Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and how They Changed America, 1789-1989Simon & Schuster, 2007 - 430 pages From the acclaimed bestselling author ofThe Conquerors Michael Beschloss has brought us a brilliantly readable and inspiring saga about crucial times in America's history when a courageous President dramatically changed the future of the United States. With surprising new sources and a dazzling command of history and human character, Beschloss brings to life these flawed, complex men -- and their wives, families, friends and foes. Never have we had a more intimate, behind-the-scenes view of Presidents coping with the supreme dilemmas of their lives. You will be in the room with the private George Washington, braving threats of impeachment and assassination to make peace with England. John Adams, incurring his party's "unrelenting hatred" by refusing to fight France and warning his enemies, "Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war." Andrew Jackson, in a death struggle against the corrupt Bank of the United States. Abraham Lincoln, risking his Presidency to insist that slaves be freed. Beschloss also shows us Theodore Roosevelt, taunting J. P. Morgan and the Wall Street leaders who dominated his party. Franklin Roosevelt, defying the isolationists -- and maybe the law -- to stop Adolf Hitler. Harry Truman, risking a walkout by top officials to recognize a Jewish state. John Kennedy, the belated champion of civil rights, complaining that he has cost himself a second term. And finally, two hundred years after Washington, Ronald Reagan, irking some of his oldest backers to seek an end to the Cold War. As Beschloss shows in this gripping and important book, none of these Presidents was eager to incur ridicule, vilification or threats of political destruction and even assassination. But in the end, bolstered by friends and family, hidden private beliefs and, sometimes, religious faith, each ultimately proved himself to be, in Andrew Jackson's words, "born for the storm." |
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Page 115
... give Stanton and the other " wretches ” the “ pun- ishment they so richly deserve . " While Stanton used the stick with the General , Montgomery Blair tried the carrot . He assured a McClellan crony that if the General stayed out of the ...
... give Stanton and the other " wretches ” the “ pun- ishment they so richly deserve . " While Stanton used the stick with the General , Montgomery Blair tried the carrot . He assured a McClellan crony that if the General stayed out of the ...
Page 147
... give my opponent , whoever he may be next year , unlimited money . " In November 1904 , Pierpont Morgan had Mark Hanna to a private Thanksgiving feast at his Manhattan home and said it was his “ duty ” to save the nation from Roosevelt ...
... give my opponent , whoever he may be next year , unlimited money . " In November 1904 , Pierpont Morgan had Mark Hanna to a private Thanksgiving feast at his Manhattan home and said it was his “ duty ” to save the nation from Roosevelt ...
Page 231
... give them a foothold in Palestine . Truman was also motivated by sheer politics . With a tough campaign ahead , he knew that if he did not recognize Israel , the backers of a Jewish state would make his life a living hell . But he had ...
... give them a foothold in Palestine . Truman was also motivated by sheer politics . With a tough campaign ahead , he knew that if he did not recognize Israel , the backers of a Jewish state would make his life a living hell . But he had ...
Contents
Chapter Fourteen | 103 |
Chapter Fifteen | 113 |
Chapter Sixteen | 119 |
Copyright | |
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