The Presidency of Benjamin Harrison (American Presidency Series)
Students of American history at last have a full interpretive study of an (until now) obscure administration. Harrison has long been treated as a cipher; this study rescues him, portraying him as a confident, hard-working, and even visionary leader. Huge GOP losses in the 1890 election stymied a domestic program that had produced landmark laws in the Sherman Antitrust Act and the McKinley Tariff. Thereafter the president concentrated on foreign policy. Harrison, the authors argue, personally laid the groundwork for later American acquisition of Hawaii and expansion in the Far East. Although Harrison has been the subject of a detailed three-volume biography by H.J. Sievers, this book is the first to provide a critical assessment of his presidency. Essential for scholars. Thomas E. Schott, Office of History, Engineering Installation Div., Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.