The Man Everybody Knew

Bruce Barton was voted most likely to succeed while a senior at Amherst College in 1907—and succeed he did. Barton became a writer of best-selling inspirational books, a founder of an innovative advertising agency (Batten, Barton, Durstine, and Osborne [BBD&O]), and a powerful political adviser who helped Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover in their presidential bids. He was also one of the best copywriters of his generation, penning slogans for clients such as the Salvation Army (“A man may be down, but he's never out”). Historians have written about different parts of Barton's life. Warren Susman placed Barton alongside Henry Ford and Babe Ruth as popular embodiments of 1920s culture, which celebrated salesmanship, consumption, and sport. Donald Meyer saw Barton's The Man Nobody Knows (1925)—which portrayed Christ as an effective salesman and organization-builder—as part of America's tradition of positive thinking, thereby linking Barton with Mary Baker Eddy and Norman Vincent Peale. Roland Marchand focused instead on Barton's work in creating a “corporate soul” for companies such as General Motors and General Electric

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• Broadcasting Mainline Protestantism

  Open Access•Meelis Stamm, Michael Stamm•Religion and American Culture A…•2012

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