What do you think?
Rate this book
Politically Incorrect Guides
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 1: From Washington to Taft
“If you love American history, as I do, you’ll love Professor Schweikart’s provocative profiles� A great book.�
--David Limbaugh, New York Times bestselling author
Larry Schweikart, a retired history professor, is ready to set the record straight on the American presidents. He goes through each of the first 26 presidents from Washington to Taft and debunks myths, lies, and fake news made fact by the uninformed.
Discover why George Washington favored American isolationism; James Madison supported states' rights; what Lincoln promised to Southerners about fugitive slaves; and why nineteenth-century presidents were the last to understand the true role of government.
So what made these presidents so much better than the ones America has now? Schweikart argues that recent commanders-in-chief have welcomed crises to advance their own partisan agenda, defied the separation of powers the Founders carefully constructed to preserve the Republic, and given us every reason to doubt they take the country’s interests to heart.
--David Limbaugh, New York Times bestselling author
Larry Schweikart, a retired history professor, is ready to set the record straight on the American presidents. He goes through each of the first 26 presidents from Washington to Taft and debunks myths, lies, and fake news made fact by the uninformed.
Discover why George Washington favored American isolationism; James Madison supported states' rights; what Lincoln promised to Southerners about fugitive slaves; and why nineteenth-century presidents were the last to understand the true role of government.
So what made these presidents so much better than the ones America has now? Schweikart argues that recent commanders-in-chief have welcomed crises to advance their own partisan agenda, defied the separation of powers the Founders carefully constructed to preserve the Republic, and given us every reason to doubt they take the country’s interests to heart.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
17 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 9, 2024
I have to admit that I found a great deal more to enjoy about this book than I thought would be the case.Ìý In general, as I have read through a great many of the books in this series, I have in general found them to be excellent, but often I find that people who write about the presidents tend to have agendas that I do not necessarily share.Ìý In this case, though, I happened to like the author's perspective about the presidents and their administrations a great deal [1].Ìý In general, the author looked at presidents from a point of view that was complicated enough to include their devotion to the standards of the Constitution as well as their labor on behalf of the well-being of the Union as a whole.Ìý Refreshingly as well, this guide also graded presidents based on their views towards racial justice, which is not only politically incorrect but also brave based on the prejudices that one might assume from the readers of the series.Ìý In sum, this was a book that I could wholeheartedly enjoy as a reader.
This particular book of about 300 pages covers the presidents who served under the constitution from George Washington to Taft.Ìý The author shows a great deal of wit in describing their personal background as well as how they came to be president and what they did in office, and often what happened after they left office as well.Ìý The author considers the way that presidents did or did not serve in the consultative Whig sense with Congress as being of great importance and had a view of the presidents that was remarkable and fair.Ìý Unlike a great many writers who have looked at the presidents of the United States, this author shows a great deal of insight into the way that presidents did or did not serve the well-being of the United States during their time in office.Ìý Neither does he judge presidents by the sort of libertarian standards that would make Grover Cleveland a hero while damning Abraham Lincoln--both of those presidents end up getting high marks and both have reasonable criticisms made of some of their decisions.Ìý In addition to his own writing, moreover, the author provides a great deal of encouragement to read books about the presidents, many of which I have already read and reviewed, that have a lot to say about Lincoln as well.
Overall, the most striking aspect of this book is the way that the author ends his writing about the American presidents in 1912, when Taft's attempts at re-election are foiled by the efforts of Teddy Roosevelt to win a third term that divided the Republicans and handed the Oval Office to the racist Progressive Woodrow Wilson, and it is intriguing to note how 1912 serves as a worthwhile point at determining how the presidency got off the rails and became a problem rather than a solution to the concerns of a strong executive as well as the upholding of republican virtue.Ìý Overall, it appears as if the presidents of the first century or so of the American Republic had a few problems that they had to deal with over and over again, namely the problem of how slavery was to be eradicated given its mocking of American ideals of liberty and justice, and how it was that the problem of creeping government expansion was to be rolled back, neither of which were handled in the best way.Ìý Even though this story ends on a bit of a melancholy note, there is much to appreciate here, especially in the author's fair-minded views.
[1] See, for example:
This particular book of about 300 pages covers the presidents who served under the constitution from George Washington to Taft.Ìý The author shows a great deal of wit in describing their personal background as well as how they came to be president and what they did in office, and often what happened after they left office as well.Ìý The author considers the way that presidents did or did not serve in the consultative Whig sense with Congress as being of great importance and had a view of the presidents that was remarkable and fair.Ìý Unlike a great many writers who have looked at the presidents of the United States, this author shows a great deal of insight into the way that presidents did or did not serve the well-being of the United States during their time in office.Ìý Neither does he judge presidents by the sort of libertarian standards that would make Grover Cleveland a hero while damning Abraham Lincoln--both of those presidents end up getting high marks and both have reasonable criticisms made of some of their decisions.Ìý In addition to his own writing, moreover, the author provides a great deal of encouragement to read books about the presidents, many of which I have already read and reviewed, that have a lot to say about Lincoln as well.
Overall, the most striking aspect of this book is the way that the author ends his writing about the American presidents in 1912, when Taft's attempts at re-election are foiled by the efforts of Teddy Roosevelt to win a third term that divided the Republicans and handed the Oval Office to the racist Progressive Woodrow Wilson, and it is intriguing to note how 1912 serves as a worthwhile point at determining how the presidency got off the rails and became a problem rather than a solution to the concerns of a strong executive as well as the upholding of republican virtue.Ìý Overall, it appears as if the presidents of the first century or so of the American Republic had a few problems that they had to deal with over and over again, namely the problem of how slavery was to be eradicated given its mocking of American ideals of liberty and justice, and how it was that the problem of creeping government expansion was to be rolled back, neither of which were handled in the best way.Ìý Even though this story ends on a bit of a melancholy note, there is much to appreciate here, especially in the author's fair-minded views.
[1] See, for example:
June 24, 2023
This is the fourth Politically Incorrect Guide that I’ve finished. I have loved them all. This was a great overview of the Presidents and their presidencies. My favorite thing about these books is the many book recommendations scattered throughout. Will be reading another in this series very soon.
October 6, 2017
This book is shallow garbage with a heavy right-wing slant. Actually, calling it a right-wing slant is rather underselling it - it quite frequently stops to assure you of how terrible liberals and "leftists" are. You'd think a book about the first 26 presidents would be relatively free of Obama and Clinton bashing, but you would be wrong. Apparently no discussion about George Washington is complete without random, non-sequitur reminders of just how terrible Obama is thrown in.
February 11, 2022
Two stars because it was okay. One of the constant refrains in Schweikart's rating of the Presidents is based upon their approach to the slave question. While a very important issue, I do not agree that the slavery question ought to be the ultimate lens by which a U.S. President is graded. Furthermore, while the author is a defender of small government he finds all kinds of exceptions for the Lincoln administrations clear abuse of executive powers. Overall this was helpful in some ways and the author has written some other excellent works in the field history.
December 26, 2020
A good overview of the highlights of each president listed, including "constitutional grade," i.e. how closely each of them followed the mandates of the Constitution. It was engaging.
March 21, 2019
Read this to get a birds eye view of the early presidents. Loved the little tidbits and “did you knows�. Like, who was the first president to use the term “First Lady�?
But besides the little fact stuff, it was very interesting to see just how much of the president’s rules were kind of made up as we went along. And this book stresses just how important our first president was in setting a very high bar.
This is my first book from this series. Yes the book has a right wing bend, but with the expectations of a few pointed remarks about recent presidents, it actually seems pretty even handed when talking about how presidents behaved in office. I was very surprised how hard this book came down on Thomas Jefferson, for example. I feel like people look back on those REALLY early presidents with awe and wonder, and this isn’t shy about calling out short comings, even on the sacred cows.
I think a big help is the book starts by talking about how the role of the president is outlined to be, and then grades the presidents on that scale alone (well, that and their handling of slavery). But because the book lays out it’s grading scale for you, you can easily see when the book tips more into opinion.
Overall an easy and informative read. By no means your all time authority on the subject, but one of many good starting points to help ease you into American history.
But besides the little fact stuff, it was very interesting to see just how much of the president’s rules were kind of made up as we went along. And this book stresses just how important our first president was in setting a very high bar.
This is my first book from this series. Yes the book has a right wing bend, but with the expectations of a few pointed remarks about recent presidents, it actually seems pretty even handed when talking about how presidents behaved in office. I was very surprised how hard this book came down on Thomas Jefferson, for example. I feel like people look back on those REALLY early presidents with awe and wonder, and this isn’t shy about calling out short comings, even on the sacred cows.
I think a big help is the book starts by talking about how the role of the president is outlined to be, and then grades the presidents on that scale alone (well, that and their handling of slavery). But because the book lays out it’s grading scale for you, you can easily see when the book tips more into opinion.
Overall an easy and informative read. By no means your all time authority on the subject, but one of many good starting points to help ease you into American history.
September 9, 2019
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 1: From Washington to Taft by Larry Schweikart provides a good summary of each of these presidents accomplishments, major events during their terms, as well as many little-known facts about them personally. Some of them, such as Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, are dealt with in more detail than some others, such as James A. Garfield who held great promise but was assassinated after just four months in office before he could even get started. Each President is covered in essentially his own chapter and the reader can quickly gain an understanding about the politics and the cultural environment in the country at the time they each held office. Still, this book only covers about half of all the presidents leaving the rest for Part 2. This is a great read for someone who wants to get a chronological summary of the Presidents and their accomplishments for comparison and to possibly pique interest on which ones you may wish to find more detailed books to read.
February 12, 2021
Schweikart’s Guide to the first 26 US presidents (Washington to Taft) does not do what it says on the cover. It does not provide a politically incorrect guide to these presidencies. What it does provide is a politically biased guide to later presidents like Carter, Clinton or Obama. A real politically incorrect guide would dwell on the inadequacies of all presidents to fulfill their duties, instead of this morality play between crooked, spoils-system jobs-for-the-boys Democrats and mainly virtuous, limited-government, big business Republicans. But such an approach would alienate both progressive and conservative readers, leaving only the cynics who enjoy such things, but they’re in a minority. The title suggests the book is a warts-and-all, tell-it-like-it-is history of the presidents down to 1912. The amusing section “a book you’re not supposed to read� surely aims at countercultural cachet by suggesting hidden knowledge kept that way by mendacious liberal elites. But most of the books are by well-known, respectable authors like Ron Chernow, David McCullough, Jean Edward Smith or Edmund Morris or from biographies published by university presses. Unobjectionable books, many of which I’ve read.
Grading the presidents by their ability to achieve results while working within constitutional constraints is interesting, even if one disagrees about what those constraints are. But when reviewing the performance of 19th century presidents, the autor cannot help himself. He must pivot forward and excoriate 20th and 21st century presidents for their constitutional inadequacies. So the author refers to Clinton and Obama as presidents who exceeded their boundaries and abused their powers. That is certainly possible, but wouldn’t it have been fairer to mention George W Bush, whose expansive interpretations of the president’s constitutional powers dwarfed those of his predecessor and successor? He holds that besides Lincoln (whom he justly praises to the heavens) only Washington, Jefferson and Ronald Reagan “and perhaps FDR� could hace held the country together in the Civil War. “And perhaps FDR�? FDR, who actually held it together during the Depression and WWII, relegated to the sidelines behind Ronald Reagan, who never had to do anything remotely that hard? Reagan was an inspiring president, justly named the Great Communicator. But he was no hands-on manager, and some situations require masters of political hardball like FDR and LBJ. So this is partisan story, and as such it may be graded. While I was annoyed by the book’s relentless score-settling, I enjoyed the constitutional analyses, as well as the review of lesser-known episodes, thus the grade is higher than what I’d initially intended.
Grading the presidents by their ability to achieve results while working within constitutional constraints is interesting, even if one disagrees about what those constraints are. But when reviewing the performance of 19th century presidents, the autor cannot help himself. He must pivot forward and excoriate 20th and 21st century presidents for their constitutional inadequacies. So the author refers to Clinton and Obama as presidents who exceeded their boundaries and abused their powers. That is certainly possible, but wouldn’t it have been fairer to mention George W Bush, whose expansive interpretations of the president’s constitutional powers dwarfed those of his predecessor and successor? He holds that besides Lincoln (whom he justly praises to the heavens) only Washington, Jefferson and Ronald Reagan “and perhaps FDR� could hace held the country together in the Civil War. “And perhaps FDR�? FDR, who actually held it together during the Depression and WWII, relegated to the sidelines behind Ronald Reagan, who never had to do anything remotely that hard? Reagan was an inspiring president, justly named the Great Communicator. But he was no hands-on manager, and some situations require masters of political hardball like FDR and LBJ. So this is partisan story, and as such it may be graded. While I was annoyed by the book’s relentless score-settling, I enjoyed the constitutional analyses, as well as the review of lesser-known episodes, thus the grade is higher than what I’d initially intended.
August 30, 2022
Conservative author Larry Schweikart briefly covers the presidencies of Washington through Taft, and provides some detail about how most, if not all, of these men and their respective administrations were complicated and in many ways imperfect - some far more so than others. Some examples: Madison’s political views shifted significantly over time, starting out as enthusiastically nationalist but later opposing federal encroachment; Lincoln had an evolving view on slavery vs. states� rights, and took numerous actions in violation of the Constitution and rulings by SCOTUS, ultimately expanding the power of the executive branch for the sake of preserving the Union; McKinley, aka the Newspaper President, was extremely popular with the people but spoon-fed the press and moved the needle further toward partisan media outlets; Teddy Roosevelt was an iconic yet contradictory president who was both an individualist and pro big government as well as a peacemaker and warmonger, and once said “To hell with the Constitution when the people want coal�. There are deeper themes that run throughout the book. First, even before the founding of the Union slavery was a highly divisive and complex issue that each president had to struggle with and make compromises over. Second, Martin Van Buren (aka The Little Magician) played a much bigger role than history gives him credit for in permitting the insidious growth and reach of government, one example being the inception of a spoils system under which politicians promise jobs and money in order to garner votes. Some relatively unsung heroes that the book gives credit to: Polk, who actually followed through with all of his campaign promises to reduce tariffs, restore an independent treasury, acquire California, and not run for a second term; Hayes adopted responsible fiscal policy and a merit system for government jobs despite political pressure; Cleveland tried to fight corruption and abuse and is according to the author among the top 5 presidents (!). A fun fact about Andrew Jackson, who is now no longer in vogue with liberals: apparently Old Hickory was so able to make light of being called a jackass that he put the animal on his campaign posters, ultimately resulting in the donkey being the symbol for Dems.
January 28, 2018
As a registered Independent voter and skeptical of folks leaning too far left or right, I was vastly disappointed. Looking for a compelling read about how US Presidents impacted powers of the Executive Branch, I found myself confronted with bully pulpit ranting from a rigid conservative. It probably would not have irked me so much, except for the numerous reading recommendations (highlighted in little windows, usually several in each chapter), labelled "A Book You're Not Supposed to Read" --- a title which reinforced the author's theme of "those damn bleeding liberal heart liberals would object for no good reason"...but Schweikart includes no less than three of his own books (and a published article) in these bullets with nary a mention he is self-publicizing.
There is some practical information and interesting tidbits here, but no cohesion around the purported main topic. Would have earned a better rating without the editorial rants.
There is some practical information and interesting tidbits here, but no cohesion around the purported main topic. Would have earned a better rating without the editorial rants.
January 20, 2024
4.5 stars
Good overview of the first 26 presidents giving them a grade for their adherence to the US Constitution and providing a few of the highlights of their presidency. Overall, I felt the author was very fair to all of them.
The audiobook narrator is John McLain, and his performance was good.
Good overview of the first 26 presidents giving them a grade for their adherence to the US Constitution and providing a few of the highlights of their presidency. Overall, I felt the author was very fair to all of them.
The audiobook narrator is John McLain, and his performance was good.
November 26, 2022
A pretty good, succinct bio of each of the early presidents. Also includes an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. The author does a good job of evaluating each one in his historic context rather than comparing him to current mores and whims.
January 10, 2024
Interesting and often little known material with interpretations often at odds with accepted wisdom, but unfortunately tainted by unnecessarily partisan and sometimes snide commentary. The authors� repeated admonitions about“books you’re not supposed to read� was totally unnecessary.
February 9, 2020
Amusing, detailed and QUITE irreverent look at the United States leaders in history. Might not appeal to everyone and there is some bias I think but I quite enjoyed this overview.
April 28, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Great summary of each president and it is very easy to read I will be reading part two shortly. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.