Presidents Above Party: The First American Presidency, 1789-1829Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Va., 1984 - Biography & Autobiography - 269 pages George 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 119
... means to resist a corrupted administration . He even joined Jefferson in founding an antiministerial , republican party , which each conceived as “ a party to end all parties , ” that is , an instrument , a temporary means to overcome ...
... means to resist a corrupted administration . He even joined Jefferson in founding an antiministerial , republican party , which each conceived as “ a party to end all parties , ” that is , an instrument , a temporary means to overcome ...
Page 128
... means the common view . Gener- ally , each party still supposed the other to be a faction ( whether a minority or a majority made no difference ) and itself to be working for the public good . Hence the Federalists could pass the Alien ...
... means the common view . Gener- ally , each party still supposed the other to be a faction ( whether a minority or a majority made no difference ) and itself to be working for the public good . Hence the Federalists could pass the Alien ...
Page 153
... means absent in the new system , Jackson's words in so candidly defending “ rota- tion in office ” are revealing . He had repudiated the old system in which a political office was considered " a species of property " or " a means of pro ...
... means absent in the new system , Jackson's words in so candidly defending “ rota- tion in office ” are revealing . He had repudiated the old system in which a political office was considered " a species of property " or " a means of pro ...
Contents
Preface vii 3 The Opposition Whigs | 3 |
The First Republican Chief Franklin Commerce | 6 |
Morality Commerce | 13 |
Copyright | |
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