U.S. Presidents For Dummies
by Marcus A. Stadelmann
Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Tyler
U.S. Presidents For Dummies®
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Library of Congress Control Number: 2002100246
ISBN: 978-0-7645-0885-1
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6
3B/RV/QU/QY/IN.
About the Author
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.
Dedication
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.
Author’s Acknowledgments
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.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
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Contents
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
&
nbsp; 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
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
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