Accidental presidents : eight men who changed America / Jared Cohen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cohen, Jared, 1981- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents--Succession--United States--History--Case studies.

Presidents.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

Presidents--Succession.

History.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies.

Case studies.

History.

Physical Description:

xii, 509 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2019.

Summary:

"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, 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. 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. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded our greatest president, sided with remnants of the Confederacy in Reconstruction. 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"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

First to die

Over my dead body

Lincoln's choice

Prince Arthur

A most ambitious man

Averting scandal

"That damn mule!"

"Give 'em hell Harry!"

The last time

Close calls.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 471-488) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Cohen, Jared, 1981- author. Accidental presidents

ISBN:

9781501109829

1501109820

9781501109836

1501109839

OCLC:

1039375326

Publisher Number:

99980617395