U.S. Presidents For Dummies®
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Marcus A. Stadelmann is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Tyler. Dr. Stadelmann received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Riverside in 1990, and has subsequently taught at universities in California, Utah, and Texas.
He presently teaches classes on American government and comparative politics. In addition he has given many public lectures on American presidential elections and international topics such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and German unification and has presented papers at national and regional academic conferences.
Dr. Stadelmann’s other publications include The Dependent Ally-German Foreign Policy from 1949 to 1990. In addition, Dr. Stadelmann has contributed chapters to many books and has published numerous academic articles.
This book is dedicated to the people who had the most impact on my life, my parents Wolfgang and Heidi, my wife Betsey, and my two daughters Katarina and Holly.
Special thanks go to my wife Betsey and my two daughters Katarina and Holly. They kept me on track for the last months, supported me in this endeavor, and patiently waited until my work was done. Without their support, this work would not have been possible.
I would also like to express my gratitude to my editor, Kathleen Dobie, who did an excellent job working with me on the book. Without her input, this book would not have become what it is today. Finally, I would like to thank my technical editor, James Newsom, who spent countless hours making sure that this work was as perfect as possible.
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Title
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
How This Book is Organized
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I : Examining the Office and the Officeholders
Chapter 1: Presidents and the Presidency
Establishing the First U.S. Government
Examining Presidential Influence on the Presidency
Perfecting the Power to Shape Public Opinion
Performing Many Roles: Today’s President
Chapter 2: Presidential Rankings and Evaluations
Evaluating the Presidents
Ranking U.S. Presidents
Part II : Starting with Known Quantities: Washington to John Quincy Adams
Chapter 3: Starting Well with George Washington
Washington’s Early Career
Fighting for Independence
Designing the New Country
President George Washington (1789–1797)
Dealing with the Issues of the Day
Stepping Down
Retiring Briefly
Chapter 4: The Authoritarian and the Philosopher: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
Founding the Country and Almost Destroying It: John Adams
Master of Multitasking: Thomas Jefferson
Chapter 5: Prominent but Ineffective: Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams
James Madison: From Founding Father to Presidential Flop
Succeeding Abroad, Failing at Home: James Monroe
Like Father, Like Son: John Quincy Adams
Part III : Enduring the Best and the Worst: Jackson to Buchanan
Chapter 6: Standing Firm: Andrew Jackson
Jackson’s Early Career
Suffering through the Stolen Election of 1824
President Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)
Chapter 7: Forgettable: Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, and Tyler
Martin Van Buren, Master of Politics
The Founder of the Image Campaign: William Henry Harrison
Stepping Into the Presidency: John Tyler
Chapter 8: Dreaming of California: James K. Polk
Young Hickory
Polk’s Early Political Career
Texas to the Rescue
Keeping His Campaign Simple
President James Polk (1845–1849)
Winning the War but Losing the Battle
Choosing Not to Run Again
Chapter 9: Working Up to the Civil War: Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan
Trying to Preserve the Union: Zachary Taylor
Making Things Worse: Millard Fillmore
Sympathizing with the South: Franklin Pierce
Failing to Save the Union: James Buchanan
Part IV : Becoming a Force in the World: Lincoln to Hoover
Chapter 10: Preserving the Union: Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln’s Early Political Career
A Star Is Born
President Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865)
The Civil War
Lincoln’s Short Second Term
Chapter 11: Reconstructing the Country: Johnson, Grant, and Hayes
From Poverty to the Presidency: Andrew Johnson
Enter a War Hero: Ulysses Simpson Grant
Corruption Leads to an Uncorrupt President: Rutherford Birchard Hayes
Chapter 12: Closing Out the Century: Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison
A Promising President is Assassinated: James Abram Garfield
The Unexpected President: Chester Alan Arthur
Making History by Serving Nonconsecutive Terms: Grover Cleveland
The Spoiled Republican: Benjamin Harrison
Chapter 13: Influencing the World: McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and Taft
Discarding Isolationism: William McKinley
Building a Strong Foreign Policy: Theodore Roosevelt
The President Who Hated Politics: William Howard Taft (1909–1913)
Chapter 14: Protecting Democracy: Woodrow Wilson
Studying Government
Breaking into Politics in New Jersey
President Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
Being Drawn into the War
Making the Peace
Chapter 15: Roaring through the ’20s with Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover
Living the High Life: Warren G. Harding
Quietly Doing Nothing: John Calvin Coolidge
A Great Humanitarian, but a Bad President: Herbert Hoover
Part V : Instituting the Imperial Presidency: Franklin Roosevelt to Richard Nixon
Chapter 16: Boosting the Country and Bringing Back Beer: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Roosevelt’s Early Political Career
Governing New York
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933–1945)
Winning a Third Term, Facing a World War
Fighting World War II
Winning the War
Running and Winning One More Time
Chapter 17: Stopping the Buck at Harry Truman
Truman’s Early Political Career
President Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
Hating His Second Term
Ceding to Stevenson
Chapter 18: Liking Ike: Dwight David Eisenhower
Eisenhower’s Early Military Career
Retiring from the Military
President Dwight David Eisenhower (1953–1961)
Chapter 19: Fulfilling Family Expectations: John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Kennedy’s Early Political Career
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961–1963)
Changing Foreign Policy
Attending to Domestic Policy
A Promising Life Cut Short
Chapter 20: Fighting for Might and Right: Lyndon Johnson
Johnson’s Early Political Career
President Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963–1969)
Chapter 21: Covering Up: Richard Nixon
Nixon’s Early Political Career
Losing the Presidential Race in 1960
Contending from Coast to Coast
President Richard Milhous Nixon (1969–1974)
Serving Part of a Second Term
Part VI : Changing the Dynamics: Gerald Ford to George W. Bush
Chapter 22: The Career Politician and the Peanut Farmer: Ford and Carter
Stepping in for Nixon: Gerald Ford
Sharing Faith and Principles: Jimmy Carter
Chapter 23: A Starring Role for Ronald Reagan
Reagan’s Early Career
President Ronald Wilson Reagan (1981–1989)
Reestablishing U.S. World Domination
Dealing with Scandal in his Second Term
Keeping the Revolution Alive during Retirement
Chapter 24: Acting Out: George Bush and Bill Clinton
Bringing an End to the Cold War: George Bush
Scandal Amid Domestic Policy Success: Bill Clinton
Chapter 25: Getting the Call: George W. Bush
Bush’s Early Career
Running for the Presidency
Debating and Campaigning
Surviving the 2000 Election
President George Walker Bush (2001–Present)
Disaster Strikes
Part VII : The Part of Tens
Chapter 26: The Ten Best Presidents
Abraham Lincoln
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
George Washington
Harry Truman
Ronald Reagan
Thomas Jefferson
Woodrow Wilson
Dwight D. Eisenhower
James Polk
Chapter 27: The Ten Worst Presidents
Andrew Johnson
Warren G. Harding
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan
John Tyler
Millard Fillmore
Ulysses S. Grant
William Henry Harrison
Martin Van Buren
Herbert Hoover
Chapter 28: Ten Presidential Libraries Worth Visiting
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum
Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and Museum
Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace
Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library
Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum
Appendix: Presidential Facts
O ver the last 213 years, 42 men have dominated U.S. politics and history. Although almost every American can name the current president, less than half can tell you the name of the vice president or the Senate majority leader. No other office within the U.S. government has received as much attention as the presidency.
The successes and failures of the chief executive have become a staple of U.S. culture. Every year, the media spends thousands of hours disseminating information on their virtues and shortcomings. Their biographies become best sellers. The public marvels at their childhood plights and adult accomplishments. Stories about their personal lives and office conduct have become ingrained in American culture and literature. The public revels in the presidents’ personal shortcomings and failures, and eagerly laps up scandals involving them. From Jefferson’s affair with a slave, to the corruption of the Grant and Harding administrations, to Bill Clinton’s sex scandals, the public is mesmerized by the presidents and their activities.
From humble beginnings, the presidency has evolved over time to become the dominant institution in the U.S. government. People look to the president for guidance in times of crisis. He (and so far, all of our presidents have been men) is held responsible for the problems the country faces and is expected to resolve these problems. In addition, the president symbolizes the United States abroad. Other countries judge the United States by what kind of president is in power. A bad president reflects poorly on all U.S. citizens.
Most books on the U.S. presidency are either textbooks, which are usually boring and tedious, or autobiographies. Although autobiographies are interesting reading, they provide you with information on just one president — and face it, who has time to read 42 biographies?
This book is neither a textbook nor a biography — it combines the best elements of both. It won’t bore you with little tedious facts or a lot of narrative. It doesn’t shower you with a mass of statistics that prove to you what you already know. The information on the presidents gets to the point, highlighting only the major events of each presidency.
The book covers all 42 U.S. presidents in chronological order. Some presidents have a whole chapter to themselves, others have a section in a chapter that covers several chief executives. I detail some basic personal information for each president, and I also cover the major events that took place during each president’s administration.
I designed this book to give a solid foundation on the presidents, whether you’re studying political science, writing a paper, or reading for pleasure. I tried to make the book entertaining by including little-known tidbits. So, whether you’re a history buff, a student, or just someone interested in America’s presidents, this book is for you. My hope is that this book will prove one point: The history of our presidents is fascinating and fun.
To avoid repeating certain procedures, facts, and ideas, this book uses certain conventions. For example, I use the common abbreviations WWI and WWII to refer to World War I and World War II, respectively. I also use familiar presidential initials, such as FDR for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and JFK for John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
The information in some sidebars is relevant to more than one chapter. When this is the case, the book refers to these sidebars by the title of the sidebar and chapter number. For example, Andrew Johnson was the first president to face impeachment proceedings. So I include a sidebar, “How to get impeached,” explaining impeachment when I cover Johnson in Chapter 11. Most people know only too well that Andrew Johnson wasn’t the last president to have impeachment charges brought against him. You’ll find references to this sidebar in chapters that cover Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.
I also provide some information in a consistent format. Early in a president’s section or chapter, I include a sidebar that talks about his early years — when he was born, where he lived, what schools he attended (if he attended school at all!), and whom he married. (First ladies sometimes crop up in other places, but the facts about them are usually in these sidebars.)
Unlike a textbook, this book is not linear in nature: You can start anywhere you want. You can go to Chapter 25 on George W. Bush and read about the historic election of 2000 and the unprecedented terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and then go back and read Chapter 3 on our first president, George Washington. Chapters are freestanding — not dependent on each other — and they contain all the information you need to understand a president, his policies, and the time period in which he served.
To make the material more organized and easily understood, I divided the book into seven parts. Each part covers a specific part of U.S. history and its respective presidents. The following sections describe the parts of this book.
The first two chapters of the book describe the office of the president, and the evolution of the presidency from a weak executive with few powers, to the creation of the imperial presidency, to the current situation where the president works with Congress to get his agenda passed.
When presidents leave office, they are judged as failures or successes. Chapter 2 takes a look at how we rate and rank our presidents and the criteria we use. I give you my own subjective rankings of our ten best and ten worst presidents in Part VII: The Part of Tens.
This part covers the most prominent U.S. presidents. These presidents were founding fathers who set the foundation for the U.S. presidency. Interestingly, many of them allowed Congress to dominate and make policy for the new country.
Most U.S. citizens know about the nation’s first presidents. From Washington to Jefferson and Madison, America’s first presidents are well-known individuals. They legitimized America’s new form of government, making it acceptable to the public.
Within a time span of 30 years, the United States saw two of its greatest presidents and many of its most abysmal failures. The period started out promisingly with Andrew Jackson, the country’s first strong president. Then came the failures. With the exception of James K. Polk, who was a great president (hardworking and honest), the rest of the bunch were miserable failures. Who remembers Presidents Pierce, Fillmore, and Buchanan?
The country was in deep crisis in the 1850s, with a civil war looming. The country needed a good, strong president to settle the conflicts between the North and South. But none of the presidents of the 1850s did anything to prevent a civil war; many, in fact, contributed to the outbreak of the conflict.
Who doesn’t know of Abraham Lincoln and his valiant attempts to preserve the Union? Besides saving the country, Lincoln also set the foundation for the United States to become a world power. During his tenure, the country industrialized and developed economically. Most of Lincoln’s successors just stood by and watched the country grow.
After the great Lincoln came some bad and ineffective presidents. Andrew Johnson was the first president to be impeached. Johnson was followed by the corrupt Grant administration and the disputed election of 1876.
The next bunch of presidents was made up of honest, capable men, who believed that Congress should run the country while they stand on the side. All of this changed in 1901.
Chapter 13 and 14 cover two of our strongest and most prominent presidents — Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt brought the United States into the arena of great world powers and Wilson saved democracy in Europe by getting the United States involved in World War I.
The 1920s then gave the country bland, ineffective presidents best known for corruption (Harding), napping (Coolidge), or slow reactions (Hoover).
Franklin Roosevelt took the helm in 1933 with innovative ideas for the country. He started the welfare state in the United States, including social security and unemployment benefits and slowly pulled the United States out of the Great Depression. Roosevelt also turned the United States into a superpower by entering and helping to win World War II.
Harry Truman finished the job of winning the war by dropping two atomic bombs on Japan. Truman dealt with the new Cold War and staved off communism with the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. Dwight Eisenhower, the quiet president, successfully contained communism.
By the time John F. Kennedy came to power, the imperial presidency was in place. Kennedy didn’t have enough time as president to enjoy its powers, but his successor Lyndon Johnson took full advantage of the power of the presidency.
If it weren’t for Richard Nixon, the imperial presidency would still be around today. The Watergate scandal weakened the presidency, and Congress reasserted itself. Good-bye imperial presidency.
After the Nixon disaster, Congress reasserted itself, especially in foreign policy. Ever since, America’s presidents have battled Congress over policy.
Part VI begins by examining the short-lived presidency of Gerald Ford and one-term president Jimmy Carter. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan, the “Great Communicator,” restored U.S. power and prestige in the world and brought communism to its knees. Reagan’s successor, George Bush, oversaw the collapse of communism and waged the Gulf War.
Bill Clinton has the distinction of being the second president to be impeached by the House of Representatives. All of his scandals, however, didn’t hurt his popularity with the public, proving that many U.S. citizens base their vote on their pocketbook. Part VI concludes by looking at the disputed election of 2000 and the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001.
The Part of Tens may annoy you or challenge you. In the first two chapters of Part VII, I rank the presidents, presenting my picks for the ten best and the ten worst. In Chapter 28, I give you possible vacation destinations in the ten best presidential libraries.
The term appendix usually means “skip this section.” Please don’t. The appendix contains a lot of interesting and relevant information. It presents birth dates for all the presidents and death dates for deceased presidents. Wouldn’t it be nice to know if you share a birthday with a president? In addition, it lists vice presidents, political party affiliation, and the outcomes of all presidential elections in U.S. history.
For the statistic buff, the results of these elections not only include the numbers and percentages for the Electoral College votes, but also for the popular vote. Enjoy!
As you read and enjoy this book, you will discover five different icons that alert you to specific aspects of America’s 42 presidents. The five icons are
Feel free to start with any chapter and any president that interests you. Keep in mind that all the chapters are nonlinear, so you can start with any topic in any chapter.
In this part...
T he story of our presidents is a fascinating one. Part of that fascination is the history and evolution of the presidency. After the war of independence was won, there was much debate over what type of government to establish. With the Articles of Confederation not working well, a new form of government had to be created. This was accomplished in 1788, when the Constitution of the United States was ratified by the states. In this part you see the reason of why a new form of government was necessary and how the Constitutional Convention established the form of government we enjoy today.
Chapter 1 discusses the constitutional powers of the president such as the veto power and also mentions some informal powers such as the power to manipulate public opinion. In addition, I trace the evolution of the presidency from a weak ceremonial post to the imperial presidency of modern times.
Chapter 2 looks at the way we evaluate and rank presidents and their administrations. I take you through both public and academic rankings of our presidents and look at upward and downward movement of some presidents.