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About this book
Who were the best and worst U.S. presidents? In the past when historians and scholars have rated the presidents, their evaluations often have been based on individual charisma, activism, and service during periods of crisis.
Taking a distinctly new approach in Recarving Rushmore, Ivan Eland profiles each U.S. president from Washington to Obama on the merits of his policies and whether those strategies contributed to peace, prosperity, and liberty. This ranking system is based on how effective each president was in fulfilling his oath to uphold the Constitution. Contrary to the preferences of modern conservatives and liberals, this oath was intended to limit the role of the federal government.
Readers will be intrigued to discover why, of the four men given exalted representations on Mount Rushmore, only Washington deserves the honor. They will learn why Teddy Roosevelt has been overrated; why Jefferson hypocritically violated his lofty rhetoric of liberty; and why Lincoln provoked a civil war that achieved far less than believed. Readers will uncover why some presidents are rated much higher than the conventional wisdom—for example, Warren Harding—and some rank much lower—for example, Harry Truman.
As for more modern U.S. chief executives, Republicans will be astounded to learn that Nixon was the last liberal president and that Reagan wasn’t all that conservative. Democrats will be amazed to learn that Clinton was in some respects more conservative than George W. Bush and why both Obama and Bush are ranked as bad. Readers will learn why the author goes against the grain and anoints Eisenhower and Carter as the two best modern presidents.
Taking a distinctly new approach in Recarving Rushmore, Ivan Eland profiles each U.S. president from Washington to Obama on the merits of his policies and whether those strategies contributed to peace, prosperity, and liberty. This ranking system is based on how effective each president was in fulfilling his oath to uphold the Constitution. Contrary to the preferences of modern conservatives and liberals, this oath was intended to limit the role of the federal government.
Readers will be intrigued to discover why, of the four men given exalted representations on Mount Rushmore, only Washington deserves the honor. They will learn why Teddy Roosevelt has been overrated; why Jefferson hypocritically violated his lofty rhetoric of liberty; and why Lincoln provoked a civil war that achieved far less than believed. Readers will uncover why some presidents are rated much higher than the conventional wisdom—for example, Warren Harding—and some rank much lower—for example, Harry Truman.
As for more modern U.S. chief executives, Republicans will be astounded to learn that Nixon was the last liberal president and that Reagan wasn’t all that conservative. Democrats will be amazed to learn that Clinton was in some respects more conservative than George W. Bush and why both Obama and Bush are ranked as bad. Readers will learn why the author goes against the grain and anoints Eisenhower and Carter as the two best modern presidents.
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Yes, you can access Recarving Rushmore by Ivan Eland in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Politics & International Relations & Political Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Dedication
- Copyright
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1. George Washington: A Precedent-Setting Presidency—Both Good and Bad
- 2. John Adams: Used the Quasi-War with France to Restrict Civil Liberties
- 3. Thomas Jefferson: A Hypocrite on Limited Government
- 4. James Madison: Started an Unneeded War That Got the U.S. Capital Burned
- 5. James Monroe: The First Wisps of Permanent Government Expansion
- 6. John Quincy Adams: A Federalist Wearing a Democrat’s Clothes
- 7. Andrew Jackson: Aggressive against Indians and Southerners
- 8. Martin Van Buren: Practiced What He Preached
- 9. William Henry Harrison: Served for Thirty-one Days
- 10. John Tyler: “. . . and Tyler Too!”
- 11. James K. Polk: War for Land to Carry Out Aggressive Manifest Destiny
- 12. Zachary Taylor: Risked Civil War Years before It Happened
- 13. Millard Fillmore: Avoided an Earlier Civil War, but at a Cost
- 14. Franklin Pierce: Made Civil War More Likely
- 15. James Buchanan: Should Have Let the South Go in Peace
- 16. Abraham Lincoln: Provoked a Catastrophic Civil War That Achieved Far Less Than Believed
- 17. Andrew Johnson: Uncompromising Attitude Led to Harsh Reconstruction Policies
- 18. Ulysses S. Grant: Better Than Expected, but Still Poor
- 19. Rutherford B. Hayes: Practiced Military Restraint, Except with Indians
- 20. James A. Garfield: Served for Six Months
- 21. Chester A. Arthur: Promoted Limited Government and Fought Inflation
- 22. Grover Cleveland: Exemplar of Honesty and Limited Government
- 23. Benjamin Harrison: Bad Economics and the Use of Coercion at Home and Abroad
- 24. Grover Cleveland: Served a Second, Nonconsecutive Term
- 25. William Mckinley: The First Modern President, with Imperialist Aspirations
- 26. Theodore Roosevelt: Overrated in Accomplishments and Significance
- 27. William Howard Taft: Not a Hefty Policy Innovator
- 28. Woodrow Wilson: Made the World Safe for War, Autocracy, and Colonialism
- 29. Warren G. Harding: Scandals Masked a Good Presidency
- 30. Calvin Coolidge: Silent Cal’s Presidency Should Silence the Critics
- 31. Herbert Hoover: Sucked the Economy into the Great Depression
- 32. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Lied the Nation into War and Expanded Government
- 33. Harry S Truman: The First Imperial President
- 34. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Overt Dove and Covert Hawk
- 35. John F. Kennedy: Almost Incinerated the World So as Not to Appear Weak
- 36. Lyndon B. Johnson: A Failure with Both Guns and Butter
- 37. Richard M. Nixon: Undermined the Republic at Home; Had a Mixed Record Abroad
- 38. Gerald R. Ford: Pardon Me!
- 39. James Earl Carter, JR.: The Best Modern President
- 40. Ronald Reagan: Not Really That Conservative
- 41. George H. W. Bush: “Read My Lips,” No Real Accomplishments
- 42. William J. Clinton: More Fiscally Conservative Than Reagan and the Bushes
- 43. George W.Bush: Interventionist Policies Undermined the Republic at Home and Peace Abroad
- 44. Barack Obama: Only a Slightly Improved Version of George W. Bush
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Index
- About the Author