Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty
448Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty
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Overview
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781598130225 |
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Publisher: | Independent Institute, The |
Publication date: | 01/09/2009 |
Series: | Independent Studies in Political Economy |
Pages: | 448 |
Product dimensions: | 6.30(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.60(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
1 A Precedent-Setting Presidency - Both Good and Bad George Washington 19
2 Used the Quasi-War with France to Restrict Civil Liberties John Adams 25
3 A Hypocrite on Limited Government Thomas Jefferson 30
4 Started an Unneeded War That Got the U.S. Capital Burned James Madison 38
5 The First Wisps of Permanent Government Expansion James Monroe 50
6 A Federalist Wearing a Democrat's Clothes John Quincy Adams 55
7 Aggressive against Indians and Southerners Andrew Jackson 60
8 Practiced What He Preached Martin Van Buren 70
9 Served for Thirty-one Days William Henry Harrison 76
10 "…and Tyler Too!" John Tyler 77
11 War for Land to Carry Out Aggressive Manifest Destiny James K. Polk 83
12 Risked Civil War Years before It Happened Zachary Taylor 92
13 Avoided an Earlier Civil War, but at a Cost Millard Fillmore 96
14 Made Civil War More Likely Franklin Pierce 101
15 Should Have Let the South Go in Peace James Buchanan 106
16 Provoked a Catastrophic Civil War That Achieved Far Less Than Believed Abraham Lincoln 116
17 Uncompromising Attitude Led to Harsh Reconstruction Policies Andrew Johnson 131
18 Better Than Expected, but Still Poor Ulysses S. Grant 139
19 Practiced Military Restraint, Except with Indians Rutherford B. Hayes 150
20 Served for Six Months James A. Garfield 157
21 Promoted Limited Government and Fought Inflation Chester A. Arthur 158
22 Exemplar of Honesty and Limited Government Grover Cleveland 163
23 Bad Economics and the Use of Coercion at Home and Abroad Benjamin Harrison 172
24 Served a Second. Nonconsecutive Term Grover Cleveland 177
25 The First Modern President, with Imperialist Aspirations William McKinley 178
26 Overrated in Accomplishments and Significance Theodore Roosevelt 187
27 Not a Hefty Policy Innovator William Howard Taft 206
28 Made the World Safe for War, Autocracy, and Colonialism Woodrow Wilson 212
29 Scandals Masked a Good Presidency Warren G. Harding 230
30 Silent Cal's Presidency Should Silence the Critics Calvin Coolidge 236
32 Sucked the Economy into the Great Depression Herbert Hoover 242
32 Lied the Nation into War and Expanded Government Franklin D. Roosevelt 248
33 The First Imperial President Harry S Truman 267
34 Overt Dove and Covert Hawk Dwight D. Eisenhower 286
35 Almost Incinerated the World So as Not to Appear Weak John F. Kennedy 299
36 A Failure with Both Guns and Butter Lyndon B. Johnson 312
37 Undermined the Republic at Home; Had a Mixed Record Abroad Richard M. Nixon 324
38 Pardon Mel Gerald R. Ford 335
39 The Best Modern President James Earl Carter, Jr. 344
40 Not Really That Conservative Ronald Reagan 359
41 "Read My Lips," No Real Accomplishments George W. Bush 372
41 More Fiscally Conservative Than Reagan and the Bushes William J. Clinton 382
43 Interventionist Policies Undermined the Republic at Home and Peace Abroad George W. Bush 401
44 Only a Slightly Improved Version of George W. Bush Barack Obama 427
Conclusion 454
Notes 459
Index 489
About the Author 515
What People are Saying About This
While conventional accounts glorify the flagrant misdeeds of the 'Imperial Presidency,' this insightful and crucial book provides an inspiring vision for both conservatives and liberals.
We are propagandized to adulate all American presidents regardless of what their record might have been. Dr. Eland has provided a far more accurate account of the actions of these men (and they are indeed men, not gods). (Ronald Hamowy, professor emeritus of history, University of Alberta, Canada)
This new 'gold standard' for measuring presidential performance . . . will challenge your view of political history, one president at a time. (Jonathan Bean, professor of history, Southern Illinois University)
According to American historians, the best presidents get us into the biggest wars, impose the most interventionist economic policies, and trample civil liberties by expanding executive power beyond what the Constitution permits. Eland makes a novel proposal: Why not rank presidents according to the traditional American values of peace, prosperity and liberty? Read this important new book and find out why John Tyler may be America's greatest president! (Thomas DiLorenzo, professor of economics, Loyola College, Maryland; author, The Real Lincoln, Lincoln Unmasked, and Hamilton's Curse)
Judging presidents by a deceptively simple metric-their impact on peace, prosperity and liberty-leads Eland to reach radical conclusions about the rankings of presidents. (Richard Shenkman, editor, History News Network, and author, Just How Stupid Are We? and Presidential Ambition )