Francis Russell (1) (1910–1989)

In drama, tragedy is defined as the fall of a great man through deliberate or inadvertent mechanizations of his own creation, with an emphasis on the adjective "great." In this sense, Warren G. Harding's story is not a tragedy, as he was never a great man. Nonetheless, "tragic" is a word I will always associate with him after reading this splendid biography by Francis Russell. Harding spent most of his life mildly ambitious but content to go along to get along, to stand for election without standing for concrete principles. He didn't mind mild (extremely mild) abuses of electoral privilege (the equivalent of a cop accepting free coffee every day), and he was not under sharp control of his libidinal urges. But he seems to have been a generally good man, and when he was elected president, he eventually tried to grow into the job, a job for which he was notably unsuited. His loyalty caused him to give positions of power and authority to friends and supporters without due regard to their abilities or scruples, and as his term in office neared its end, he found himself and the country betrayed by several of them. His last days before dying in office were apparently agonizing ones, as he clearly was becoming aware of the perfidy of his closest advisers, several of whom had enriched themselves through illegal means. In addition, several extra-marital affairs caused him fear and anguish when it seemed they might be exposed. In some ways, Harding was fortunate to die when he did, as the enormous scandals that forever tarred his administration did not, for the most part, come to light until he had been eulogized as a fine and decent president. While he may not have been a fine president, he appears to have been, but for a few peccadilloes, a basically decent one, and his legacy as one of the worst presidents is due not to his own evil deeds but to his inability to believe in the crimes of his friends, and to his self-admitted insufficiency to the task of leading the country. Francis Russell, author of the wonderful TRAGEDY AT DEDHAM, about the Sacco and Vanzetti case, creates a vivid portrait of the ill-fated Harding and also leaves the reader slavering for material Russell was forced to leave out -- letters between Harding and one of his mistresses, letters read by Russell but suppressed from publication by Harding's heirs. THE SHADOW OF BLOOMING GROVE is a really good book about a not very good president.… (altro)

Summary: A survey of American history during the period between the Civil War and World War 1, 1866-1914.

For many of us it is the period of American history about which we know the least. It was a period of mostly undistinguished presidents, one of whom escaped a conviction of impeachment by a single vote. But it was also a time during which the United States truly became a global power, setting the stage for its role in the first World War. It was the period of Reconstruction, and the dashing of new found hopes of African-Americans. It was the time of the rise of industrial tycoons and the shift of the economy from rural farms to factories and cities. It was the time when our modern two-party system solidified. Toward the end, it was the time when America’s dreams of empire found expression in a war with Spain resulting in the acquisition of Puerto Rico and the Philippines. A growing navy was accompanied by a canal across Panama. The period came to a close with the rise of one of the country’s most dynamic presidents followed by one of its least-inspiring.

In the latter part of the Twentieth century, American Heritage published a collection of histories covering the different periods of American history, and significant aspects of world history. More recently, these works have been re-released in digital form. This volume offers in a highly readable form a survey of the history of the United States between 1866 through 1914.

The period begins with Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson. We get a portrait of an unlikable individual who tended not to listen to others but was dedicated to his own ideas of what it meant to uphold the Constitution and barely escaped a conviction of impeachment. He’s followed by U. S. Grant, one of the most popular presidents whose presidency was marked by high ideals, and low morals. It wasn’t Grant but those around him. Then Rutherford B. Hayes makes the electoral deal that gives him the presidency but spells the end of Reconstruction. We find ourselves wondering what James Garfield would have accomplished had not an assassin’s bullet stopped him after just months in office. His successor Chester Arthur surprised those who despaired with his solid performance and resistance of the New York machine. Then we witness the only president to win two terms, but not consecutively, Grover Cleveland, who gives way to Benjamin Harrison for four years.

While this period marks the rise of rail interests, the industrialists like Andrew Carnegie, and the monopolists like Rockefeller, we witness a succession of one term presidents. Then along comes William McKinley, who seems to be on the way to one more of those presidencies until backed into the Spanish-American war, a one-sided conflict that suddenly made McKinley the president of an imperial power, until once more, early in his second term, an assassin’s bullet ended his solid presidency. And so we get Rough Rider Teddy Roosevelt, who terrified many but turned out to be a great reformer and trustbuster and furthered American power in building a canal across Panama. Then he passed the torched to the trusted friend who really wanted to be Chief Justice rather than Commander in Chief, William Howard Taft. What follows is the sad tale of Roosevelt’s failed attempt to fill the vacuum of his former friend’s lackluster leadership, opening the way to Woodrow Wilson.

Along the way, this history traces the economic ups and downs, the debates about gold standards and silver, and the populism of William Jennings Bryant, the preacher politician who protested a government who would crucify its people on a “cross of gold.”

While historians might dispute some of the particulars, this work offers a great introductory survey that sets various events in their larger context and introduces us to the parade of figure who made this history. I was most impressed with how radically the country was transformed during this time, expanding coast to coast, laying the groundwork for the great power it would become through two global wars.… (altro)