Presidents Above Party: The First American Presidency, 1789-1829George Washington's vision was a presidency free of party, a republican, national office that would transcend faction. That vision would remain strong in the administrations of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams, yet largely disappear under Andrew Jackson and his successors. This book is a comprehensive and pathbreaking study of the early presidency and the ideals behind it. Ralph Ketcham examines the roots of nonpartisan leadership in Western thought and the particular influences on the founding fathers. Intellectual and political profiles of the first six presidents and their administrations emphasize the construction each put on the office, the challenges he faced, and the compromises he did and did not make. The erosion of nonpartisanship under Andrew Jackson is presented as a counterpoint that helps define the early presidency and the permanent transition from it. Addressing the thoughtful citizen as well as the scholar, the author poses the fundamental questions about presidential leadership, then and now. The best study of the early presidency, this book is an intellectual portrait of the age that will challenge received notions of American history. |
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Page iv
... Congress Cataloging - in - Publication Data Ketcham , Ralph Louis , 1927– Presidents above party . ( Institute bicentennial studies on the Constitution and Early American law and government ) Includes bibliographical references and ...
... Congress Cataloging - in - Publication Data Ketcham , Ralph Louis , 1927– Presidents above party . ( Institute bicentennial studies on the Constitution and Early American law and government ) Includes bibliographical references and ...
Page 7
... 1787 , they " proceeded to Resolution 7 [ of the Virginia Plan ] that a national Execu- tive be instituted , to be chosen by the National Legislature . . . to possess the executive powers of Congress . " To start debate Introduction 7.
... 1787 , they " proceeded to Resolution 7 [ of the Virginia Plan ] that a national Execu- tive be instituted , to be chosen by the National Legislature . . . to possess the executive powers of Congress . " To start debate Introduction 7.
Page 8
... Congress or by the state legislatures , and for an absolute veto were all entertained . Even life tenure for the executive was suggested , to say nothing of the widely cred- ited rumor that the younger brother of George III would be ...
... Congress or by the state legislatures , and for an absolute veto were all entertained . Even life tenure for the executive was suggested , to say nothing of the widely cred- ited rumor that the younger brother of George III would be ...
Page 9
... Congress , there . . . appeared no precise or limiting reference to ' Powers herein granted . ' In- stead , there was very little plainly given , very little clearly withheld . As a summation of all the labyrinthine debates of the ...
... Congress , there . . . appeared no precise or limiting reference to ' Powers herein granted . ' In- stead , there was very little plainly given , very little clearly withheld . As a summation of all the labyrinthine debates of the ...
Page 90
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Contents
3 | |
11 | |
The American Presidency 17891837 | 87 |
Republican Dilemmas Virtue and Commerce Leadership and Party | 163 |
Notes | 237 |
Index | 261 |
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Abigail Adams accepted Adams's administration admired Alexander Pope American Revolution ancient Augustan Bernard Mandeville Bolingbroke Britain British Buren Cato century Charles Francis Adams Classical colonies commercial common conception Congress Constitution Convention corruption cultural Daniel Defoe defended Defoe democratic Dunciad early presidents economic eighteenth eighteenth-century election England English ethic executive power faction Federal Federalist Franklin George Hamilton ibid idea ideal ideology insisted J. Q. Adams Jackson Jacksonian James Madison Jeffersonian John Adams John Quincy Adams John Winthrop Jonathan Swift legislative legislature liberty Mandeville ment modern monarch Monroe moral nation Number opposition Parliament partisan partisanship patriot king patriot leader Pitt Plutarch political parties president's principles prosperity public philosophy Puritan quoted radical Whig republic republican Revolutionary role rulers scorned self-interest sense six presidents society sought spirit Thomas Jefferson thought tion Tory trade traditional United virtue virtuous Walpole Walpole's Walpolean Washington wealth Wilson Writings wrote York