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Summary
Summary
This New York Times bestseller is a "deep dive into the terms of eight former presidents is chock-full of political hijinks--and d j vu" ( Vanity Fair ) and provides a fascinating look at the men who came to the office without being elected to it, showing how each affected the nation and world.
The strength and prestige of the American presidency has waxed and waned since George Washington. Eight men have succeeded to the presidency when the incumbent died in office. In one way or another they vastly changed our history. Only Theodore Roosevelt would have been elected in his own right. Only TR, Truman, Coolidge, and LBJ were re-elected.
John Tyler succeeded William Henry Harrison who died 30 days into his term. He was kicked out of his party and became the first president threatened with impeachment. Millard Fillmore succeeded esteemed General Zachary Taylor. He immediately sacked the entire cabinet and delayed an inevitable Civil War by standing with Henry Clay's compromise of 1850. Andrew Johnson , who succeeded our greatest president, sided with remnants of the Confederacy in Reconstruction. Chester Arthur , the embodiment of the spoils system, was so reviled as James Garfield's successor that he had to defend himself against plotting Garfield's assassination; but he reformed the civil service. Theodore Roosevelt broke up the trusts. Calvin Coolidge silently cooled down the Harding scandals and preserved the White House for the Republican Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression. Truman surprised everybody when he succeeded the great FDR and proved an able and accomplished president. Lyndon B. Johnson was named to deliver Texas electorally. He led the nation forward on Civil Rights but failed on Vietnam.
Accidental Presidents shows that "history unfolds in death as well as in life" ( The Wall Street Journal ) and adds immeasurably to our understanding of the power and limits of the American presidency in critical times.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Cohen (One Hundred Days of Silence) explores the power transitions of eight U.S. vice presidents who took over the presidency upon the deaths of their predecessors in this entertaining but clunky history. Positing that "the matter of succession has been trivialized by voters, candidates, and lawmakers," Cohen presents brief, confidently told narratives of each transition (Teddy Roosevelt's reelection, for instance, "represented a glorious triumph for a man who believed he was destined to be president"). After a final chapter listing various near deaths of other presidents, Cohen concludes that the extant process for selecting vice-presidential candidates and integrating them into an administration's day-to-day business needs improvement, perhaps by requiring v-p candidates to have previously run for president or to have been selected not by campaign teams but party committees. Anecdotes (in 1844, a ship hosting a party of dignitaries, including President Tyler, suffered an explosion when demonstrating its gunpower, killing and maiming many guests) and overdoses of contextual details too often take precedence over the ostensible analytical focus. That said, the pacing is brisk, the writing is clear and engaging, and Cohen's characterizations of the presidents are mostly vivid. But the conclusions he draws feel slight. This colorful, occasionally amusing, but somewhat shaggy book may strike readers of history as lacking in urgency. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
An examination of the problems of presidential succession in American history, which in numerous cases has been anything but orderly.William Henry Harrison lasted only a month as president before succumbing to pneumonia in 1841, thrusting his vice president, John Tyler, into office. Therewith a chain of events was set in motion that would splinter the Whigs and turn a powerful potential ally, Henry Clay, into a foe: "While Clay sought reconciliation from Harrison," writes Cohen (Children of Jihad: A Young American's Travels Among the Youth of the Middle East, 2007, etc.), "he was prepared to wage war with Tyler." It wouldn't be the first time the elevation of a vice president to chief office would rupture old relations, as the author documents. A more modern case was the arrival of Lyndon Johnson to the Oval Office after John F. Kennedy's assassination. The Texan had been building the power he lost when leaving his post as Senate majority leader, for as second-in-command, he "lacked any real constituency inside the administration." Other vice presidents brought into office following the demise or departure of the president were less effective, and certainly less showy: Calvin Coolidge earned the moniker "Silent Cal," but he effectively calmed the turbulent scene surrounding the administration of his predecessor, Warren G. Harding (around whose death, Cohen hints, a cozy conspiracy theory might be built). The book is light on theory and long on anecdote, but it makes for pleasant reading for politics junkies, especially those keen on reading the political winds. Though his book is timely, the author insists that it is incorrect "to look at the timing of this book and assume it was inspired by all the impeachment talk surrounding Donald Trump."Easily digestible political history and, Cohen's protestations aside, interesting reading for those contemplating the prospect of a President Mike Penceor President Nancy Pelosi. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Four American presidents have been assassinated (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy), three died in office unexpectedly (Harrison, Taylor, Harding), and one of a prolonged illness (FDR). In each case, despite the lack of a clear constitutional provision for it (the 25th Amendment came later), they were succeeded by their vice presidents. Cohen skirts the matter of Gerald Ford's succession to the resigned Richard Nixon, citing his reasons for doing so, but it's unfortunate that he almost ignores the nation's most definitively accidental presidency. But the story he does tell is illuminating, particularly in its treatment of John Tyler's assumption of the presidency after the death of Harrison and how that event set the precedent of succession, which was far from a foregone conclusion. He also covers in depth the selection of the respective vice presidents and the detail surrounding the transitions. For a work intended for general readers, there is a surfeit of endnotes, but this is genuinely interesting history on a topic that has never been addressed in this depth.--Mark Levine Copyright 2019 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Cohen (founder & CEO, Jigsaw at Google's Alphabet, Inc.; One Hundred Days of Silence) offers a fluidly written work on eight U.S. vice presidents who unexpectedly became chief executives. Assassinations of their predecessors installed Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson in the White House, while fatal presidential illnesses ushered in John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry Truman. What the book does well is describe characteristics and criteria that should influence the selection. Among these are previous experiences as vetted presidential candidates or elected executives rather than their potential to carry states electorally. The book is less valuable as a primary source. Misstatements include referring to 24-year-old Julia Tyler as the youngest First Lady, neglecting Frances Cleveland holding that title at age 21, and citing Henry Morgenthau Jr. as the first Jewish cabinet member instead of Oscar Straus. Cohen also engages in counterfactuals, especially regarding unsuccessful assassination plots. Though he includes the attempt in Palm Beach, FL, against John F. Kennedy in December 1960, he leaves out a threat against Richard Nixon in February 1974. VERDICT This provocative and timely introductory book for concerned readers during another presidential election cycle might spark additional historical sleuthing.-Frederick J. -Augustyn Jr., Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.