Why veterans run : military service in American presidential elections, 1789-2016 / Jeremy M. Teigen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Teigen, Jeremy M., 1971- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents--United States--Election--History.

Presidents.

Veterans--Political activity.

History.

Veterans.

Presidential candidates.

United States.

Presidential candidates--United States--History.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

Veterans--Political activity--United States--History.

Presidents--Election.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 285 pages : illustrations; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Temple University Press, 2018.

Summary:

The assumptions that military service helps candidates attract votes - while lacking it harms a candidate's chances - has been an article of faith since the electoral coronation of George Washington in 1789. Perhaps the most compelling fact driving the perception that military service helps win votes is the large number of veterans who have held public office. Some candidates even exaggerate their military service to persuade voters. However, sufficient counter-examples undermine the idea that military veterans enjoy an advantage when seeking political office. In Why Veterans Run, Jeremy Teigenexplains the tendency of parties to elevate those with armed forces experience to run for high office. He describes the veteran candidate phenomenon by examining the related factors and patterns, showing why different eras have more former generals running and why the number of veterans in election cycles varies. With both quantitative and qualitative analysis, Why Veterans Run investigates each postwar era in U.S. electoral history and elaborates why so many veterans run for office. Teigen also reveals how election outcomes with veteran candidates illuminate the relationship between the military and civilian spheres as well as the preferences of the American electorate.

Contents:

1 Veterans Running for President 1

2 Explaining Why Veterans Run 9

3 Early Republic: George Washington through James Monroe 49

4 Antebellum Generals: Andrew Jackson through the Civil War 61

5 Civil War Generals and the Bloody Shirt: George McClellan through William McKinley 98

6 Early Twentieth Century: Theodore Roosevelt through Adlai Stevenson 127

7 The "Greatest Generation": Dwight Eisenhower through Bob Dole 141

8 Mixed Legacy of Vietnam: Bill Clinton through Donald Trump 204.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781439914366

1439914362

9781439914359

1439914354

OCLC:

985677874

Publisher Number:

99975321859