1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910814068403321

Autore

Greenstein Fred I

Titolo

Presidents and the dissolution of the Union : leadership style from Polk to Lincoln / / Fred I. Greenstein with Dale Anderson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Princeton, : Princeton University Press, [2013]

ISBN

1-299-46481-5

1-4008-4641-2

9781400846412 q (ebook)

Edizione

[Core Textbook]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (199 pages)

Disciplina

973.09/9

Soggetti

Presidents - United States - History - 19th century

Presidents - United States

Political leadership - United States

United States Politics and government 1783-1865

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Chapter 1. The Presidential Difference in the Civil War Era -- Chapter 2. The Policy- Driven Political Style of James K. Polk -- Chapter 3. The Rough and Ready Leadership of Zachary Taylor -- Chapter 4. Millard Fillmore and the Compromise of 1850 -- Chapter 5. Franklin Pierce and the Kansas- Nebraska Act -- Chapter 6. The Disastrous Presidency of James Buchanan -- Chapter 7. Abraham Lincoln: Consummate Leader -- Chapter 8. What Difference Did the President Make? -- Appendix. Background on the Civil War Era Presidents -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Acknowledgments -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

The United States witnessed an unprecedented failure of its political system in the mid-nineteenth century, resulting in a disastrous civil war that claimed the lives of an estimated 750,000 Americans. In his other acclaimed books about the American presidency, Fred Greenstein assesses the personal strengths and weaknesses of presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama. Here, he evaluates the leadership styles of the Civil War-era presidents. Using his trademark no-nonsense approach, Greenstein looks at the presidential qualities of James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James



Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln. For each president, he provides a concise history of the man's life and presidency, and evaluates him in the areas of public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. Greenstein sheds light on why Buchanan is justly ranked as perhaps the worst president in the nation's history, how Pierce helped set the stage for the collapse of the Union and the bloodiest war America had ever experienced, and why Lincoln is still considered the consummate American leader to this day. Presidents and the Dissolution of the Union reveals what enabled some of these presidents, like Lincoln and Polk, to meet the challenges of their times--and what caused others to fail.