Description
Book SynopsisThe 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
Trade Review"Greenstein offers a new study of presidential leadership in addition to his numerous existing studies of the U.S. presidency."--Choice "Presidents and the Dissolution of the Union offers an invaluable guide for anyone interested in the do's and don'ts of leadership... Greenstein's style is accessible with a minimum of scholarly apparatus; the result is a highly entertaining text that can be devoured at one sitting."--Laurence Raw, Journal of American Culture
Table of ContentsChapter 1 The Presidential Difference in the Civil War Era 1 Chapter 2 The Policy-Driven Political Style of James K. Polk 13 Chapter 3 The Rough and Ready Leadership of Zachary Taylor 29 Chapter 4 Millard Fillmore and the Compromise of 1850 43 Chapter 5 Franklin Pierce and the Kansas-Nebraska Act 57 Chapter 6 The Disastrous Presidency of James Buchanan 75 Chapter 7 Abraham Lincoln: Consummate Leader 93 Chapter 8 What Difference Did the President Make? 111 Appendix Background on the Civil War Era Presidents 127 Notes 147 Further Reading 159 Acknowledgments 171 Index 173
