Defeated

Losing Presidential Candidates in American History

Martin Gitlin

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN:
  9798881862589
• Edition: 1

A unique examination of U.S. politics and history told through the lives and campaigns of the losing presidential candidates.

As time marches on, more political history seems to get lost in American schools and homes. But the policies and beliefs of presidential candidates provide a fascinating glimpse into the entire history of the United States.

In Defeated: Losing Presidential Candidates in American History, Martin Gitlin offers a unique and informative look at U.S. politics and history through the lives and campaigns of presidential hopefuls who are often overlooked because they lost their bid for the presidency. Each chapter profiles a losing candidate for a specific election--including third-party candidates who made an impact--and features an examination of key issues of the day, details of the election itself, and what happened to the candidate after their loss.

Covering every election from 1796 to 2024, Defeated provides invaluable insight into the policies and personalities of presidential candidates and the history of a nation.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Thomas Jefferson
• Chapter 2: John Adams
• Chapter 3: Charles Pinckney
• Chapter 4: DeWitt Clinton
• Chapter 5: Rufus King
• Chapter 6: The Two-Party System
• Chapter 7: Andrew Jackson
• Chapter 8: Henry Clay
• Chapter 9: William Crawford
• Chapter 10: John Quincy Adams
• Chapter 11: William Henry Harrison
• Chapter 12: Martin Van Buren
• Chapter 13: Lewis Cass
• Chapter 14: Winfield Scott
• Chapter 15: John C. Fremont
• Chapter 16: John C. Breckinridge
• Chapter 17: George B. McClellan
• Chapter 18: Horatio Seymour
• Chapter 19: Horace Greeley
• Chapter 20: Samuel J. Tilden
• Chapter 21: Winfield Scott Hancock
• Chapter 22: James G. Blaine
• Chapter 23: Grover Cleveland
• Chapter 24: Benjamin Harrison
• Chapter 25: William Jennings Bryan
• Chapter 26: Alton B. Parker
• Chapter 27: Theodore Roosevelt
• Chapter 28: Charles Evans Hughes
• Chapter 29: James M. Cox
• Chapter 30: John W. Davis
• Chapter 31: Al Smith
• Chapter 32: Herbert Hoover
• Chapter 33: Alf Landon
• Chapter 34: Wendell Willkie
• Chapter 35: Thomas E. Dewey
• Chapter 36: Adlai Stevenson
• Chapter 37: Richard Nixon
• Chapter 38: Barry Goldwater
• Chapter 39: Hubert Humphrey
• Chapter 40: George McGovern
• Chapter 41: Gerald Ford
• Chapter 42: Jimmy Carter
• Chapter 43: Walter Mondale
• Chapter 44: Michael Dukakis
• Chapter 45: George H. Bush
• Chapter 46: Bob Dole
• Chapter 47: Al Gore
• Chapter 48: John Kerry
• Chapter 49: John McCain
• Chapter 50: Mitt Romney
• Chapter 51: Hillary Clinton
• Chapter 52: Donald Trump
• Chapter 53: Kamala Harris
• Notes
• About the Author