NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The strength and prestige of the American
presidency has waxed and waned since George Washington. Accidental
Presidents looks at eight men who came to the office without being
elected to it. It demonstrates how the character of the man in that
powerful seat affects the nation and world. 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. 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 adds immeasurably to our understanding of the power and
limits of the American presidency in critical times.
General
Imprint: |
Simon & Schuster
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
April 2019 |
Authors: |
Jared Cohen
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 43mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards
|
Pages: |
528 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-5011-0982-9 |
Categories: |
Books >
Humanities >
History >
General
Books >
History >
General
|
LSN: |
1-5011-0982-0 |
Barcode: |
9781501109829 |
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