Historical Dictionaries of U.S. Politics and Political Eras – serie

The American Revolution was perhaps the most significant event in modern history. It forever demonstrated the ability of a significantly smaller group of people to rebel against their oppressors. On top of that it also gave birth to what would become the most powerful country in the world. And while these feats were impressive, it was the drafting of a constitution, the forging of a union between divided states, and the fashioning of a truly democratic form of government that caused this event to go down in the annals of history.Thus, the Historical Dictionary of Revolutionary America is not just about the grievances that led to war nor the actual war itself, but more particularly the subsequent period of trial and error - when success was far from certain and failure could never be ruled out - in which the thirteen states and those that followed were welded into the United States of America. To do this, Mays employs:· an introductory essay and chronology outlining the events· over 1100 dictionary entries on significant people as well as the political, economic, and social events of the era· an extensive bibliography organized into nearly 100 different categories to facilitate additional research· appendices documenting the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution· a fourth appendix lists all the Presidents of Congress under the Articles of Confederation

The constitution that establishes the institutional framework for American national government makes no mention of political parties. Yet for over two centuries, political parties have competed in encouraging, organizing, and directing political activity in the United States. This volume compiles entries of concepts, terms, labels, and individuals central to identifying and comprehending these key roles political parties have played in American political life. The second edition of Historical Dictionary of United States Political Parties addresses the historical development, organization, operation, and leadership of the parties, as well as their broader environment. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, a bibliography, and over 800 cross-referenced dictionary entries addressing individuals, institutions, and terms.

William Jefferson Clinton’s legacy remains a matter of significant contention among historians, political scientists, and pundits even after a decade of time to reflect. The narrative of Clinton’s two terms may be, in some sense, the tale of two different men—or at least two incongruous public views of the nation’s 42nd chief executive. On the one hand, there is the Clinton who left the White House more popular than when he took office—entering with a 58 percent approval rating and leaving with a 66 percent approval rating. On the other hand, an ABC News poll conducted on his last day showed that 67 percent of Americans said Clinton was not honest and trustworthy.The Historical Dictionary of the Clinton Era covers both sides of the Clinton presidency through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, including the president, his advisors, his family, his opponents, and his critics, as well as members of Congress, military leaders, and international leaders. This book is a vital access point for students, researchers, and anyone interested in the presidency of Bill Clinton.

The Historical Dictionary of the George W. Bush Era details the key events and major trends that defined the 43rd president of the United States from 2001-2008. The dictionary comprises detailed entries on important personalities, including the president, his advisors, his family, his opponents, and his critics, as well as members of Congress, military leaders, and international leaders. Other entries summarize important events, including those connected to the War on Terror, the War in Afghanistan, and the War in Iraq, as well as significant legislation and prominent policy issues. Detailed chronologies track major events during Bush's presidency, including the 2000 election and Hurricane Katrina. The appendixes furnish data and graphics on Bush's advisors and cabinet, presidential success in Congress, vetoes, presidential approval, troop levels in Iraq, and military and civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. The extensive bibliography provides an invaluable resource for additional reading and research. This book is a vital reference tool for any researcher interested in the presidency of George W. Bush.

The US Supreme Court is an institution that operates almost totally behind closed doors. This book opens those doors by providing a comprehensive look at the justices, procedures, cases, and issues over the institution’s more than 200-year history. The Court is a legal institution born from a highly politicized process. Modern justices time their departures to coincide with favorable administrations and the confirmation process has become a highly-charged political spectacle played out on television and in the national press. Throughout its history, the Court has been at the center of the most important issues facing the nation: federalism, separation of powers, war, slavery, civil rights, and civil liberties. Through it all, the Court has generally, though not always, reflected the broad views of the American people as the justices decide the most vexing issues of the day.The Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Supreme Court covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on every justice, major case, issue, and process that comprises the Court’s work. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Supreme Court.

James Earl Carter, Jr. – better known as Jimmy Carter – was not the greatest or most popular president of the United States but he did accomplish quite a lot in the fields of civil rights, energy and foreign policy during his term from 1977 to 1981. However, the economy fared badly and he lost face in his dealings with Iran. So when he left after one term, he was not greatly missed… or so it seemed. For, after the presidency, he made an amazing comeback as a diplomat and trouble-shooter in international crises, becoming an amazing ex-president. And even the earlier views of his presidency have been improving… at least he did not get the country into a war.This rather special trajectory is explained in the Historical Dictionary of the Carter Era, with an obvious focus on his term as president. His run for the presidency and what he did during his term in office is traced carefully by the chronology. The introduction takes a longer view and also puts events in a broader context. Then the dictionary section, with hundreds of detailed and cross-referenced entries, tells us more about his policy in various fields but also how America changed culturally and socially during this period. The extensive bibliography points toward further information, although this book is certainly a good starting point and also a place to refresh one’s memory.

The South played a prominent role in early American history, and its position was certainly strong and proud except for the “peculiar institution” of slavery. Thus, it drew away from the rest of an expanding nation, and in 1861 declared secession and developed a Confederacy… that ultimately lost the war. Indeed, for some time it was occupied. Thus, the South has a very mixed legacy, with good and bad aspects, and sometimes the two of them mixed. Which only enhances the need for a careful and balanced approach.This can be found in the Historical Dictionary of the Old South, which first traces its history from colonial times to the end of the Civil War in a substantial chronology. Particularly interesting is the introduction, which analyzes the rise and the fall, the good and the bad, as well as the middling and indifferent, over nigh on two centuries. The details are filled in very amply in over 600 dictionary entries on the politics, economy, society and culture of the Old South. An ample bibliography directs students and researchers toward other sources of information.

The period from 1913 to 1933 is not often seen as a coherent entity in the history of the United States. It is more often viewed in terms of two distinct periods with the pre-war era of political engagement, idealism, and reform known as “progressivism” separated by World War I from the materialism, conservatism and disengagement of the “prosperous” 1920s. To many postwar observers and later historians, the entry of the United States into the European conflict in 1917 marked not just a dramatic departure in foreign relations, but also the end of an era of reform.This second edition of Historical Dictionary from the Great War to the Great Depression covers the history of this period through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about a vital period in U.S. history.

The recent commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s election as the thirty-fifth president of the United States serves as a reminder of a period of time that many Americans perceive as idyllic. Just as his election, despite a near-run thing, had instilled a pervasive sense of hope throughout the country, his assassination stunned the entire nation, scarring the psyche of a generation of Americans. More than half a century later, JFK continues to inspire debates about the effectiveness of the presidency, as well as his own political legacy, making the senator from Massachusetts the object of many enduring myths: that he would have been one of the country’s greatest leaders had he lived, he would have kept the US out of a full-fledged Vietnam war, and that he was a martyr of right-wing assassins. His successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, who did get the US deeply involved in Vietnam while pursuing the social reforms of the Great Society at home and abroad, also casts a long shadow in the twenty-first century, as the nation continues to deal with poverty, racism, and social injustice.This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Kennedy-Johnson Era covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, including the president, his advisors, his family, his opponents, and his critics, as well as members of Congress, military leaders, and international leaders. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about John F. Kennedy.

The Historical Dictionary of the American Frontier covers early Euro-American exploration and development of frontiers in North America but not only the lands that would eventually be incorporated into the Unites States it also includes the multiple North American frontiers explored by Spain, France, Russia, England, and others. The focus is upon Euro-American activities in frontier exploration and development, but the roles of indigenous peoples in these processes is highlighted throughout.The history of this period is covered through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on explorers, adventurers, traders, religious orders, developers, and indigenous peoples. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the development of the American frontier.

This book covers the development of the presidential office within the context of constitutional interpretations of presidential power and socio-political and economic developments, as well as foreign affairs events, from 1789-2015. It provides details on the men who have held the office, and biographies of vice presidents, unsuccessful candidates for the office, and noteworthy Supreme Court and other appointees. TheHistorical Dictionary of the U.S. Presidency contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on the development of the institution of the presidency, and details the personalities, domestic and foreign policy governing contexts, elections, party dynamics and significant events that have shaped the office from the Founding to the present day. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the U.S. Presidency.

The drafting and ratification of the federal constitution between 1787 and 1788 capped almost 30 years of revolutionary turmoil and warfare. The supporters of the new constitution, known at the time as Federalists, looked to the new national government to secure the achievements of the Revolution. But they shared the same doubts that the Anti-federalists had voiced about whether the republican form of government could be made to work on a continental scale. Nor was it a foregone conclusion that the new government would succeed in overcoming parochial interests to weld the separate states into a single nation. During the next four decades the institutions and precedents governing the behavior of the national government took shape, many of which are still operative today.This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Early American Republic contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about American history.

The Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Constitution covers the Founding of the American Republic and the Framers, the drafting of the Constitution, constitutional debates over ratification, and traces key events, Supreme Court chief justices, amendments, and Supreme Court cases regarding the interpretation of the Constitution from 1789-2016. The Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Constitution contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on key figures in the Founding, Supreme Court chief justices, explanations of the Articles and Amendments to the Constitution, and key Supreme Court cases. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the U.S. Constitution.

The Jacksonian period under review in this dictionary served as a transition period for the United States. The growing pains of the republic’s infancy, during which time Americans learned that their nation would survive transitions of political power, gave way to the uncertainty of adolescence. While the United States did not win its second war, the War of 1812, with its mother country, it reaffirmed its independence and experienced significant maturation in many areas following the conflict’s end in 1815. As the second generation of leaders took charge in the 1820s, the United States experienced the challenges of adulthood. The height of those adult years, from 1829 to 1849, is the focus of the Historical Dictionary of the Jacksonian Era and Manifest Destiny.This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Jacksonian Era and Manifest Destiny contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 200 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about this era in American history.

From the vantage point of the 2016 presidential election and the deepening polarization of American politics in recent decades, it is striking how much more distant the Reagan-Bush era of the 1980s and early 1990s seems compared to the years that have actually passed. Whither the Republican Party of yesteryear? Like reincarnated characters from Samuel Beckett’s classic play Waiting for Godot, many disillusioned conservatives in the new millennium continue to search obdurately and in vain for a leader who embodies the acclaimed leadership traits of Ronald Reagan.This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Reagan-Bush Era contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, events, institutions, policies, and issues. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about this era.

Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States. In a country with a rich history of racial animosities, Obama represents a notable deviation in the trajectory of America’s presidential history. At the close of his second term in office, a survey of the personalities and events associated with his presidency is fitting. In this walk through recent history we will be keen to point out the president’s successes, failures, and challenges. Governing in a society ripe with ideological and partisan polarization, the Obama Administration was surrounded by controversy, much of it manufactured by his opponents but salient nonetheless. This volume will attempt to provide perspective and clarity on the most important individuals and experiences connected to Obama during his eight years in office, but also his early life. Information included in this volume also includes discussion of his transition out of office and events taking place at the beginning of the Donald Trump Administration.This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Barack Obama Administration contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, including the president, his advisors, his family, his opponents, and his critics, as well as members of Congress, military leaders, and international leaders. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Barack Obama.

For over two centuries, political parties have competed in encouraging, organizing, and directing political activity in the United States. This volume compiles the key concepts, terms, labels, and individuals central to identifying and comprehending these key roles political parties have played in American political life. The dictionary contains brief biographies of party leaders: major party presidential tickets; noteworthy minor party presidential nominees; congressional party leaders, including Speakers of the House of Representatives presidents pro tempore of the Senate, and floor leaders for both the majority and minority parties in each chamber; and chairs of the national party committees of the Democratic and Republican Parties. In addition to party leaders it also address the institutional offices they occupy and represent.This third edition of Historical Dictionary of United States Political Parties contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on concepts, terms, labels, and individuals central to identifying and comprehending the key roles political parties have played in American political life. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about United States Political Parties.

The U.S. Congress can be traced to the founding and the debates in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, but to suggest that the Congress in the first decade of the 21st century is the same Congress that was created over 220 years ago would be wildly misleading. The entries in this volume will elaborate on the original compromises and the ensuing evolution of legislative practice and review how Congress has developed through several distinctive eras. This second edition of Historical Dictionary the U.S. Congress contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on the key concepts, terms, labels, and individuals central to identifying and comprehending the key role Congress plays in the history of the U.S. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the U.S. Congress.

Historical Dictionary of the Donald Trump Administration covers the events relevant to Donald Trump and his life. It is a factual and a non-partisan evaluation of its relevance to the Trump presidency. It covers the critical events and people shaping the Donald Trump presidency. Secondarily, the work introduces the reader to the terminology used in studying presidential politics in the United States. This books stives to give readers a suitable foundation of the most recent issues within the Trump Administration, contributing to a better understanding of today’s political climate.Historical Dictionary of the Donald Trump Administration contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 250 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the terms, individuals, and events related to the president. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Trump administration.

For over two centuries, political parties have competed in encouraging, organizing, and directing political activity in the United States. This volume compiles the key concepts, terms, labels, and individuals central to identifying and comprehending these key roles political parties have played in American political life. The dictionary contains brief biographies of party leaders: major party presidential tickets; noteworthy minor party presidential nominees; congressional party leaders, including Speakers of the House of Representatives presidents pro tempore of the Senate, and floor leaders for both the majority and minority parties in each chamber; and chairs of the national party committees of the Democratic and Republican Parties. In addition to party leaders it also address the institutional offices they occupy and represent.This third edition of Historical Dictionary of United States Political Parties contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on concepts, terms, labels, and individuals central to identifying and comprehending the key roles political parties have played in American political life. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about United States Political Parties.