Backlash presidents : from transformative to reactionary leaders in American history / Julia R. Azari.
| Author/creator | Azari, Julia R., 1979- author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2025] |
| Copyright Date | ©2025 |
| Description | ix, 274 pages ; 25 cm. |
| Subjects |
| Series | Princeton studies in American politics Princeton studies in American politics. ^A308870 |
| Contents | Race and presidential impeachment -- A new birth of freedom: George Washington to Abraham Lincoln -- "The Constitution as it is": Andrew Johnson's impeachment -- "Patience and moderation": Theodore Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson -- Law and order: Nixon and Watergate -- "The content of their character": Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama -- "Hostile takeover": The two impeachments of Donald Trump -- The choices we face: Rethinking presidential impeachment -- We re going back. |
| Abstract | "When Barack Obama won the White House in 2008, becoming the nation's first Black president, the stage was set for Donald Trump's eventual rise to power. Backlash Presidents shows how, throughout American history, administrations that challenge the country's racial status quo are followed by presidents who deal in racially charged politics and presidential lawlessness, culminating in impeachment crises. In this incisive book, Julia Azari traces the connections between racially transformative presidents and their successors, examining the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, and Obama and Trump. When he signed long-awaited civil rights legislation in 1964, Lyndon Johnson unleashed a perfect political storm that swept Nixon into the White House. Azari demonstrates how Nixon's rhetoric, relationship to Congress, and attitudes about executive power exhibit striking parallels with Andrew Johnson and Trump. She discusses how their actions are linked to race and racialized institutions--the Department of War during Reconstruction, the FBI during the Nixon years, and elections today--and looks at what happens after impeachment, describing how the rush to establish a new order perpetuates many of the same problems as the old. Challenging the conventional wisdom about the role of norms in American democracy, Backlash Presidents reveals how normal presidential politics upholds unsustainable racial hierarchy that in turn gives rise to intense periods of instability."--Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Issued in other form | Online version: Azari, Julia R., 1979- Backlash presidents. Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2025] 9780691246970 |
| ISBN | 9780691246956 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 0691246955 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | electronic book |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joyner | General Stacks | JK511 .A93 2025 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |