American Presidents: Farewell Messages to the Nation, 1796-2001

Capa
Gleaves Whitney
Lexington Books, 2003 - 477 páginas
This unique collection presents the parting words of the presidents of the United States, from Washington to Clinton. A hybrid of literary masterpiece and historical document, each speech reveals its orator's ideals for the government of our nation. Washington warns against entangling alliances; Eisenhower voices his fears of the military-industrial complex; Reagan leaves office with an emotional call for the remembrance of American history in service of informed patriotism. Each leader imparts his final message in the form of a political or moral lesson--or, in some cases, prophecy. Read consecutively from president to president, the messages form a wonderfully American conversation. This conversation invokes ordered liberty, self-government under the rule of law, and the nation's special destiny in human history, and it transcends partisan politics.The volume is prefaced by a detailed introduction discussing the importance of the valedictory address and the power of presidential rhetoric, and each speech is preceded by a brief contextualizing statement. In the last official words of each president, readers will find cautions, hopes, and suggestions relevant for today's world and future generations. American Presidents is an invaluable reference, especially for scholars of the presidency, but also for anyone interested in the history, politics, and culture of the United States.

No interior do livro

Índice

George Washington 17891797
13
John Adams 17971801
31
Thomas Jefferson 18011809
35
James Madison 18091817
40
James Monroe 18171825
46
John Quincy Adams 18251829
58
Andrew Jackson 18291837
69
Martin Van Buren 18371841
95
Benjamin Harrison 18891893
260
Grover Cleveland 18931897
279
Theodore Roosevelt 19011909
301
William Howard Taft 19091913
329
Woodrow Wilson 19131921
365
Calvin Coolidge 19231929
370
Herbert Hoover 19291933
384
Harry S Truman 19451953
392

John Tyler 18411845
104
James K Polk 18451849
117
Millard Fillmore 18501853
145
Franklin Pierce 18531857
159
James Buchanan 18571861
174
Abraham Lincoln 18611865
188
Andrew Johnson 18651869
191
Ulysses S Grant 18691877
201
Rutherford B Hayes 18771881
211
Chester A Arthur 18811885
229
Grover Cleveland 18851889
242
Dwight D Eisenhower 19531961
412
Lyndon B Johnson 19631969
419
Richard M Nixon 19691974
433
Gerald R Ford 19741977
440
Jimmy Carter 19771981
448
Ronald Reagan 19811989
455
George H W Bush 19891993
461
William Jefferson Clinton 19932001
467
Index
471
About the Editor
Direitos de autor

Palavras e frases frequentes

Passagens conhecidas

Página 11 - Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when or whether ever I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington.
Página 11 - Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.
Página 7 - Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend.

Acerca do autor (2003)

Gleaves Whitney is Chief Speech Writer for John Engler, Governor of Michigan, and is a Senior Fellow of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. He did his graduate studies in History from the University of Michigan and has taught at the University of Michigan and Colorado State University.

Informação bibliográfica