Every president is shaped by his nominating convention. Lincoln's in 1860 not only was one of the most important, but also the most exciting in America up to that point. In a three day, three-ballot carnival of music, fireworks, and politics drawing some 40,000 people, Lincoln and his friends outwitted the leading celebrities of their party, capturing the prize with nerve, ambition, and brass tacks. They played the kind of hardball politics that usually made reformers cringe. Still, it gave us one of the best presidents in American History. In this History Short, we tell the story of Lincoln's convention primarily through the eyes of newspaper writers - giving it the immediacy and excitement of the moment, with annotations, background, and updated formatting.

William Magear Tweed, America's most corrupt politician ever, ruled New York City in the 1860s and 1870s. He rigged the votes, bribed the legislature, and stole on a massive scale. But even in prison, people still loved and admired him. Tweed's is a stunning tale of pride, fall, and redemption. Editorial Reviews " An] excellent new biography of the Boss . . . told in a crisp, clear way." -Pete Hamill, New York Times Book Review "A pleasure to read." -Kenneth T. Jackson, Washington Post Book World " An] absorbing account of Tweed's rise and fall." -Michael Kenney, Boston Globe "Not only a compelling look at the colorful yet ruthless man who invented the big city political machine, it is also the gripping story of how dedicated newspapermen and zealous reformers brought down a notorious kingpin." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Skillfully tells the story of the Tammany Hall chief . . . Ackerman makes it hard not to root for the old Boss in his final days when he faces his enemies." -Jennifer Itzenson, Denver Post A thoroughgoing, rayon-smooth biography of Boss Tweed . . . A fine piece of narrative historiography for a wide public, from scholars to the lay enthusiast of New York City's political past." -Kirkus Reviews "Kenneth D. Ackerman's superbly written biography of Boss Tweed is spellbinding . . . every bit as commanding as the man himself." -Ed Koch, former mayor of New York City "Engrossing and eye-opening . . ." -New York Post

In September 1869, two young speculators, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, Jr., undertook perhaps the most audacious financial operation in American history - the cornering of the national gold supply. Fisk and Gould manipulated prices to the point that legitimate commerce froze to a halt. When the federal Treasury finally broke the corner on Black Friday, September 24, the price of $100 gold coin fell from $160 to $130 in fifteen minutes, sparking a national financial panic, a stock market depression, and the bankruptcy of major trading houses. The scandal reached the very household of President Ulysses Grant, and only the intervention of their friend, Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall, saved Fisk and Gould from personal ruin.

Capitol Hill veteran Kenneth Ackerman re-creates an American political landscape where fierce battles for power unfolded against a chivalrous code of honor in a country struggling to emerge from the long shadow of the Civil War. James Garfield's 1880 dark horse campaign after the longest-ever Republican nominating convention, his victory in the closest-ever popular vote for president, his struggle against bitterly feuding factions once elected, and the public's response to his assassination is the most dramatic presidential odyssey of the Gilded Age-and among the most momentous in our nation's history. This journey through political backrooms, dazzling convention floors, and intrigue-filled congressional and White House chambers, reveals the era's decency and humanity as well as the sharp partisanship that exploded in the pistol shots of assassin Charles Guiteau, the disgruntled patronage-seeker eager to replace the elected Commander-in-Chief with one of his own choosing.

On June 2, 1919, bombs exploded simultaneously in nine American cities. One destroyed the home of the Attorney General of the United States, A. Mitchell Palmer. In the aftermath of World War I, America faced a new enemy-radical communism. Palmer vowed a crackdown, and, to lead it, he chose his youngest assistant, twenty-four year-old J. Edgar Hoover. Under Palmer's wing, Hoover helped execute a series of brutal nationwide raids, bursting into homes without warning, arresting over 10,000 Americans and assembling secret files on hundreds of thousands of suspects and political enemies. A handful of lawyers like Clarence Darrow and future Supreme Court Justices Felix Frankfurter and Harlan Fisk Stone dared to defend accused radicals in the name of free speech and civil liberties. YOUNG J. EDGAR brings to life Palmer's raids and Hoover 's coming of age, a metaphor on post-9/11 America. It reaches the heart of our current debate on personal freedoms in a time of war and fear. Editorial Reviews " F]eatures demagogues; terrorists; a gullible, xenophobic public; rogue law enforcement officials; and good guys, both in and out of government, who discredit the raids. Ackerman captures well the pathological character of the young Hoover.... " -Publishers Weekly " A] history to savor." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch Ackerman ("Boss Tweed") does an outstanding job portraying the Teflon quality of Hoover.... 'Young J. Edgar' is a book that demonstrates forcefully the corrupting nature of power in the hands of flawed government officials. It's panoramic, detailed and extremely timely. -- Huntington News As hard as Mr. Ackerman is on Hoover, he does not demonize him.... A] chilling account of how the rule of law in a war on terror can be subverted into a war of terror. --New York Sun "Ackerman's extremely well-written and thoroughly researched history ... convincingly refuted Hoover's dishonest effort to minimize his own central role in promoting the first Red Scare of the World War I and early 1920s era." -- Athan Theoharis, Emeritus Professor at Marquette University and author of The FBI and American Democracy, and The Quest for Absolute Security.

William Magear Tweed, America's most corrupt politician ever, ruled New York City in the 1860s and 1870s. He rigged the votes, bribed the legislature, and stole on a massive scale. But even in prison, people still loved and admired him. Tweed's is a stunning tale of pride, fall, and redemption.

Capitol Hill veteran Kenneth Ackerman re-creates an American political landscape where fierce battles for power unfolded against a chivalrous code of honor in a country struggling to emerge from the long shadow of the Civil War. James Garfield's 1880 dark horse campaign after the longest-ever Republican nominating convention, his victory in the closest-ever popular vote for president, his struggle against bitterly feuding factions once elected, and the public's response to his assassination is the most dramatic presidential odyssey of the Gilded Age-and among the most momentous in our nation's history. This journey through political backrooms, dazzling convention floors, and intrigue-filled congressional and White House chambers, reveals the era's decency and humanity as well as the sharp partisanship that exploded in the pistol shots of assassin Charles Guiteau, the disgruntled patronage-seeker eager to replace the elected Commander-in-Chief with one of his own choosing.