Bad Presidents

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Classifications: Kings and Presidents

   • Philip Abbott

   Pages 1-22

3. The First Bad President?: John Tyler

   • Philip Abbott

   Pages 23-42

4. The Compromise: Millard Fillmore

   • Philip Abbott

   Pages 43-59

5. The Byronic President: Franklin Pierce

   • Philip Abbott

   Pages 61-75

6. Building the House?: James Buchanan

   • Philip Abbott

   Pages 77-95

7. Lincoln in Reverse: Andrew Johnson

   • Philip Abbott

   Pages 97-113

8. The First Bad “Hidden-Hand” President: Ulysses S. Grant

   • Philip Abbott

   Pages 115-131

9. The Booster: Warren G. Harding

   • Philip Abbott

   Pages 133-145

10. The Minimalist: Calvin Coolidge

    • Philip Abbott

    Pages 147-162

11. Weathering the Storm: Herbert Hoover

    • Philip Abbott

    Pages 163-176

12. Ex Parte Exercitii: Richard M. Nixon

    • Philip Abbott

    Pages 177-197

13. The Latest Bad President?: George W. Bush

    • Philip Abbott

    Pages 199-209

14. Conclusion

    • Philip Abbott

    Pages 211-220

15. Back Matter

    Pages 221-260

    PDF

Bad Presidents seeks to interpret the meaning of presidential 'badness' by investigating the ways in which eleven presidents were 'bad.' The author brings a unique, and often amusing perspective on the idea of the presidency, and begins a new conversation about the definition of presidential success and failure.

• bush
• classification
• hand
• idea
• interpret
• success
• William James
• us politics

"Philip Abbott is one of the nation's leading presidency scholars. His edge is a deep historical understanding of executive power and his franchise is the accidental presidents, the failed presidents, the bad presidents, the presidents bruised and battered and sometimes crushed by the office. We all know how much we learn from the study of great presidents, but Abbott has again surprised by showing us just how much there is to learn from a close and candid look at failed presidents." - Cal Jillson, Professor of Political Science, Southern Methodist University, USA

"This truly important project is original, creative, significant, and fun." Lara Brown, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Villanova University, USA

Philip Abbott is Distinguished University Professor at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA. His recent books include Accidental Presidents: Death, Assassination, Resignation and Democratic Succession (2008) and Political Thought in America: Conversations and Debates, fourth edition (2010). He has published articles in a number of journals, including Journal of Politics, Presidential Studies Quarterly, and Perspectives on Politics. He has held the Thomas Jefferson Chair in American Studies at the University of Amsterdam.

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