The Rough Rider And The Professor

Download The Rough Rider And The Professor full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online The Rough Rider And The Professor ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

The Rough Rider and the Professor

Author : Laurence Jurdem
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1639364420
Total Pages : 323 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (393 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Rough Rider and the Professor by : Laurence Jurdem

Download or read book The Rough Rider and the Professor written by Laurence Jurdem and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2023-07-04 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evoking the political intrigue of the Gilded Age, The Rough Rider and the Professor chronicles the extraordinary thirty-five-year friendship between President Theodore Roosevelt and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts. Theodore Roosevelt was a uniquely gifted figure. A man of great intellect and physicality, the New York patrician captured the imagination of the American people with his engaging personality and determination to give all citizens regardless of race, color, or creed the opportunity to achieve the American dream. While Roosevelt employed his abilities to rise from unknown New York legislator to become the youngest man ever to assume the presidency in 1901, that rapid success would not have occurred without the assistance of the powerful New Englander, Henry Cabot Lodge. Eight years older than Roosevelt, from a prominent Massachusetts family, Lodge, was one of the most calculating, combative politicians of his age. From 1884 to 1919 Lodge and Roosevelt encouraged one another to mine the greatness that lay within each of them. As both men climbed the ladders of power, Lodge, focused on dominating the political landscape of Massachusetts, served as the future president’s confidant and mentor, advising him on political strategy while helping him obtain positions in government that would eventually lead to the White House. Despite the love and respect that existed between the two men, their relationship eventually came under strain. Following Roosevelt's ascension to the presidency, T. R.’s desire to expand the social safety net—while attempting to broaden the appeal of the Republican Party—clashed with his older friend's more conservative, partisan point of view. Those tensions finally culminated in 1912. Lodge's refusal to support the former president's independent bid for a third presidential term led to a political break-up that was only repaired by each man's hatred for the policies of Woodrow Wilson. Despite their political disagreements, Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge remained devoted friends until the Rough Rider took his final breath on January 6, 1919.

Theodore Roosevelt & Henry Cabot Lodge

Author : Theodore Roosevelt
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781985066601
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (666 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Theodore Roosevelt & Henry Cabot Lodge by : Theodore Roosevelt

Download or read book Theodore Roosevelt & Henry Cabot Lodge written by Theodore Roosevelt and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-02-05 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TO E. Y. R. To you we owe the suggestion of writing this book. Its purpose, as you know better than any one else, is to tell in simple fashion the story of some Americans who showed that they knew how to live and how to die; who proved their truth by their endeavor; and who joined to the stern and manly qualities which are essential to the well-being of a masterful race the virtues of gentleness, of patriotism, and of lofty adherence to an ideal. It is a good thing for all Americans, and it is an especially good thing for young Americans, to remember the men who have given their lives in war and peace to the service of their fellow-countrymen, and to keep in mind the feats of daring and personal prowess done in time past by some of the many champions of the nation in the various crises of her history. Thrift, industry, obedience to law, and intellectual cultivation are essential qualities in the makeup of any successful people; but no people can be really great unless they possess also the heroic virtues which are as needful in time of peace as in time of war, and as important in civil as in military life. As a civilized people we desire peace, but the only peace worth having is obtained by instant readiness to fight when wronged-not by unwillingness or inability to fight at all. Intelligent foresight in preparation and known capacity to stand well in battle are the surest safeguards against war. America will cease to be a great nation whenever her young men cease to possess energy, daring, and endurance, as well as the wish and the power to fight the nation's foes. No citizen of a free state should wrong any man; but it is not enough merely to refrain from infringing on the rights of others; he must also be able and willing to stand up for his own rights and those of his country against all comers, and he must be ready at any time to do his full share in resisting either malice domestic or foreign levy. HENRY CABOT LODGE. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. WASHINGTON, April 19, 1895.

Rough Rider in the White House

Author : Sarah Watts
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226876071
Total Pages : 301 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (268 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Rough Rider in the White House by : Sarah Watts

Download or read book Rough Rider in the White House written by Sarah Watts and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2003-10-15 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this book, Sarah Watts probes this dark side of the Rough Rider, presenting a fascinating psychological portrait of a man whose personal obsession with masculinity profoundly influenced the fate of a nation. Drawing on his own writings and on media representations of him, Watts attributes the wide appeal of Roosevelt's style of manhood to the way it addressed the hopes and anxieties of men of his time. Like many of his contemporaries, Roosevelt struggled with what it meant to be a man in the modern era. He saw two foes within himself: a fragile weakling and a primitive beast. The weakling he punished and toughened with rigorous, manly pursuits such as hunting, horseback riding, and war. The beast he unleashed through brutal criticisms of homosexuals, immigrants, pacifists, and sissies - anyone who might tarnish the nation's veneer of strength and vigor. With his unabashed paeans to violence and aggressive politics, Roosevelt ultimately offered American men a chance to project their longings and fears onto the nation and its policies. In this way he harnessed the primitive energy of men's desires to propel the march of American civilization - over the bodies of anyone who might stand in its way."--BOOK JACKET.

The Crowded Hour

Author : Clay Risen
Publisher : Scribner
ISBN 13 : 1501143999
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (11 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Crowded Hour by : Clay Risen

Download or read book The Crowded Hour written by Clay Risen and published by Scribner. This book was released on 2019-06-04 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEW YORK TIMES 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2019 SELECTION The dramatic story of the most famous regiment in American history: the Rough Riders, a motley group of soldiers led by Theodore Roosevelt, whose daring exploits marked the beginning of American imperialism in the 20th century. When America declared war on Spain in 1898, the US Army had just 26,000 men, spread around the country—hardly an army at all. In desperation, the Rough Riders were born. A unique group of volunteers, ranging from Ivy League athletes to Arizona cowboys and led by Theodore Roosevelt, they helped secure victory in Cuba in a series of gripping, bloody fights across the island. Roosevelt called their charge in the Battle of San Juan Hill his “crowded hour”—a turning point in his life, one that led directly to the White House. “The instant I received the order,” wrote Roosevelt, “I sprang on my horse and then my ‘crowded hour’ began.” As The Crowded Hour reveals, it was a turning point for America as well, uniting the country and ushering in a new era of global power. Both a portrait of these men, few of whom were traditional soldiers, and of the Spanish-American War itself, The Crowded Hour dives deep into the daily lives and struggles of Roosevelt and his regiment. Using diaries, letters, and memoirs, Risen illuminates a disproportionately influential moment in American history: a war of only six months’ time that dramatically altered the United States’ standing in the world. In this brilliant, enlightening narrative, the Rough Riders—and a country on the brink of a new global dominance—are brought fully and gloriously to life.

The Rough Rider (House of Winslow Book #18)

Author : Gilbert Morris
Publisher : Baker Books
ISBN 13 : 1441270434
Total Pages : 356 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (412 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Rough Rider (House of Winslow Book #18) by : Gilbert Morris

Download or read book The Rough Rider (House of Winslow Book #18) written by Gilbert Morris and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2005-11-01 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: House of Winslow Book 18- Stepping off the train at New York's Grand Central Station, Aaron Winslow left the numbing cold of the Klondike gold fields far behind. But he could not shake the bitter sting left by the death of his cousin, Jubal Winslow, who had died to save Aaron's life. No words had been able to touch the guilt and disillusionment he carried. When Aaron arrives in New York City, he finds his younger brother, Lewis, passionately determined to enlist in Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders and fight the Spanish in Cuba. Unable to stop Lewis, Aaron decides to join him and try to protect him. He's also considering the high-powered offer of going in as a war reporter for William Randolph Hearst and the New York Journal. For reasons all her own, Gail Summers is also volunteering as an army nurse to serve at the side of Dr. David Burns, a man to whom she is greatly indebted. But will her friendship with the godly physician stand in the way of what she eventually comes to feel about Aaron? Could something good come out of this war?

Teddy Roosevelt

Author : Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History John A Garraty
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781417821297
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (212 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Teddy Roosevelt by : Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History John A Garraty

Download or read book Teddy Roosevelt written by Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History John A Garraty and published by . This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before Teddy Roosevelt earned his reputation as a strong, masculine hunter, explorer, and Rough Rider, he actually endured a sickly childhood. That's just one aspect of his life covered in this handsomely illustrated biography, which follows his transformation into a disciplined athlete and one of the world's best-known public servants and politicians. Renowned author John Garraty uses quotes from Roosevelt throughout, giving readers direct contact with the man's colorful personality. In addition, Garraty masterfully eliminates confusing details, while emphasizing the significance of Roosevelt's actions as he deals with opposing faction. He emerges as the first modern President and a great statesman.

The Rough Riders

Author : Theodore Roosevelt
Publisher : New York : C. Scribner's Sons
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 408 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Rough Riders by : Theodore Roosevelt

Download or read book The Rough Riders written by Theodore Roosevelt and published by New York : C. Scribner's Sons. This book was released on 1899 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on a pocket diary from the Spanish-American War, this tough-as-nails 1899 memoir abounds in patriotic valor and launched the future President into the American consciousness.

T.R.

Author : H. W. Brands
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 1541618033
Total Pages : 928 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (416 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis T.R. by : H. W. Brands

Download or read book T.R. written by H. W. Brands and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2019-07-23 with total page 928 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the New York Times bestselling author, an acclaimed biography of President Teddy Roosevelt Lauded as "a rip-roaring life" (Wall Street Journal), TR is a magisterial biography of Theodore Roosevelt by bestselling author H.W. Brands. In his time, there was no more popular national figure than Roosevelt. It was not just the energy he brought to every political office he held or his unshakable moral convictions that made him so popular, or even his status as a bonafide war hero. Most important, Theodore Roosevelt was loved by the people because this scion of a privileged New York family loved America and Americans. And yet, according to Brands, if we look at the private Roosevelt without blinders, we see a man whose great public strengths hid enormous personal deficiencies; he was uncompromising, self-involved, and a highly imperfect brother, husband, and father. Beautifully written, and powerfully moved by its subject, TR is the classic biography of one of America's greatest and most complex leaders.

A Most Glorious Ride

Author : Edward P. Kohn
Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 1438455135
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis A Most Glorious Ride by : Edward P. Kohn

Download or read book A Most Glorious Ride written by Edward P. Kohn and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2014-12-12 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Encompasses key years and important events in Theodore Roosevelts early life and career. A Most Glorious Ride presents the complete diaries of Theodore Roosevelt from 1877 to 1886. Covering the formative years of his life, Roosevelts entries show the transformation of a sickly and solitary Harvard freshman into a confident and increasingly robust young adult. He writes about his grief over the premature death of his father, his courtship and marriage to his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee, and later the death of Alice and his mother on the same day. The diaries chronicle his burgeoning political career in New York City and his election to the New York State Assembly. With his descriptions of balls, dinner parties, and nights at the opera, they offer a glimpse into life among the Gilded Age elite in Boston and New York. They also recount Roosevelts first birding and hunting trips to the Adirondacks, the Maine woods, and the American West. Ending with Roosevelts secret engagement to his second wife, Edith Kermit Carow, A Most Glorious Ride provides an intimate look into the life of the man who would become Americas twenty-sixth president. Brought together for the first time in a single volume, the diaries have been meticulously transcribed, annotated, and introduced by Edward P. Kohn. Twenty-four black-and-white photographs are also included. Edward P. Kohn has done scholars a great public service by editing the diaries of Theodore Roosevelt, 18771886. This volume is essential reading for anybody interested in the rise of the great Rough Rider. Highly recommended. Douglas Brinkley, author of The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America I thought there was nothing new under the sun to be done on Theodore Roosevelt, given the thousands of books already published, but Edward P. Kohn has discovered, and admirably filled, a major gap in books on the life and times of TR. By bringing these diaries together in one place for the first time and providing expert annotation and footnotes, Kohn makes an extremely valuable contribution to understanding Roosevelt. Paul Grondahl, author of I Rose Like a Rocket: The Political Education of Theodore Roosevelt A Most Glorious Ride is an outstanding addition not only to the scholarship on Roosevelt but also to the study of the Gilded Age, capturing the social norms of the times and offering insights into a long-gone era of family life. Michael Patrick Cullinane, author of Liberty and American Anti-Imperialism: 18981909

Roosevelt the Reformer

Author : Richard Downing White
Publisher : University of Alabama Press
ISBN 13 : 0817313613
Total Pages : 275 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (173 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Roosevelt the Reformer by : Richard Downing White

Download or read book Roosevelt the Reformer written by Richard Downing White and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2003-11-10 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Richard White Jr. situates young Roosevelt within the exciting events of the Gilded Age, the Victorian era, and the gay nineties. He describes Roosevelt's relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and adversaries.

Leonard Wood

Author : Jack McCallum
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 0814756999
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (147 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Leonard Wood by : Jack McCallum

Download or read book Leonard Wood written by Jack McCallum and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Army Chief of Staff, Medal of Honor winner, commander of the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War, Governor General of the Philippines, and presidential candidate, Wood was one of a select cadre of men that transformed the American military at the turn of the century, turning it into a modern fighting force and the nation into a world power.".

I Rose Like a Rocket

Author : Paul Grondahl
Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 9780803259874
Total Pages : 484 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (598 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis I Rose Like a Rocket by : Paul Grondahl

Download or read book I Rose Like a Rocket written by Paul Grondahl and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2007-05-01 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ""Albany Times Union" reporter Grondahl does an outstanding job of documenting Theodore Roosevelt's evolution from brash young political reformer to shrewd and pragmatic political operator, always with his eye on various idealistic prizes."--"Publishers Weekly."

Remembering Theodore Roosevelt

Author : Michael Patrick Cullinane
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030692965
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (36 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Remembering Theodore Roosevelt by : Michael Patrick Cullinane

Download or read book Remembering Theodore Roosevelt written by Michael Patrick Cullinane and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-09-23 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book sheds new light on the life and times of Theodore Roosevelt, drawing on a remarkable set of oral histories gathered in the 1950s from those who knew him. Remembering Theodore Roosevelt presents fourteen intimate interviews with Roosevelt’s friends, family, and contemporaries. Never before published, the transcripts reveal colorful details about the infamous Rough Riders, the political scene in New York City, the lives of his extended family, including the Hyde Park Roosevelts Franklin and Eleanor, and how the former president inspired successive generations. The book benefits from the author’s discerning annotations and commentary that provide the reader with lesser-known facts and a full appreciation of the oral history project.

Theodore Roosevelt

Author : Lewis L. Gould
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199912939
Total Pages : 103 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (999 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Theodore Roosevelt by : Lewis L. Gould

Download or read book Theodore Roosevelt written by Lewis L. Gould and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-01-06 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sportsman. Naturalist. Warrior. President. There are so many sides to Theodore Roosevelt that it is easy to overlook one of his most enduring contributions to American public life: the use of fame to fuel his political career. In this concisely written, enlightening book, presidential historian Lewis L. Gould goes beyond the "bully pulpit" stereotypes to reveal how Roosevelt used his celebrity to change American politics. Based on research gleaned from the personal papers of Roosevelt and his contemporaries, Theodore Roosevelt recaptures its subject's bold activism and irrepressible, larger-than-life personality. Beginning with his privileged childhood in New York City, the narrative traces his election to the New York Assembly, where he quickly rose through the ranks of the Republican Party. It is here that he first applied his shrewd ability to keep himself in the spotlight--a skill that served him well as commander of a volunteer regiment (dubbed "Roosevelt's Rough Riders") in the Spanish-American War. Gould shows how Roosevelt rode a wave of popular acclaim at the war's end, assuming the governorship of New York and serving as president from 1901 to 1909. While covering his major accomplishments as chief executive, including his successes as a trust-buster, labor mediator, and conservationist, Gould explains how fame both sustained and limited Roosevelt when he ran for president in 1912 and opposed Woodrow Wilson's policies during World War I. Theodore Roosevelt delivers the most insightful look yet at a pioneer of political theater--a man whose vigorous idealism as a champion of democracy serves as a counterpoint to the cynicism of today's political landscape. The book will coincide with the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt's third party run for the Progressive or Bull Moose Party.

Theodore Roosevelt's Ghost

Author : Michael Patrick Cullinane
Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 0807166731
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (71 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Theodore Roosevelt's Ghost by : Michael Patrick Cullinane

Download or read book Theodore Roosevelt's Ghost written by Michael Patrick Cullinane and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2017-12-11 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A century after his death, Theodore Roosevelt remains one of the most recognizable figures in U.S. history, with depictions of the president ranging from the brave commander of the Rough Riders to a trailblazing progressive politician and early environmentalist to little more than a caricature of grinning teeth hiding behind a mustache and pince-nez. Theodore Roosevelt’s Ghost follows the continuing shifts and changes in this president’s reputation since his unexpected passing in 1919. In the most comprehensive examination of Roosevelt’s legacy, Michael Patrick Cullinane explores the frequent refashioning of this American icon in popular memory. The immediate aftermath of Roosevelt’s death created a groundswell of mourning and goodwill that ensured his place among the great Americans of his generation, a stature bolstered by the charitable and political work of his surviving family. When Franklin Roosevelt ascended to the presidency, he worked to situate himself as the natural heir of Theodore Roosevelt, reshaping his distant cousin’s legacy to reflect New Deal values of progressivism, intervention, and patriotism. Others retroactively adapted Roosevelt’s actions and political record to fit the discourse of social movements from anticommunism to civil rights, with varying degrees of success. Richard Nixon’s frequent invocation led to a decline in Roosevelt’s popularity and a corresponding revival effort by scholars endeavoring to give an accurate, nuanced picture of the 26th president. This wide-ranging study reveals how successive generations shaped the public memory of Roosevelt through their depictions of him in memorials, political invocations, art, architecture, historical scholarship, literature, and popular culture. Cullinane emphasizes the historical contexts of public memory, exploring the means by which different communities worked to construct specific representations of Roosevelt, often adapting his legacy to suit the changing needs of the present. Theodore Roosevelt’s Ghost provides a compelling perspective on the last century of U.S. history as seen through the myriad interpretations of one of its most famous and indefatigable icons.

The Last Brahmin

Author : Luke A. Nichter
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300217803
Total Pages : 553 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Last Brahmin by : Luke A. Nichter

Download or read book The Last Brahmin written by Luke A. Nichter and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2020-09-22 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first biography of a man who was at the center of American foreign policy for a generation Few have ever enjoyed the degree of foreign-policy influence and versatility that Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. did—in the postwar era, perhaps only George Marshall, Henry Kissinger, and James Baker. Lodge, however, had the distinction of wielding that influence under presidents of both parties. For three decades, he was at the center of American foreign policy, serving as advisor to five presidents, from Dwight Eisenhower to Gerald Ford, and as ambassador to the United Nations, Vietnam, West Germany, and the Vatican. Lodge’s political influence was immense. He was the first person, in 1943, to see Eisenhower as a potential president; he entered Eisenhower in the 1952 New Hampshire primary without the candidate’s knowledge, crafted his political positions, and managed his campaign. As UN ambassador in the 1950s, Lodge was effectively a second secretary of state. In the 1960s, he was called twice, by John F. Kennedy and by Lyndon Johnson, to serve in the toughest position in the State Department’s portfolio, as ambassador to Vietnam. In the 1970s, he paved the way for permanent American ties with the Holy See. Over his career, beginning with his arrival in the U.S. Senate at age thirty-four in 1937, when there were just seventeen Republican senators, he did more than anyone else to transform the Republican Party from a regional, isolationist party into the nation’s dominant force in foreign policy, a position it held from Eisenhower’s time until the twenty-first century. In this book, historian Luke A. Nichter gives us a compelling narrative of Lodge’s extraordinary and consequential life. Lodge was among the last of the well‑heeled Eastern Establishment Republicans who put duty over partisanship and saw themselves as the hereditary captains of the American state. Unlike many who reach his position, Lodge took his secrets to the grave—including some that, revealed here for the first time, will force historians to rethink their understanding of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War.

William Howard Taft

Author : Jeffrey Rosen
Publisher : Times Books
ISBN 13 : 1250293693
Total Pages : 206 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (52 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis William Howard Taft by : Jeffrey Rosen

Download or read book William Howard Taft written by Jeffrey Rosen and published by Times Books. This book was released on 2018-03-20 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only man to serve as president and chief justice, who approached every decision in constitutional terms, defending the Founders’ vision against new populist threats to American democracy William Howard Taft never wanted to be president and yearned instead to serve as chief justice of the United States. But despite his ambivalence about politics, the former federal judge found success in the executive branch as governor of the Philippines and secretary of war, and he won a resounding victory in the presidential election of 1908 as Theodore Roosevelt’s handpicked successor. In this provocative assessment, Jeffrey Rosen reveals Taft’s crucial role in shaping how America balances populism against the rule of law. Taft approached each decision as president by asking whether it comported with the Constitution, seeking to put Roosevelt’s activist executive orders on firm legal grounds. But unlike Roosevelt, who thought the president could do anything the Constitution didn’t forbid, Taft insisted he could do only what the Constitution explicitly allowed. This led to a dramatic breach with Roosevelt in the historic election of 1912, which Taft viewed as a crusade to defend the Constitution against the demagogic populism of Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Nine years later, Taft achieved his lifelong dream when President Warren Harding appointed him chief justice, and during his years on the Court he promoted consensus among the justices and transformed the judiciary into a modern, fully equal branch. Though he had chafed in the White House as a judicial president, he thrived as a presidential chief justice.