US Presidents For Dummies Read online

Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library

  Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum

  Appendix: Presidential Facts

  Introduction

  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.

  About This Book

  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.

  Conventions Used in This Book

  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.)

  How This Book is Organized

  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.

  Part I: Examining the Office and the Officeholders

  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.

  Part II: Starting with Known Quantities: Washington to John Quincy Adams

  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.

  Part III: Enduring the Best and the Worst: Jackson to Buchanan

  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.

  Part IV: Becoming a Force in the World: Lincoln to Hoover

  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 corrupt
ion (Harding), napping (Coolidge), or slow reactions (Hoover).

  Part V: Instituting the Imperial Presidency: Franklin Roosevelt to Richard Nixon

  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.

  Part VI: Changing the Dynamics: Gerald Ford to George W. Bush

  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.

  Part VII: The Part of Tens

  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.

  Appendix: Presidential Facts

  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!

  Icons Used in This Book

  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

  This icon presents little-known information, or trivia, on the 42 presidents. Many of the presidents coined terms or set precedents for the presidency and the country. This icon alerts you to this type of information.

  This icon alerts you to famous statements or quotes made by the presidents. Some quotes you may be familiar with, and others you may not know. Some may shock you, and others may amuse you.

  Politics is at the heart of the U.S. presidency. This icon highlights political conflicts and positions. It covers the personal views of some presidents and the controversial issues of the day.

  This icon points out important information you should be aware of as you read the section, the chapter, or the book. This icon covers only the most important events, people, and issues.

  Historical information including treaties, important bills, strategic doctrines, and other relevant material or events have this icon beside them. This information is included for the history buff, so feel free to ignore these paragraphs if you’re not interested.

  Where to Go from Here

  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.

  Part I

  Examining the Office and the Officeholders

  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.

  Chapter 1

  Presidents and the Presidency

  In This Chapter

  Setting up a government for the United States

  Creating the presidency

  Changing with the times

  Possessing formal powers

  Developing informal powers

  Fighting Congress

  T his chapter looks at the U.S. presidency. It talks about how the U.S. system of government was established. It also discusses the Constitution and the evolution of the presidency from a weak ceremonial post, such as the presidency of James Madison, to the imperial presidency of FDR. Today we find a stalemate between the presidency and Congress, resulting in much bargaining and compromising and the occasional government shutdown. In addition, the chapter covers formal powers the president possesses, such as the power to cast a veto. Finally, the president has been granted or assumed some special, informal powers, especially the power to manipulate public opinion. The discussion of these informal powers rounds out the chapter.

  Establishing the First U.S. Government

  In 1774, 12 colonies (Georgia refused to attend) agreed to get together and set up a united legislature, or Continental Congress, to speak with one voice against British oppression. The Continental Congress turned into a national legislature during the Revolutionary War and stuck around after independence was declared, assuming the functions of a new national government.

  In 1781, the Congress passed the Articles of Confederation, creating a confederation between the 13 former colonies. After the states agreed on the Articles of Confederation, the Congress renamed itself the Congress of the Confederation and became a weak federal legislature — it was without real powers, including the power to tax or the power to create a national army. The real power remained within the 13 states.

  The Congress survived until the Constitution created a new form of government in 1789, and the Congress of the United States replaced the Congress of the Confederation.

  A confederation is a form of government where power rests at the state level and not at the national level.

  Facing problems

  The confederation system caused immediate problems for the new country:

  Without the power to tax, the Congress could not support a large military, which was dangerous with the British, Russian, and Spanish empires still in North America.

  The war bonds sold to finance the war against Britain presented another problem. With the war o
ver and the national government unable to tax, nobody redeemed the bonds. Many patriotic people who bought war bonds to support the war for independence lost their life savings when they couldn’t redeem the bonds. Not surprisingly, people complained.

  Trade became a problem, with the states treating each other like they were foreign countries. How can a united country be established when its members impose trade restrictions against each other?

  Writing a constitution

  By 1785, many prominent politicians in the United States were worried. They felt that the new country was in serious trouble and that the new government, created by the Articles of Confederation, was not working. For this purpose, a national meeting in Philadelphia was called to change or revise the Articles of Confederation. This meeting, also referred to as the Constitutional Convention, began in May of 1787. Its original purpose was just to change the Articles of Confederation, not to write a new Constitution. The convention lasted until September 1787, when the delegates actually overstepped their authority and voted to approve a new constitution for the country.

  Instead of revising the Articles of Confederation, the delegates created a brand new document — the Constitution of the United States. They felt that a revision of the Articles of Confederation would not accomplish the task of creating a strong, united country. So they wrote a brand new document instead, abolishing the Articles of Confederation and setting up a new form of government. The Constitution called for the following: