The American journalist, historian, and diplomat Claude Gernade Bowers (1878-1958) wrote partisan but influential works on American political leaders. He had a successful career as an editorial columnist and as an ambassador.

Claude Bowers was born in Westfield, Ind., on Nov. 20, 1878, the son of a merchant. His formal education consisted of private tutoring, high school in Indianapolis, and a brief period reading law. By chance he became a newspaperman, writing editorials for the Indianapolis Sentinel (1901-1903) and for the Terre Haute Star (1903-1906).

From his high school days, when he had read the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Bowers espoused the cause of democracy and the Democratic party. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1904 and again in 1906. He served on the Terre Haute Board of Public Works (1906-1911) and was secretary to U.S. Senator John Worth Kern (1911-1917). Bowers then returned to journalism...