The American Presidents

by Urofsky, Melvin I.

• ISBN13: 9780815321842
• ISBN10: 0815321848
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

What makes a president great? Here is the ideal source for students, scholars, and the general public.The American Presidentsis a collection of articles that analyze and evaluate the presidential careers of the men who have occupied the office since its inception in 1789. In this volume, the leading presidential historians in the United States offer insights into what makes a president great, mediocre, or--in the case of most of them--something in between. The contributors toThe American Presidentswere not asked to write straightforward biographies of the presidents; other sources are available for that. Rather, they were asked to evaluate their subjects. No strict patterns were imposed by the editor; each author approached his or her subject in the way that best illustrated the strengths and weaknesses of the president under consideration. Forty-one have held the office of president and all, in one way or another, were exceptional men. Some, like AndrewJackson and Harry Truman, are usually thought of as representing the "common folk," but nothing was common about either of them. Each proved to be an extraordinary and singular politician able to rally and represent the country through the challenges of their times. Some presidents had achieved brilliance in other fields (Ulysses Grant in the military and Herbert Hoover as an engineer and humanitarian, for example) but had presidencies that are considered unsuccessful. What accounts for this seeming paradox, in which insight, sensitivity, and competence suddenly become "nontransferable" when the man reaches the White House? This book offers the reader multiple perspectives on this and other issues. Examination of the ways in which challenges affect presidential greatness Theodore Roosevelt, a successful president by any standard, was acutely aware that the prosperity and peace the country enjoyed during his two terms in office would, ironically, prevent him from reaching the uppertier of greatness enjoyed by Washington and Lincoln. After he left office, he yearned to return in hope of finding the challenge that would seal his greatness. Earlier, in the late nineteenth century, the electorate placed competent men such as Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison in the White House, but they are little remembered today. None faced earth-shaking challenges at home and abroad, and their presidencies slipped into obscurity. Discussion of personal characteristics andpresidential performance For more than two centuries the presidency has proved a remarkably durable institution. Presidential personalities have varied widely from the patrician aloofness of Washington to the moody introspection of Lincoln to the noisy exuberance of Theodore Roosevelt. The articles inThe American Presidentsconsider the ways in which personality has affected performance. Special features *41 signed essays by the leading experts, illustratedwith portraits of the presidents *Selected bibliographies *At-a-glance summaries of each president's achievements *Useful charts and tables on cabinet members, first ladies, and vice presidents from Washington to Clinton *Addresses and Web sites for major presidential libraries.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Contributors	ix
George Washington	1	(17)
Dorothy Twohig
John Adams	18	(13)
Alan V. Briceland
Thomas Jefferson	31	(17)
Andrew Burstein
James Madison	48	(13)
F. Thornton Miller
James Monroe	61	(11)
Daniel Preston
John Quincy Adams	72	(10)
Greg Russell
Andrew Jackson	82	(18)
Russell L. Riley
Martin Van Buren	100	(10)
David J. Bodenhamer
William Henry Harrison	110	(5)
Leonard L. Richards
John Tyler	115	(6)
Leonard L. Richards
James Knox Polk	121	(9)
Wayne Cutler
Zachary Taylor	130	(7)
Paul Finkelman
Millard Fillmore	137	(7)
Paul Finkelman
Franklin Pierce	144	(9)
Melvin I. Urofsky
James Buchanan	153	(12)
Paul Finkelman
Abraham Lincoln	165	(20)
Richard J. Ellis
Andrew Johnson	185	(12)
Edgar A. Toppin
Ulysses Simpson Grant	197	(10)
Edgar A. Toppin
Rutherford Birchard Hayes	207	(12)
Ari Hoogenboom
James Abram Garfield	219	(6)
R. Hal Williams
Chester Alan Arthur	225	(9)
R. Hal Williams
Stephen Grover Cleveland	234	(12)
Robert M. Goldman
Benjamin Harrison	246	(9)
Lewis L. Gould
William McKinley	255	(9)
Lewis L. Gould
Theodore Roosevelt	264	(14)
Jonathan Lurie
William Howard Taft	278	(10)
David W. Levy
Thomas Woodrow Wilson	288	(16)
John Milton Cooper, Jr.
Warren Gamaliel Harding	304	(9)
Robert F. Martin
John Calvin Coolidge	313	(10)
John W. Johnson
Herbert Clark Hoover	323	(10)
Paul W. Glad
Franklin Delano Roosevelt	333	(22)
Sidney M. Milkis
Harry S. Truman	355	(18)
Alonzo L. Hamby
Dwight David Eisenhower	373	(15)
Nancy Beck Young
John Fitzgerald Kennedy	388	(9)
Barbara A. Perry
Lyndon Baines Johnson	397	(18)
Steven F. Lawson
Richard Milhous Nixon	415	(16)
Joan Hoff
Gerald Rudolph Ford	431	(9)
William C. Berman
James Earl (Jimmy) Carter, Jr.	440	(11)
William E. Leuchtenburg
Ronald Wilson Reagan	451	(16)
Richard M. Pious
George Herbert Walker Bush	467	(10)
Herbert S. Parmet
William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton	477	(16)
Robert D. Holsworth
Appendix A: Presidents and Their Cabinets	493	(12)
Appendix B: Vice-Presidents of the United States	505	(2)
Appendix C: First Ladies of the United States	507	(2)
Appendix D: Presidential Libraries and Web Sites	509	(2)
Index	511