How did we get Here? : : From Theodore Roosevelt to Donald Trump

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Call Number: 352.235 Da
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

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Introduction -- Theodore Roosevelt: "Master therapist of the middle classes" -- Woodrow Wilson: triumph and tragedy -- Franklin D. Roosevelt: prophet of a new order -- Harry S. Truman: the tribulations of a great president -- Dwight D. Eisenhower: the general as peacemaker -- John F. Kennedy: the making of an icon -- Lyndon B. Johnson: flawed giant -- Richard M. Nixon: America in crisis -- Jimmy Carter: the moralist as politician -- Ronald Reagan: the media president -- Trump: In the shadow of history.
The struggle to preserve the Republic has never been easy or without perils. The rise of conflicting political parties, which the founders opposed, and President John Adams’ Alien and Sedition Acts repressing First Amendment rights made Franklin’s observation at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention—“a republic, if you can keep it”—seem prescient. In the twentieth century, America endured numerous struggles: economic depression, World War II, McCarthyism, the Vietnam War, Watergate, the Iran-contra scandal, the war in Iraq—all of which gave rise to demagogues, as did the growth and reach of mass media. But this wasn't the Founding Fathers’ vision for our leadership. The resistance to putting a demagogue in the White House survived the anti-Communist agitation of the 1950s and the Vietnam War in the 1960s. But the latter opened the way for Richard Nixon’s election in 1968 and Watergate, which again tested our democratic institutions and the rule of law. Nixon’s resignation in August 1974 moved Vice President Gerald Ford, his successor, to declare, “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.” But was it? Donald Trump’s 2016 election has presented a new challenge. How did past politics and presidential administrations pave the way for this current assault on American democracy? Our nation’s history provides reassurance that we will restore our better angels to government. Yet it must be considered that earlier administrations and public outlook facilitated the rise of such an un-presidential character as Trump in the first place. In How Did We Get Here?, Robert Dallek considers a century of modern administrations, from Teddy Roosevelt to today, shining a light on the personalities behind the politics and the voters who elected each. His cautionary tale reminds us that the only constant in history is change, but whether for good or ill the choice is Americans’ to make. -- provided by publisher.
In the twentieth century, America endured numerous struggles, from economic depression to the war in Iraq. Each struggle gave rise to demagogues, as did the growth and reach of mass media. Donald Trump's 2016 election has presented a new challenge. How did past politics and presidential administrations pave the way for this current assault on American democracy? Dallek considers a century of modern administrations, from Teddy Roosevelt to today, shining a light on the personalities behind the politics and the voters who elected each. He reminds us that the only constant in history is change, but whether for good or ill the choice is Americans' to make. -- adapted from jacket

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