This New York Times bestselling "deep dive into the terms of eight
former presidents is chock-full of political hijinks--and deja vu"
(Vanity Fair) and provides a fascinating look at the men who came
to the office without being elected to it, showing how each
affected the nation and world. The strength and prestige of the
American presidency has waxed and waned since George Washington.
Eight men have succeeded to the presidency when the incumbent died
in office. In one way or another they vastly changed our history.
Only Theodore Roosevelt would have been elected in his own right.
Only TR, Truman, Coolidge, and LBJ were re-elected. John Tyler
succeeded William Henry Harrison who died 30 days into his term. He
was kicked out of his party and became the first president
threatened with impeachment. Millard Fillmore succeeded esteemed
General Zachary Taylor. He immediately sacked the entire cabinet
and delayed an inevitable Civil War by standing with Henry Clay's
compromise of 1850. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded our greatest
president, sided with remnants of the Confederacy in
Reconstruction. Chester Arthur, the embodiment of the spoils
system, was so reviled as James Garfield's successor that he had to
defend himself against plotting Garfield's assassination; but he
reformed the civil service. Theodore Roosevelt broke up the trusts.
Calvin Coolidge silently cooled down the Harding scandals and
preserved the White House for the Republican Herbert Hoover and the
Great Depression. Harry Truman surprised everybody when he
succeeded the great FDR and proved an able and accomplished
president. Lyndon B. Johnson was named to deliver Texas
electorally. He led the nation forward on Civil Rights but failed
on Vietnam. Accidental Presidents shows that "history unfolds in
death as well as in life" (The Wall Street Journal) and adds
immeasurably to our understanding of the power and limits of the
American presidency in critical times.
General
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