Weatherson and Bochin provide a comprehensive portrait of Hiram Johnson, a remarkable man who spent 34 years in the service of his country. As governor of California from 1911 to 1916, he oversaw increased regulation of the Southern Pacific Railroad, supported legislation that improved working conditions, and established commissions that regulated government expenditures and strengthened the civil service. Johnson gained a national reputation both as a progressive and a speaker and was elected to the United States Senate in 1916, where he served until his death in 1945. Johnson was so popular in his home state that he often was renominated by both the Republican and Democratic parties. Contents: Early Courtroom Speaking: Preparing for Political Life; The First Crusade: Running Against the Southern Pacific; The Election of 1912: Campaigning with Roosevelt; Second Term as Governor: Returning to the Republican Party; "Follow That Train: " Attacking Wilson and the League; "The Issue is America: " Seeking the Presidential Nomination; Critic of Coolidge and Hoover: Fighting the Conservative Reaction; New Deal and Neutrality: The Final Speeche
A century after his death, Theodore Roosevelt remains one of the most recognizable figures in U.S. history, with depictions of the president ranging from the brave commander of the Rough Riders to a trailblazing progressive politician and early environmentalist to little more than a caricature of grinning teeth hiding behind a mustache and pince-nez. Theodore Roosevelt’s Ghost follows the continuing shifts and changes in this president’s reputation since his unexpected passing in 1919. In the most comprehensive examination of Roosevelt’s legacy, Michael Patrick Cullinane explores the frequent refashioning of this American icon in popular memory. The immediate aftermath of Roosevelt’s death created a groundswell of mourning and goodwill that ensured his place among the great Americans of his generation, a stature bolstered by the charitable and political work of his surviving family. When Franklin Roosevelt ascended to the presidency, he worked to situate himself as the natural heir of Theodore Roosevelt, reshaping his distant cousin’s legacy to reflect New Deal values of progressivism, intervention, and patriotism. Others retroactively adapted Roosevelt’s actions and political record to fit the discourse of social movements from anticommunism to civil rights, with varying degrees of success. Richard Nixon’s frequent invocation led to a decline in Roosevelt’s popularity and a corresponding revival effort by scholars endeavoring to give an accurate, nuanced picture of the 26th president. This wide-ranging study reveals how successive generations shaped the public memory of Roosevelt through their depictions of him in memorials, political invocations, art, architecture, historical scholarship, literature, and popular culture. Cullinane emphasizes the historical contexts of public memory, exploring the means by which different communities worked to construct specific representations of Roosevelt, often adapting his legacy to suit the changing needs of the present. Theodore Roosevelt’s Ghost provides a compelling perspective on the last century of U.S. history as seen through the myriad interpretations of one of its most famous and indefatigable icons.
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