Their names linger in memory mainly as punch lines, synonyms for
obscurity: Millard Fillmore, Chester Arthur, Calvin Coolidge. They
conjure up not the White House so much as a decaying middle school
somewhere in New Jersey. But many forgotten presidents, writes
Michael J. Gerhardt, were not weak or ineffective. They boldly
fought battles over constitutional principles that resonate today.
Gerhardt, one of our leading legal experts, tells the story of The
Forgotten Presidents. He surveys thirteen administrations in
chronological order, from Martin Van Buren to Franklin Pierce to
Jimmy Carter, distinguishing political failures from their
constitutional impact. Again and again, he writes, they defied
popular opinion to take strong stands. Martin Van Buren reacted to
an economic depression by withdrawing federal funds from state
banks in an attempt to establish the controversial independent
treasury system. His objective was to shrink the federal role in
the economy, but also to consolidate his power to act independently
as president. Prosperity did not return, and he left office under
the shadow of failure. Grover Cleveland radically changed his
approach in his second (non-consecutive) term. Previously he had
held back from interference with lawmakers; on his return to
office, he aggressively used presidential power to bend Congress to
his will. Now seen as an asterisk, Cleveland consolidated
presidential authority over appointments, removals, vetoes, foreign
affairs, legislation, and more. Jimmy Carter, too, proves
surprisingly significant. In two debt-ceiling crises and battles
over the Panama Canal treaty, affirmative action, and the First
Amendment, he demonstrated how the presidency's inherent capacity
for efficiency and energy gives it an advantage in battles with
Congress, regardless of popularity.
Incisive, myth-shattering, and compellingly written, this book
shows how even obscure presidents championed the White House's
prerogatives and altered the way we interpret the Constitution.
General
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