A Higher Purpose: Profiles in Presidential Courage
by By Whalen, Thomas J.
Category: Political Science , History & Theory

John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage profiled US Senators who paid political costs for crossing party lines or defying public opinion in order to do what they felt was right; similarly, Whalen (social science, Boston U.) examines the actions of nine American presidents. His selections include Andrew Jackson's war against Nicholas Biddle and the Second Bank of the United States, Abraham's Lincoln issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Chester A. Arthur's spearheading of civil service and anti-corruption reform, Grover Cleveland's involvement in the Hawaiian annexation debates, Theodore Roosevelt's antitrust prosecution of the Northern Securities Company, Franklin Roosevelt's trading of US naval destroyers for British basing rights, Harry Truman's firing of General Douglas MacArthur, John Kennedy's enforcement of the integration of the University of Alabama, and Gerald Ford's pardoning of Richard Nixon. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)