![]() It is also a powerful argument against a limited reading of the Constitution by the highest court. Accidental Presidents describes some of our history's most momentous decisions and crucial turning points. ![]() Andrew Johnson was a catastrophic successor to Abraham Lincoln. Truman was a gift to FDR and to the nation, to the happy surprise of many. ![]() Only one, TR, would likely have made it to the highest office on his own. Each had to step out of the shadow and learn to be president. Each would have to earn the respect of men loyal to his predecessor or find a way to discard them. ![]() In many cases, the men who came to fill the shoes of presidents had been spouses in marriages of political convenience chosen for the candidate's strategy, or to court a constituency. ![]() 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. Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America by Jared CohenĮight times in our republic a vice president has succeeded on the death of the president - history altered by a heartbeat. He led the nation forward on Civil Rights but failed on Vietnam. ![]()
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