James Polk was President of the United States from 1845 to 1849, a time when slavery began to dominate American politics. Polk's presidency coincided with the eruption of the territorial slavery issue, which within a few years would lead to the catastrophe of the Civil War. Polk himself owned substantial cotton plantations-- in Tennessee and later in Mississippi-- and some 50 slaves. Unlike many antebellum planters who portrayed their involvement with slavery as a historical burden bestowed onto them by their ancestors, Polk entered the slave business of his own volition, for reasons principally of financial self-interest. Drawing on previously unexplored records, Slavemaster President recreates the world of Polk's plantation and the personal histories of his slaves, in what is arguably the most careful and vivid account to date of how slavery functioned on a single cotton plantation. Life at the Polk estate was brutal and often short. Fewer than one in two slave children lived to the age of fifteen, a child mortality rate even higher than that on the average plantation. A steady stream of slaves temporarily fled the plantation throughout Polk's tenure as absentee slavemaster. Yet Polk was in some respects an enlightened owner, instituting an unusual incentive plan for his slaves and granting extensive privileges to his most favored slave. Startlingly, Dusinberre shows how Polk sought to hide from public knowledge the fact that, while he was president, he was secretly buying as many slaves as his plantation revenues permitted. Shortly before his sudden death from cholera, the president quietly drafted a new will, in which he expressed the hope that his slaves might be freed--but only after he and his wife were both dead. The very next day, he authorized the purchase, in strictest secrecy, of six more very young slaves. By contrast with Senator John C. Calhoun, President Polk has been seen as a moderate Southern Democratic leader. But Dusinberre suggests that the president's political stance toward slavery-- influenced as it was by his deep personal involvement in the plantation system-- may actually have helped precipitate the Civil War that Polk sought to avoid.

This volume gives students, professors, and the general public a single, comprehensive source on the key themes in the historical development of the presidency from America's founding era through the presidency of George W. Bush. How has the role of the president changed since George Washington? How does the president interact with Congress? The courts? The states? Other nations? These are just a few of the overarching questions addressed in this volume in ABC-CLIO's About Federal Government set devoted to the president and the executive branch he manages. The Executive Branch of the Federal Government provides a brief history of the presidency, then looks at the constitutional powers of the office, the day-to-day functions of the federal bureaucracy, general elections, and presidential relationships with Congress and the courts. But perhaps most compelling are the insights into the officeholders themselves, the individuals who have served as president, each fashioning a term reflective of his own personality.

The evolution of the United States from a late-18th century coalition of rebel British colonies to a 21st century global superpower was shaped by several forces. As the nation expanded its boundaries after the Treaty of Paris confirmed independence from Great Britain in 1783, it acquired a rich variety of resources – coal, fertile soils, forests, iron ore, oil, precious metals, space, and varied climates as well as extensive tracts of territory. Technological innovations, such as the cotton gin and steam power, enabled entrepreneurs to exploit those resources and create wealth. Federal and state legislators provided environments in which the economy could flourish, and military strategists kept the country safe from external attack. Diplomats negotiated commercial agreements with foreign governments and cultivated multinational alliances that strengthened freedoms. Through its focus on the people and places that shaped the country’s economic and political development and its detailed accounts of the processes that enabled the U.S. to expand across the continent Historical Dictionary of the United States contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 400 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the United States.

The strengths and weaknesses of the presidents who led the United States to the Civil War The United States witnessed an unprecedented failure of its political system in the mid-nineteenth century, resulting in a disastrous civil war that claimed the lives of an estimated 750,000 Americans. In his other acclaimed books about the American presidency, Fred Greenstein assesses the personal strengths and weaknesses of presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama. Here, he evaluates the leadership styles of the Civil War-era presidents. Using his trademark no-nonsense approach, Greenstein looks at the presidential qualities of James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln. For each president, he provides a concise history of the man's life and presidency, and evaluates him in the areas of public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. Greenstein sheds light on why Buchanan is justly ranked as perhaps the worst president in the nation's history, how Pierce helped set the stage for the collapse of the Union and the bloodiest war America had ever experienced, and why Lincoln is still considered the consummate American leader to this day. Presidents and the Dissolution of the Union reveals what enabled some of these presidents, like Lincoln and Polk, to meet the challenges of their times--and what caused others to fail.

Malvern Hill, Run Up To Gettysburg is a history of the American Civil War, the battles, and the men who fought them. The book is distinguished by its effort to give equal attention to some of the lesser-known battles and unfamiliar actors, as well as some of the less publicized events that occurred off the battlefield. The book takes a critical look at the leaders on both sides and their decisions on the battlefield and the impact of those decisions on the lives of their men and the progress of war itself.

A Companion to the Antebellum Presidents presents a series of original essays exploring our historical understanding of the role and legacy of the eight U.S. presidents who served in the significant period between 1837 and the start of the Civil War in 1861. Explores and evaluates the evolving scholarly reception of Presidents Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan, including their roles, behaviors, triumphs, and failures Represents the first single-volume reference to gather together the historiographic literature on the Antebellum Presidents Brings together original contributions from a team of eminent historians and experts on the American presidency Reveals insights into presidential leadership in the quarter century leading up to the American Civil War Offers fresh perspectives into the largely forgotten men who served during one of the most decisive quarter centuries of United States history

The Jacksonian period under review in this dictionary served as a transition period for the United States. The growing pains of the republic’s infancy, during which time Americans learned that their nation would survive transitions of political power, gave way to the uncertainty of adolescence. While the United States did not win its second war, the War of 1812, with its mother country, it reaffirmed its independence and experienced significant maturation in many areas following the conflict’s end in 1815. As the second generation of leaders took charge in the 1820s, the United States experienced the challenges of adulthood. The height of those adult years, from 1829 to 1849, is the focus of the Historical Dictionary of the Jacksonian Era and Manifest Destiny. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Jacksonian Era and Manifest Destiny contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 200 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about this era in American history.

The Invisibles chronicles the African American presence inside the White House from its beginnings in 1782 until 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that granted slaves their freedom. During these years, slaves were the only African Americans to whom the most powerful men in the United States were exposed on a daily, and familiar, basis. By reading about these often-intimate relationships, readers will better understand some of the views that various presidents held about class and race in American society, and how these slaves contributed not only to the life and comforts of the presidents they served, but to America as a whole.

Through his travels, Alvin Slaughter has seen a pervasive weariness and discouragement in the body of Christ. He knows the signs because he has been there himself. Despite being in church all of his life, knowing every song and countless scriptures, Slaughter struggled with fear, depression, financial failure, and marital strife. Today, he is on the other side of the failures and self-doubts. He's come to know that the life of faith is real, and he wants others to learn from his experiences. In Re-Inventing Life, he uses his story as a backdrop to give readers the tools they need to overcome whatever troubles they are going through. His casual storytelling and captivating humor allow him to transcend barriers of every kind and speak to the challenges of life that are common to all.

Between his inauguration and September 11, 2001, George W. Bush's presidency appeared to lack focus. The rhetoric of the campaign trail did not readily translate into concrete policies and a closely divided Congress restrained executive action. The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, however, changed all of that. In their aftermath, Bush emerged as a strong, decisive leader with a deep sense of purpose and certainty that inspired many Americans, even as it alienated much of the rest of the world. In The George W. Bush Presidency: An Early Assessment, noted presidential scholar Fred I. Greenstein brings together a distinguished group of political scientists to consider the first two-and-a-half years of the George W. Bush presidency, from his leadership style and political ethos to his budgetary and foreign policies to his relationship with Congress, the electorate, and the American public. This balanced and timely volume concludes with an invaluable insider's view of the president and his administration by John J. DiIulio, the first Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Contributors: Richard A. Brody, Ivo Daalder, John J. Dilulio, Jr., John Fortier, Hugh Heclo, Karen M. Hult, Gary Jacobson, Charles O. Jones, James Lindsay, Norman Ornstein, and Allen Schick