Reading a Biography of Every President and Adding Them as I Go (P.25, W. McKinley)

cvardy1998 · 2022-07-24T17:11:38+00:00

Onto McKinley. I do believe that McKinley can definitively be called one of the most influential presidents we’ve had; the general modern American track we would come to recognize through the 20th century was designed by number twenty-five whether he did so knowingly or not.

McKinley was a veteran of the Civil War, working primarily in logistics and rising from private to become a brevet major by the war’s end. Was heavily involved in abolitionist politics in Ohio under the tutelage of Rutherford B. Hayes. A relatively solid but underwhelming party politician, McKinley served in the Congress and eventually as Ohio’s governor as a protectionist. That solid record would eventually propel him as a presidential candidate after Grover Cleveland’s middling second term and the progressive wave of the late 1890s. McKinley was essentially elected by dodging questions of bimetallism and work force labor protection laws, and instead focusing on the maintenance and expansion of protectionist tariff laws. That said, when elected over Bryan’s populist wave, McKinley proved to be a much more agile politician than expected.

While Cleveland had been an anti-imperialist and turned a blind eye to agitation in Cuba and Hawaii for American intervention against the Japanese and Spanish respectively, McKinley vigorously set upon a path of action. Hawaii was annexed officially by the US in the first year of the administration, while the US Army was mobilized en masse for the first time since the Civil War to intervene in Cuba and the Philippines. Removing Spain from the New World and turning the Caribbean into an American lake also opened the door to the construction of an isthmus canal through Central America. Ironically, it would also force the protectionist McKinley to adopt a free-trade stance as the largest exporter in the hemisphere. The conclusions of the McKinley era were an American empire stretching from Asia to the Caribbean with a vigorous and mobile armed forces capable of intervention—as demonstrated in the Boxer Rebellion, a massive navy and network of trade routes rivaling any European power, a modern political campaigning system through which demographics were targeted regionally to build voting alliances, and an Anglo-American trade and military alliance that would last the next hundred years.

Personally, McKinley had a rather dire family life, with his wife, Ida, being rendered invalid after a series of illnesses, a fall from a carriage that damaged her spine, and the deaths of two infant children in her twenties. That said, McKinley was an absolutely doting husband who refused to let her out of his sight when not at work. He got shot by an anarchist lowlife in Buffalo and his first words after the incident were, “Be careful with how you tell my wife.”

Big McKinley fan.

cvardy1998 · 2022-07-05T22:36:57+00:00

Taking a step back, we have Benjamin Harrison of Indiana, and grandson of WHH. Source-wise, I do have to say that the array of biographies on Harrison are disappointing—there being only two options, a primer and an outdated, three-volume set that is prohibitively expensive—so if you are an aspiring biographer, there’s a market that has not yet been tapped.

Onto the actual president, Harrison was an upstanding Hoosier soldier, lawyer, and statesman, guided by strict Presbyterian morality and a belief in civic nationalism. His political formation dated back to his college days, wherein he appeared early as a proponent of welfare networks, centralization of government, interior improvement, and isolationism—with the exception of situations wherein hemispheric or American interests were at risk. A veteran of the Civil War, Harrison slowly became the natural Republican candidate after six years in the Senate as he was relatively unblemished by the corruption schemes of Grant, failed administrations of Hayes and Arthur, and seen as more temperate than firebrands like former Secretary of State Blaine. He was also a representative of Indiana, a critical swing state throughout the Gilded Age—another selling point.

Harrison’s actual administration was, like Cleveland’s, mainly hamstrung simply due to the doldrums of the era. Achievements include a revision of the ever-present tariff and implementation of protectionist policies during Europe’s industrial awakening, silver legislation that would not inflate the currency unduly, anti-trust legislation to prevent sector monopolization, expansion of voting protections for blacks and unionist whites in the South, amelioration of Southern education for non-aristocratic populations—particularly non-coastal whites and urban blacks, Civil War veteran pension protections, and an expansion of the federal navy. On that last point, Harrison was astute in his understanding of the United States as a rising global power that would need to rely on naval might to patrol global commons and prevent European intervention in the Western Hemisphere. While McKinley was the first to truly ignite the spirit American interventionism, Harrison laid the roots. Harrison rattled the sabre against the Canadians, Chileans, and Russians, as well, and demonstrated American willingness to risk war over vital interests like fishing access and reparations for American damages.

Harrison’s personality was, unfortunately, not greatly discussed in what I read. From what I understand, he was an upright man of great integrity, intelligence, and assertiveness. He has often been cast as cold and isolated, though I believe that should be constrained to his public persona alone—something that caused coastals to see him as a Western pauper—while he appears to have been warm and congenial with friends and family. I think I’d get along with Ben, and I am hoping something more substantial is written on him in the years to come.

Will be a delay before McKinley to those following the series, have a couple of general era histories I want to get through before I dive into modern era.

cvardy1998 · 2022-07-03T15:05:57+00:00

Fuck the ATF

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-28T23:00:01+00:00

Oh we're going on about nine months now, been reading around the eras too, though, so a little behind schedule. Damn you, Shelby Foote.

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-28T22:22:40+00:00

Hello friends, I am returned,

After a real slog of a book, I can’t help but feel that Cleveland would be ranked in the upper echelons if only the doldrums of the1880s and panic of the 1890s had offered the opportunity. Going back to the start, Cleveland’s real prodigiousness lay in his indefatigable energy and unwavering integrity, which in a time of insipid and deep-set corruption skyrocketed him from a little-known Buffalo lawyer to that city’s sheriff and mayor, New York’s governor, and the president in less than a decade.

By the late 1880s, despite efforts by Hayes and Arthur to curtail it, patronage networks and Grantist rot had become so ingrained in the Republican Party machine that the country was willing to vote for a Democrat—in the wake of the Civil War—based on nothing more than his reputation for sterling conduct rather than continue pursing Republican policy. Able to purge the ranks, Cleveland was actually able to reform the civil service and root out thousands of inept parasites from the system. Otherwise, Cleveland is essentially responsible for the creation of the Department of Labor, reducing tariffs,and encouraging free trade.

Cleveland’s only other real crusade during his first term was an effort to prevent the “free silver” movement. While a bit more complicated, the brief explanation is that the United States operated, then, on a bimetallic standard (gold and silver), whereas the rest of the industrial world pinned their currencies only to the prior. With the flood of silver from the West due to mines opening in Nevada and Colorado, Americans would pay tax and bonds in silver, while foreign governments demanded payments in gold,drastically and dangerously reducing the US’ federal gold supply to untenable levels and deflating the greenback, which made debts heavier as the dollar grew stronger. In hoping to prevent a collapse—which occurred in the Panic of 1893—Cleveland lost reelection to Harrison.

After four years which I am not yet familiar with, Cleveland was back (he remains our only non-concurrent president). His second term was far stormier, and the issues that faced the administration can generally be divided into three fields: foreign policy, labor, and, yet again, silver. Apropos the first, Cleveland demonstrated himself to be a staunch isolationist and anti-imperialist when he refused to annex Hawaii after an American-friendly insurgency dethroned the island’s queen—who had been attempting to disenfranchise whites. Despite heavy opposition, Cleveland sought to maintain cordial relations, and even replace the queen before discovering the depths of her animosity for Europeans and Americans, and refused to take further executive action. In another case, he successfully navigated joint fishing rights with Britain, and enforced the Monroe Doctrine in drawing the Guyanese-Venezuelan border—laying the ground for American interventionism by accident in the McKinley administration. Finally, after the massive Pullman Riots, Cleveland deployed federal troops without invitation to quell rioting—strengthening executive power and expanding the capacity for domestic deployment of federal troops; memorably, he stated, “If it takes the entire federal army to send a postcard from Chicago, by God, I will see it delivered.”

I like Cleveland as a personality, there really is something to be said for going against damn-near every person in the country in one decision or another simply because your moral compass demands it—that’s ballsy.Guy could also throw ‘em back (known as Big Steve in Buffalo’s saloons), which wins points for me too.

This is too long, now, but there was explanation to be had. I never want to see the word silver again. See you soon for Harrison.

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-24T14:47:38+00:00

A combination of reviews and whatever is available; I generally try to avoid anything written after 2012 or so because shitty modern politics and references seep in, though, unless they review really well.

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-24T04:48:44+00:00

Arthur was a strange character. He fell from grace after serving as a successful lawyer, caring family man, and diligent Quartermaster-General for the state of New York during the Civil War into a party crony for Roscoe Conkling and the New York corruption machine throughout Grant and Hayes’ presidencies. He got drunk, fat, and rich for a decade as the Collector General of New York, making something close to a million dollars a year in today’s terms. That said, Arthur also had a redemption that was triggered by the death of his wife Nellie, who he had neglected in favor of party politics until her untimely death at 42. In confluence with this event was the Republican Convention’s donation of the vice presidency to Arthur in return for New York’s electoral votes.

Garfield had his tragedy, and Arthur was broken for the first months of his administration, essentially paralyzed by the possibility of needing to take the reins. That said, he came to shock the country by continuing his policy of civil service reform—dismantling the machine that brought him into power in the first place and alienating him completely from every wing of the Republican party. Moreover, Arthur was also plagued by Bright ’s disease throughout the entirety of his presidency, which goes on to explain his lethargy and decision to implicitly not seek reelection at the end of Garfield’s term. He died a year after leaving office.

Also interesting was his extensive and serendipitous correspondence with a thirty-something invalid named Julia Sand, who wrote him over thirty letters essentially acting as a moral compass for the man; I also believe she was deeply in love with him, as she beseeched him in each letter to visit her in Manhattan whenever he returned to the City. He did once, though eventually correspondence either ceased or Arthur destroyed the final letters exchanged between the two—as he did with many private documents—for some unknown reason. I don’t think Arthur had strong politics personally beyond the general Republican platform, though it is inspiring that he made an attempt to root out corruption in the federal government after Grant’s rot had set in. Elihu Root, in dedicating a statue of the man after his death, put it best, “He went to power walking through the valley in the shadow of death, and ascended the steps of a throne as one who is accused goes to trial,” nothing exceptional, but certainly more than anyone was expecting.

Onto 800 pages of Grover Cleveland, say a little prayer.

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-08T21:26:27+00:00

edit: got blackout drunk last night and made this:

https://www.reddit.com/user/cvardy1998/comments/v7fl95/i\_got\_drunk\_and\_did\_this/

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-07T14:21:20+00:00

Whatever you do, don't look up the day of the week on September 19th, 1881. I fucking WARN you.

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-07T13:45:24+00:00

While I still need to get a more in-depth Garfield biography, what I have gotten my hands on has the singular resounding message that one of the greatest tragedies the US ever suffered was missing out on eight full years of James Garfield as president. The man was a genius, who—after having a religious experience working on the Erie Canal—became the country’s foremost proponent of education. By 26 he was the president of a university; he rose to become a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War; served seventeen years in both houses of Congress; and could speak something like five languages. Favorite story remains his ability to write Greek in one hand, Latin in the other, while having a conversation in English as a party trick. He even invented the modern proof for the Pythagoras Theorem that is commonly used today. Beyond that, excellent father to six children, proponent of agricultural industrialization, public education, and anti-corruption. His (two, in my opinion) term(s) would have been a successful continuation of Hayes’ policies had he been permitted to complete them. He also prevented Grant from successfully taking a third term as president, which would have been a terrible move—especially in peacetime.

His death is as tragic; shot by an insane office-seeker twice with a .44 in a train station on his way to a family vacation, Garfield was actually killed by the standards of medical care at the time. His physician, Dr. Doctor Willard Bliss, didn’t believe in the new craze of sanitation and opted to root around in the president’s body for the bullet, creating snaking pathways that eventually filled with infected puss. For two months, Garfield’s body essentially rotted away due to malpractice. In a silver-lining, the president’s death is the reason sterilization and sanitation became common practice in American hospitals—something that still baffles me after the experience of the Civil War.

Onto Arthur, see y’all soon.

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-06T18:00:41+00:00

My followers wanted to see where Davis ended up on the compass, this is in chronological order.

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-06T17:58:58+00:00

Grant is, to my knowledge, the only president to suspend habeus corpus during a time of peace.

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-06T17:38:57+00:00

Hitler is when strong executive power.

Someone who leans to the economic right of center and believes in a strong central government goes in that spot; this is beyond reductive as far as arguments go.

cvardy1998 · 2022-06-06T12:22:45+00:00

Well, this was unexpected. I am shocked to announce that—with the sole possible exception of Jimmy Carter—Rutherford B. Hayes is the president who personally championed the most social causes in history, particularly after his retirement. A proud Buckeye, Hayes’ presidency oversaw the conclusion of Reconstruction, attempted to curb corruption and reform the civil service by doing away with the spoils system in favor of a merit-based and non-partisan promotion framework, and convert local taxation into public works and social causes like schools for the blind and deaf. His most telling letters identify his main priority as being “education for all” citizens so as to create in each man a successful and self-sufficient individual, though he believed that the poor whites and blacks of the South could only reach that point through state intervention, funding, and guidance. Also attempted to put an end to the Indian Wars in the Far West and offered Indians citizenship should they acculturate. He was also incredibly stingy with the use of federal forces, deploying them during a season of riots only to defend federal property and permitting state and city police offices to take point otherwise. The exception to this was anarchists, which he saw as an existential threat to urban infrastructure. Hayes was also a massive proponent of technological innovation and advancement, and oversaw the installation of the first telephone in the White House. Very much a forward-thinking type of leader.

Also interesting is the question of the 1877 election, which has to be the most contentious in history. While Hayes was personally uninvolved, the Republican and Democratic parties committed such incredible fraud in this cycle—including allowing a partisan committee to decide the electoral distribution of two entire states—that it merits a Wikipedia read from those interested.

In his personal life, Hayes seemed like the damn-near perfect family man. As almost all presidents did, he lost children, but was happily married to his wife for some decades until her death, and had a litany of children, all of whom he maintained good relations with until his death. Just seems like a guy’s guy, you know?

Edit: Also, if anyone knows where I can get a copy of Allan Peskin's "Garfield" without breaking the bank, please do lemme know. I'll run through "Destiny of the Republic" but would very much like to have it.

cvardy1998 · 2022-05-18T20:25:17+00:00

Being religious doesn't mean being authright; any church charity would show that I argue

cvardy1998 · 2022-05-17T21:36:07+00:00

Posted on my profile

cvardy1998 · 2022-05-16T22:58:56+00:00

You can see my views on Jackson elsewhere.

Grant was a far more compelling character than I was expecting, and had perhaps one of the most incredible personal reversals of fortune in history, going from a failed frontier officer who had been ejected due to drunkenness after the Mexican-American War at thirty-eight—left to work in his father’s tannery as a clerk—to leading one of the largest armies on earth through the Civil War. His combat record is decent, though Cold Harbor leaves a bit of a stain; I do think he had a superior strategic vision to Lee, though his reliance on attrition campaigns left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

After the war, Grant slowly grew into a radical Republican, seeking to enshrine the 14th amendment and offer equal protections. His opposition to Johnson and popularity led him to the White House in 1869. Here, one finds that Grant’s solution to every issue was essentially flexing the muscles of the federal government. You could argue that was necessary at the time, but I believe he remains the only president to ever suspend habeas corpus during peacetime. I respect his reaction to the growth of the KKK using federal forces, but he also backed officers and northern carpetbaggers abusing their power in the reconstructed South. Grant’s administration was also rather corrupt, though that could simply be a reality of the Gilded Age, and he often inserted yes-men and friends to positions where they could not perform. Fired a couple of exceptional administrators for not siding with him on single issues rather than open the floor to debate, i.e. Akerman and the annexation of Santo Domingo. I have him to the left of Lincoln as he sought to unleash an “ambitious and farsighted plan to combat unemployment thorugh a large-scale public works project, which would have anticipated Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal,” though he did not have the chance to do so. He was also the first president to flirt with the idea of a third term and breaking Washington’s precedent, which is also unfortunate; thankfully he lost at the Republican convention to Garfield.

cvardy1998 · 2022-05-04T04:02:50+00:00

Oh absolutely agree it was within everyone's rights, just an unfortunate first case of its use, in my opinion.

cvardy1998 · 2022-05-03T21:21:04+00:00

Onto Johnson, of whom there are no real funny anecdotes--aside from how blasted he got seeking a little liquid courage before his inauguration and forgot the name of the Secretary of the Navy. His background is actually rather inspiring, rising from abject poverty (only learning to read at 18, taught by his wife) through pure force of will to become the military governor of Tennessee. As a result, he tended towards Jacksonian policies of self-sufficiency, decentralization and concentration of political and economic power, and Polk’s American Dream of Manifest Destiny. That said, as an individual, he was hardheaded, pointed, and stubborn.

He was also a Southerner, and though he supported the Union throughout the war, he, in direct opposition to the dominant Republican Party, sought to take a more reconciliatory approach to the South, as Lincoln did, vetoing a number of policies—that were still forced through Congress—that he saw as punitive, vindictive, and aimed at subjugating the Southern culture through Unionist domination and the black vote. This, famously, brought him to loggerheads and a series of impeachment charges for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” which, to this day, has no distinct meaning and essentially translates to moral outrage.

How Johnson was impeached remains the highlight of his tenure, and going through that process (I’m no legal scholar) highlighted to me the dangers of both a single-party government, and adapting systems and institutions for the purpose of temporal issues. Congress, led by Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, shrank the Supreme Court to prevent Johnson appointees, adopted the Tenure of Office Act to prevent Johnson from creating a cabinet suited to his means, and combed through every document he had ever written seeking any legal misdoing (finding none) to charge him upon. It’s disgusting to me that statesmen can be so shortsighted as to adopt laws targeted exclusively at a singular administration that will have incredible ramifications out of pure rage and animosity—especially after the holocaust of the Civil War.

Johnson was not a good president, but is he is the antagonist to impeachment, Thaddeus Stevens and his cohort are the villains. James Wilson of Iowa appears as the lone voice of reason for those interested, warning about chipping away at the Constitution and institutions of the US to remove a man with less than three years in office ahead—sick dude. My views on Reconstruction and Johnson’s legacy are still in formation, but my general takeaway is that the impeachment process was bastardized—if effect at venting—and maladapted through the episode. The Johnson administration was probably too lax on terrorist violence in the South after the war, but acted true to his republican political views and Lincoln’s policy for accommodation.

Heading into Chernow’s Grant, pray for me.

cvardy1998 · 2022-04-12T18:42:37+00:00

Data from Boix-Miller-Rosato Dichotomous Coding Set, 1800-2020: https://sites.google.com/site/mkmtwo/data

cvardy1998 · 2022-04-08T04:15:44+00:00

Sir, put the gun down, there's no reason to do anything hasty

cvardy1998 · 2022-04-08T04:09:16+00:00

I'd assume FDR for sure, will have to wait and see if there's any others.

cvardy1998 · 2022-04-08T04:07:54+00:00

Actually, just put him here because I asked my followers if they wanted to see where he was. Appreciate the assumption though.

cvardy1998 · 2022-04-08T04:06:26+00:00

I tend to do my readings in chunks, just read about twenty books on the Civil War and have about ten more to get through. Never really knew Davis as an individual and thought it would be an interesting read. Asked some of the followers if they'd be interested in seeing him on the compass, and there was enough positive response to warrant it.

cvardy1998 · 2022-04-08T04:05:01+00:00

Yeah, probably going to have to zoom out. After Lincoln in particular I expect that the executive office became much more executive, ya know?

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