US Presidents For Dummies Read online

  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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  Copyright © 2002 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

  Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

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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.

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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

  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