vividly brings to life his great-great uncle George P. McLean (1857-1932), Connecticut governor and long-time U.S. senator, showing both his personal side as a well-to-do descendant of colonial Connecticut's Protestant settlers and his career as a Republican Party, lawyer and politician who engaged major state and national issues and personalities of his day, secured enactment of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and befriended national leaders such as President Calvin Coolidge. In doing so, Greeley has unearthed a wealth of new information about a neglected period of Connecticut history and its Republican side, an accomplishment that should interest professional historians and Connecticut history enthusiasts alike."
– Donald W. Rogers, Central Connecticut State University (Retired), Author of Making Capitalism Safe: Work Safety and Health Regulation in America, 1880-1940 (2009) and Workers against the City: The Fight for Free Speech in Hague v. CIO (2020), and editor of Voting and the Spirit of American Democracy: Essays on the History of Voting and Voting Rights in America (1992)
"The Weeks-McLean Act of 1913, one of the great milestones in the history of American bird conservation, has been eclipsed in the popular consciousness by its successor, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. George P. McLean was instrumental in the drafting and passage of both laws. This new and comprehensive biography of McLean – senator, governor, and pioneering conservationist – sets those accomplishments in the rich context of a life of public service in an America undergoing some of the most rapid changes in its history. Greeley's gracefully written and thoroughly researched biography is highly recommended to anyone interested in the politics of conservation."
– Rick Wright, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours
"I would highly recommend this wonderful book, which focuses on the important role of George P. McLean in Connecticut and national politics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I was fascinated by the role that McLean played in promoting legislation protecting birds; this is a part of environmental history that I knew nothing about. Will Greeley cares deeply about the relative that is his subject matter; I was brought to tears by the epilogue of this book."
– Stephen Armstrong, Social Studies Consultant, Connecticut State Department of Education, Past President, National Council for the Social Studies
