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Watson, Lynn University. 2 volumes : illustrations, maps ; cm “Editor, First Edition, Frank N. Magill ; editors, Third Edition, Robert P. Watson, Florida Atlantic University [and] Richard Yon, University of Florida.” Includes bibliographical references and index. Contents: Volume 1. The American Presidency, George Washington–Woodrow Wilson —volume 2. Warren G. Harding–Barack Obama, Index. ISBN: 978-1-61925-940-9 (set) ISBN: 978-1-68217-081-6 (v.1) ISBN: 978-1-68217-082-3 (v.2) 1. Presidents—United States—Biography. 2. Presidents—United States—History. 3. United States—Politics and government. I. Watson, Robert P., 1962- E176.1 .A6563 2015 973.09/9 B First Printing Printed in the United States of America Introduction The Pageantry of the Presidency forty-third man to hold the office, but he was To many people, the presidency is the most vis- the forty-fourth president because Grover ible part of the U.S. government, especially in- Cleveland served two nonconsecutive terms as ternationally, where the president is both the the twenty-second and twenty-fourth presi- public face of the United States and the coun- dent.) Among the few who have occupied the try’s official representative abroad. While this office, there has been much variation in their has, to a degree, always been the case—George approach to the presidency as well as in their Washington was, after all, known as “the Fa- experiences in office and the skill with which ther of His Country”—the intensive coverage they discharged their duties. This fact makes it by the media in recent years has only further in- difficult to draw conclusions about the nature creased theoffice’svisibilityandimportance. of the institution based on so few examples. Stories about the president are found on the At the same time, however, the office has front page of the nation’s newspapers and lead seen little diversity and variation in the types of the evening news broadcast. The White House individuals elected. For instance, as of this press corps treats the public to the most mun- writing all the presidents have been male. The dane and private details about the First Family: United States has yet to elect a female presi- Ronald Reagan liked jelly beans; George and dent, even though a few dozen nations around Barbara Bush’s dog was named Millie; Bill the world have been led by women in the mod- Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, graduated from ern era. This list includes some of the United Stanford; and Gerald Ford apparently had a States’closestallies, such asCanada, Great Brit- tendency to tripor fall at the mostpublic and in- ain, and Israel. Women have pursued the opportune times. In short, the centrality of the American presidency beginning with Victoria presidency in the American political system is Woodhull in 1872, but none has come close to beyond question. winning. When Geraldine Ferraro was selected To scholars and students alike, the presi- by Walter Mondale to join the Democratic dency is also an important academic field of ticket in 1984, she became the first female vice study in both political science and U.S. history. presidential nominee of a major political party Yet, ironically, it is one of the least understood in history. and least studied components of American Likewise, all the presidents have been white government. Although scores of good biogra- except Barack Obama. Only a handful of other phies exist on presidents throughout history, African-Americans have even campaigned for the formal study of the institution is a relatively the office—Jesse Jackson, Alan Keyes, Al recent scholarly endeavor. Sharpton—and until the 2016 presidential One of the challenges in studying the presi- campaign, no major campaign had been dency is that, as of 2015, only forty-three men launched by an Hispanic, Asian, or other ethnic had held the office. (Barack Obama was the candidate. The 2016 campaign, however, saw xi American Presidents two prominent Latinos—Marco Rubio and Ted nominations such as Episcopalian or Presbyte- Cruz, both Cuban-American—in the race. Ev- rian. All but one president was married, the ery president has come from northern Euro- exception being lifelong bachelor James Bu- pean ancestry, and the United States has yet to chanan, although Grover Cleveland married elect a president from southern or eastern Eu- when he was already president. The only di- ropean lineage. The only exception is Barack vorced president was Ronald Reagan, who had Obama, whose father was from Africa. All but been married to actress Jane Wyman before his five of the presidents have been of British de- wedding to Nancy Davis, who would serve as scent (English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish): Both First Lady. Roosevelts and Martin Van Buren were Dutch, Few presidents came from west of the Mis- Herbert Hoover was Swiss, and Dwight Eisen- sissippi River, and many states have yet to pro- hower was German. Nonetheless, it must be duce a president. The earliest presidents hailed said that in an increasingly pluralistic society, it from Virginia and Massachusetts, and Ohio is not a matter of if, but rather when, the country and New York have also produced several elects its first female president. presidents. Physically, many of the presidents Many presidents also shared a common oc- have been taller than average in height, and cupation and educational experience. The field most have had blue or gray eyes. of law is the most represented occupation of So what does all this mean? The presidents presidents before their political careers, with are, in many ways, from a rather narrow cross only a few exceptions. Several presidents had section of American society, and this fact sug- military experience, and a few—George Wash- gests something about the prevailing political ington, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harri- preferences of the American public. Also, the son, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses Grant, Dwight Ei- United States has been served by some great senhower—were generals or career officers. presidents, men of distinction who left deep Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others footprints on the office and nation. Among such as Jimmy Carter earned their living by them are such presidents as Abraham Lincoln, farming, while Woodrow Wilson was a profes- Franklin Roosevelt, George Washington, sor and university president and Ronald Rea- Thomas Jefferson, Harry Truman, Teddy Roo- gan was an actor. Most presidents were well sevelt, and Andrew Jackson, all leaders rated educated, graduating from prestigious private by scholars as among the best to serve. So too colleges. Both George H. W. and George W. have there been presidents who struggled with Bush as well as William Howard Taft gradu- the challenges of the office. The experiences of ated from Yale, while both Franklin and Teddy Warren Harding, James Buchanan, Franklin Roosevelt as well as John F. Kennedy and Pierce, and Andrew Johnson were such that the Barack Obama were Harvard graduates. But office and the nation were fundamentally there are a few exceptions. The last president to weaker after their presidencies than when they not have a college degree was Harry Truman, were inaugurated. and both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln received very little in the way of a for- Founding mal education. Another challenge that presidents have faced is There are other similarities among the pres- crafting their approach to the office. Article II of idents worth noting. All but one of the com- the Constitution, which discusses the chief ex- manders in chief were Protestant Christians ecutive, is among the shortest, most vague (John F. Kennedy was Roman Catholic), and components of the founding document. From the lion’s share of them were “mainline” de- its inception, the presidency was configured as xii Introduction a weak office with few formal powers. And this ernments. The questions surrounding the exec- was not by accident but by design. utive included whether it should be assumed The political arrangement that governed by one person or a council, whether it would be the newly declared states during the revolu- selected by the legislature or by some other tionary struggle did not take long to prove inef- means, what the length of the executive’s term fectual. The Continental Congress was often should be as well as whether to limit the num- unable to provide the political or financial sup- ber of terms that any person could serve, and port that General George Washington needed how much power to grant to the executive. to wage war. Under the Articles of Confedera- Hamilton and his Federalist supporters fa- tion after independence, the lack of an execu- vored a stronger executive, citing the obvious tive branch, coupled with weak governorships, problems created by the ineffectual Articles of precluded the new nation from adequately ad- Confederation. Yet, the antifederalists re- dressing such pressing problems as the war, mained firmin their concern over a strongexec- debt, trade, squabbles among states and be- utive and preference for a weaker office.

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