Dead Last : The Public Memory of Warren G. Harding's Scandalous Legacy read ebook DOC, PDF
9780821418192 English 082141819X 2009 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title If George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are the saints in America s civil religion, then the twenty-ninth president, Warren G. Harding, is our sinner. Prior to the Nixon administration, the Harding scandals were the most infamous of the twentieth century. Harding is consistently judged a failure, ranking dead last among his peers. By examining the public memory of Harding, Phillip G. Payne offers the first significant reinterpretation of his presidency in a generation. Rather than repeating the old stories, Payne examines the contexts and continued meaning of the Harding scandals for various constituencies. Payne explores such topics as Harding s importance as a midwestern small-town booster, his rumored black ancestry, the role of various biographers in shaping his early image, the tension between public memory and academic history, and, finally, his status as an icon of presidential failure in contemporary political debates. Harding was a popular president and was widely mourned when he died in office in 1923; but with his death began the construction of his public memory and his fall from political grace. "In Dead Last," Payne explores how Harding s name became synonymous with corruption, cronyism, and incompetence and how it is used to this day as an example of what a president should not be.", If George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are the saints in America's civil religion, then the twenty-ninth president, Warren G. Harding, is our sinner. Prior to the Nixon administration, the Harding scandals were the most infamous of the twentieth century. Harding is consistently judged a failure, ranking dead last among his peers. By examining the public memory of Harding, Phillip G. Payne offers the first significant reinterpretation of his presidency in a generation. Rather than repeating the old stories, Payne examines the contexts and continued meaning of the Harding scandals for various constituencies. Payne explores such topics as Harding's importance as a midwestern small-town booster, his rumored black ancestry, the role of various biographers in shaping his early image, the tension between public memory and academic history, and, finally, his status as an icon of presidential failure in contemporary political debates. Harding was a popular president and was widely mourned when he died in office in 1923; but with his death began the construction of his public memory and his fall from political grace. InDead Last, Payne explores how Harding's name became synonymous with corruption, cronyism, and incompetence and how it is used to this day as an example of what a president should not be., Warren G. Harding, the twenty-ninth president, was widely mourned when he died in office in 1923, but with his death began the construction of his public memory and his fall from political grace. By examining the public memory of Harding, Phillip G. Payne offers the first significant reinterpretation of Harding's presidency in a generation. Rather than repeating the old stories, Payne examines the contexts and continued meaning of the Harding scandals for various constituencies. If George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are the saints in America's civil religion, then Warren G. Harding is our sinner, ranking dead last among his peers. In Dead Last, Payne explores how Harding's name became synonymous with corruption, cronyism, and incompetence and how it is used to this day as an example of what a president should not be. Payne explores such topics as Harding's importance as a midwestern small-town booster, his rumored black ancestry, the role of various biographers in shaping his early image, the tension between public memory and academic history, and, finally, his status as an icon of presidential failure in contemporary political debates. Book jacket.
9780821418192 English 082141819X 2009 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title If George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are the saints in America s civil religion, then the twenty-ninth president, Warren G. Harding, is our sinner. Prior to the Nixon administration, the Harding scandals were the most infamous of the twentieth century. Harding is consistently judged a failure, ranking dead last among his peers. By examining the public memory of Harding, Phillip G. Payne offers the first significant reinterpretation of his presidency in a generation. Rather than repeating the old stories, Payne examines the contexts and continued meaning of the Harding scandals for various constituencies. Payne explores such topics as Harding s importance as a midwestern small-town booster, his rumored black ancestry, the role of various biographers in shaping his early image, the tension between public memory and academic history, and, finally, his status as an icon of presidential failure in contemporary political debates. Harding was a popular president and was widely mourned when he died in office in 1923; but with his death began the construction of his public memory and his fall from political grace. "In Dead Last," Payne explores how Harding s name became synonymous with corruption, cronyism, and incompetence and how it is used to this day as an example of what a president should not be.", If George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are the saints in America's civil religion, then the twenty-ninth president, Warren G. Harding, is our sinner. Prior to the Nixon administration, the Harding scandals were the most infamous of the twentieth century. Harding is consistently judged a failure, ranking dead last among his peers. By examining the public memory of Harding, Phillip G. Payne offers the first significant reinterpretation of his presidency in a generation. Rather than repeating the old stories, Payne examines the contexts and continued meaning of the Harding scandals for various constituencies. Payne explores such topics as Harding's importance as a midwestern small-town booster, his rumored black ancestry, the role of various biographers in shaping his early image, the tension between public memory and academic history, and, finally, his status as an icon of presidential failure in contemporary political debates. Harding was a popular president and was widely mourned when he died in office in 1923; but with his death began the construction of his public memory and his fall from political grace. InDead Last, Payne explores how Harding's name became synonymous with corruption, cronyism, and incompetence and how it is used to this day as an example of what a president should not be., Warren G. Harding, the twenty-ninth president, was widely mourned when he died in office in 1923, but with his death began the construction of his public memory and his fall from political grace. By examining the public memory of Harding, Phillip G. Payne offers the first significant reinterpretation of Harding's presidency in a generation. Rather than repeating the old stories, Payne examines the contexts and continued meaning of the Harding scandals for various constituencies. If George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are the saints in America's civil religion, then Warren G. Harding is our sinner, ranking dead last among his peers. In Dead Last, Payne explores how Harding's name became synonymous with corruption, cronyism, and incompetence and how it is used to this day as an example of what a president should not be. Payne explores such topics as Harding's importance as a midwestern small-town booster, his rumored black ancestry, the role of various biographers in shaping his early image, the tension between public memory and academic history, and, finally, his status as an icon of presidential failure in contemporary political debates. Book jacket.