Private Illness and Public Policy: The Cases of James Forrestal and John Winant

The illnesses and suicides of James Forrestal and John Winant are examined for their possible relevance to problems of stress and breakdown in political decision-making areas. The depressions of Forrestal and Winant are related to their personal lives and political careers. The author argues that some of their personal problems found expression in their careers but that the serious consequences of these problems for policy decisions were checked by a variety of restrictions on office holding in American government. Much more research is needed, however, to determine what might be done to prevent mental illness and breakdown in high office.