Author: Anne Pierce
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313389586
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Get Book
Book Description
Recurring throughout our history are the ideas that repressive governments are doomed to failure; that liberty is a motivating force; that freedom comes with responsibilities and must be guided by principles; that the example of our democracy is a challenge to all forms of political repression and an inspiration to those desiring to be free. Wilson and Truman took these ideas as the starting point for their policy formulation and pronouncements. Truman both acknowledged his indebtedness to Wilson and learned from his mistakes. This study places the two presidents within the broader American tradition and explores the way they combined reverence for the past with innovative policies. Pierce provides a cohesive argument against those who simplify and categorize American ideals in order to demean them. Her findings show that the assumption that Wilson was an idealist while Truman was a realist distorts our understanding of these men and denies the seriousness of their positions. She reveals Truman's brilliance as a foreign policy strategist and his fervency as a spokesperson for American ideals. He was never willing to dispense with geopolitics for the sake of internationalism, nor with internationalism for the sake of geopolitics, but insisted that our mission and our power were combined threads in our work for freedom. Truman's wisely construed version of Wilsonianism, which itself was an interpretation of America's mission and power, holds great promise for the United States today.
Author: Anne Rice Pierce
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 328
Get Book
Book Description
Table of contents
Author: Anne Pierce
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351471155
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316
Get Book
Book Description
The modern world derives part of its meaning and definition from the foreign policy formulations of Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman. These presidents viewed the enhancement of American power and the invigoration of American principles as the only response to modem problems such as imperialism, bolshevism, fascism and "total war." The fact that Europe and Asia had submitted to the disastrous consequences of their ideas meant that we had to project and promote our democratic alternative. If we were to live up to our mission and our character, we had to accept radically new responsibilities. This work reveals the important relationship between these presidents and explores the reverential, yet revolutionary relationship each had with broader American traditions. Wilson came to power at a time when both need and the means for change were apparent. In the face of looming war and global turmoil, Wilson took full advantage of America's emerging world-power status. While he held to the traditional American ideal of setting a democratic example, he reconceived it as an obligation to actively promote democracy and self-determination abroad. Indeed, he construed our increased involvement in the world as the logical fulfillment of our democratic purpose. In the heated aftermath of World War II, Truman echoed Wilson's assertion that only the fortification of democracy and the "influence" of America could ease European tensions and prevent future wars. While Truman's early foreign policy is often said to exhibit Wilsonian internationalism, his later "power politics," Pierce shows that all of his foreign policy was underlain by his determination never to let what had happened during and between two world wars happen again. Pierce demonstrates that even Truman's most avid departure from Wilsonianism, his plunge into geopolitics and his build-up of the military power of the free world, was saturated with Wilsonian ideals. "Containment" was underlain by the conviction that, even though it faced fascism and bolshevism, freedom was on the march, and by the surety that democracy is lasting, peaceful and beneficial. As Pierce studies these presidents within the synergistic interplay of ideas and policies, she compels us toward a fruitful dialogue with the American past. Truman's brilliantly construed version of Wilsonianism, this book argues, holds great promise for us today.
Author: Robert H. Ferrell
Publisher: University of Missouri Press
ISBN: 0826264905
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 181
Get Book
Book Description
Ever since the presidency of Richard M. Nixon, scholars have been in a quandary over how much they really know about our country's presidents. Nixon, as is now understood, was unstable in personality. The signs appeared well before the discovery of the infamous Watergate tapes, an appalling example of what the presidency could come to. Many Americans have difficulty penetrating the public persona of their leaders. But to know the private side of such figures-the cores of their being-is important, because this side often governs what they do publicly. In Presidential Leadership, Robert H. Ferrell examines four sometimes maligned, sometimes misunderstood presidents: Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry S. Truman. Along with these portraits, Ferrell incorporates comments on Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as well as key figures in each president's administration. Also included in this volume is historian John A. Garraty's interview with Ferrell on American foreign policy from 1919 to 1945. As is his style, Ferrell draws from many sources previously untapped. In the case of Wilson, Ferrell relies on the diary of Colonel Edward M. House, who served under Wilson during his presidency. Ferrell uses White House physician Joel T. Boone's diary to provide an insider's look at Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. In dealing with these presidents, Ferrell debunks long-held myths and approaches the presidencies with fresh insights into what drove them to make the decisions they made. Throughout the book, Ferrell emphasizes the personal styles of each president. He not only shows how they made their own determinations but also evaluates those whom they appointed to important positions. Scholars of American history will welcome this insightful look at the men who saw the United States through the first half of the twentieth century.
Author: Edmund Lindop
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780805043358
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book
Book Description
Author: Michael James Lacey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521407731
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 476
Get Book
Book Description
The essays in this volume provide a wide-ranging overview of the intentions, achievements, and failures of the Truman administration.
Author: Herbert Hoover
Publisher: Woodrow Wilson Center Press
ISBN: 9780943875415
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 356
Get Book
Book Description
The great tragedy of the twenty-eighth President as witnessed by his loyal lieutenant, and the thirty-first President.
Author: Charles River Editors
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781978287501
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 446
Get Book
Book Description
*Weaves the lives and presidencies of all 6 Democratic Presidents into one entertaining and educational narrative. *Includes dozens of pictures of the presidents and important people, places, and events in their lives. *Analyzes the legacies and accomplishments of each president. The Democrats who were elected president in the 20th century were responsible for a seemingly never ending list of accomplishments. Woodrow Wilson established the blueprint for the progressive presidents that would follow him, particularly Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson, while guiding the nation through World War I. FDR expanded that vision with his New Deal, completely revolutionizing the social contract between Americans and their federal government. While combating the Great Depression and the Axis powers in World War II, FDR has widely been considered one of the greatest presidents in history. When Roosevelt died in April 1945, Vice President Truman, somewhat unprepared for the Presidency, now had to fill some of the biggest shoes in American history. The new president had to usher America through victory in Europe in his first month and decide to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few months later, but the end of World War II produced only the first of many consequential decisions Truman would face during his nearly 8 years in office. As president, Truman would lay the groundwork for the next 50 years of American foreign policy, as the architect of Cold War containment, the man who signed off on the Marshall Plan, and the commander-in-chief during much of the Korean War. In many ways, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his young family were the perfect embodiment of the '60s. The decade began with a sense of idealism, personified by the attractive Kennedy, his beautiful and fashionable wife Jackie, and his young children. Months into his presidency, Kennedy exhorted the country to reach for the stars, calling upon the nation to send a man to the Moon and back by the end of the decade. In 1961, Kennedy made it seem like anything was possible, and Americans were eager to believe him. The Kennedy years were fondly and famously labeled "Camelot," by Jackie herself, suggesting an almost mythical quality about the young President and his family. While Kennedy represented lofty ideals, it was LBJ who got in the weeds and made things happen. . To the surprise of many, the Southern Democrat relied on his wealth of Senate experience and dogged determination to help push through an ambitious and progressive social agenda that formed the backbone of modern American society. Known as the Great Society, President Johnson's legislation included the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as the establishment of Medicare, Medicaid, environmental protection, and the "War on Poverty." Everything from the National Endowment for the Arts to the Environmental Protection Agency has its roots in Johnson's presidency. The most popular Democrat alive today is "The Comeback Kid," Bill Clinton.Widely hailed as the greatest politician of his era, Clinton proved to be his own worst enemy, creating unnecessary scandals through his womanizing. Clinton was one of the first politicians to truly connect with young adults, yet in the process he provided ludicrous soundbytes like "I did not inhale." Long considered the Democratic Party's greatest spokesman and surrogate, Clinton's presidency was defined by centrist "triangulation." And though he is still publicly popular and considered a great president, Clinton became just the second president to be impeached in the House of Representatives. America's Greatest Democratic Presidents of the 20th Century looks at the lives and presidencies of these historic men and analyzes their legacies. Along with pictures and a Table of Contents, you will learn about them like you never have before.
Author: Harry S. Truman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 168
Get Book
Book Description
Lectures and discussions held at Columbia University on April 27, 28, and 29, 1959.
Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781493707409
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 250
Get Book
Book Description
*Weaves the lives and presidencies of all 6 Democratic Presidents into one entertaining and educational narrative. *Includes dozens of pictures of the presidents and important people, places, and events in their lives. *Analyzes the legacies and accomplishments of each president. The Democrats who were elected president in the 20th century were responsible for a seemingly never ending list of accomplishments. Woodrow Wilson established the blueprint for the progressive presidents that would follow him, particularly Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson, while guiding the nation through World War I. FDR expanded that vision with his New Deal, completely revolutionizing the social contract between Americans and their federal government. While combating the Great Depression and the Axis powers in World War II, FDR has widely been considered one of the greatest presidents in history. When Roosevelt died in April 1945, Vice President Truman, somewhat unprepared for the Presidency, now had to fill some of the biggest shoes in American history. The new president had to usher America through victory in Europe in his first month and decide to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few months later, but the end of World War II produced only the first of many consequential decisions Truman would face during his nearly 8 years in office. As president, Truman would lay the groundwork for the next 50 years of American foreign policy, as the architect of Cold War containment, the man who signed off on the Marshall Plan, and the commander-in-chief during much of the Korean War. In many ways, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his young family were the perfect embodiment of the '60s. The decade began with a sense of idealism, personified by the attractive Kennedy, his beautiful and fashionable wife Jackie, and his young children. Months into his presidency, Kennedy exhorted the country to reach for the stars, calling upon the nation to send a man to the Moon and back by the end of the decade. In 1961, Kennedy made it seem like anything was possible, and Americans were eager to believe him. The Kennedy years were fondly and famously labeled "Camelot," by Jackie herself, suggesting an almost mythical quality about the young President and his family. While Kennedy represented lofty ideals, it was LBJ who got in the weeds and made things happen. . To the surprise of many, the Southern Democrat relied on his wealth of Senate experience and dogged determination to help push through an ambitious and progressive social agenda that formed the backbone of modern American society. Known as the Great Society, President Johnson's legislation included the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as the establishment of Medicare, Medicaid, environmental protection, and the "War on Poverty." Everything from the National Endowment for the Arts to the Environmental Protection Agency has its roots in Johnson's presidency. The most popular Democrat alive today is "The Comeback Kid", Bill Clinton.Widely hailed as the greatest politician of his era, Clinton proved to be his own worst enemy, creating unnecessary scandals through his womanizing. Clinton was one of the first politicians to truly connect with young adults, yet in the process he provided ludicrous soundbytes like "I did not inhale." Long considered the Democratic Party's greatest spokesman and surrogate, Clinton's presidency was defined by centrist "triangulation". And though he is still publicly popular and considered a great president, Clinton became just the second president to be impeached in the House of Representatives. America's Greatest Democratic Presidents of the 20th Century looks at the lives and presidencies of these historic men and analyzes their legacies. Along with pictures and a Table of Contents, you will learn about them like you never have before.
