Commanders in ChiefPresidential Leadership in Modern WarsEdited by Joseph G. Dawson IIIForeword by Raymond G. O'Connorxviii, 230 pages, 6 photographs, 6 x 9
Never having had their authority clearly defined, the presidents, as commanders in chief, have been allowed to interpret the scope of their involvement in wartime decision making. The question of whether a president can order forces into combat against another nation has never been resolved and precedent supports both sides. "Essentially," says Raymond O'Connor, "the president can do whatever he can get away with." Commanders in Chief, offering an enlightening look at the president's constitutional and political roles during wartime, brings together the work of prominent historians. These experts analyze the war powers of the presidency as well as the wartime leadership of six presidents--William McKinley, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon. Two of the authors take provocative revisionist views of their subjects. Lewis Gould asserts that McKinley delivered able and talented leadership during the Spanish-American War, while Robert Ferrell sharply criticizes Wilson's leadership during World War I. On the other hand, Warren Kimball emphatically confirms the high ranking by most scholars of Roosevelt as the most gifted wartime chief executive of the twentieth century, and Clayton James substantiates Truman's feisty and pragmatic leadership in two conflicts. In Frank Vandiver's essay on Johnson and Stephen Ambrose's on Nixon, the authors emphasize the diversity of challenges the two presidents faced during the controversial Vietnam War. Revising and updating earlier studies, including The Ultimate Decision: The President as Commander in Chief, the 1960 classic collection edited by Ernest May, this book offers a thoughtful and thought-provoking critique of the character and capabilities of America's modern commanders in chief and presents fresh insight into an issue that affects us all.
JOSEPH G. DAWSON III is associate professor of history and director of the Military Studies Institute at Texas A&M University. He is the author of Doniphan's Epic March: The 1st Missouri Volunteers in the Mexican War, Army Generals and Reconstruction: Louisiana, 1862–1877 and associate editor of the Dictionary of American Military Biography. CONTRIBUTORS: Stephen E. Ambrose, University of New Orleans; Roger A. Beaumont, Texas A&M University; Joseph G. Dawson III, Texas A&M University; Robert H. Ferrell, Emeritus, Indiana University; Lewis L. Gould, University of Texas; Norman A. Graebner, Emeritus, University of Virginia; D. Clayton James, Virginia Military Institute; Warren F. Kimball, Rutgers; Raymond G. O'Connor, University of Miami, Florida; Frank E. Vandiver, Texas A&M Home | About the Press | Recent Awards | Contact Us | Order
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Since 1798, when Congress authorized
John Adams to employ the navy to capture armed French vessels
preying on American shipping on the Atlantic coast, U.S. presidents
have grappled with the crucible of war. Some have dealt with
it skillfully while others have tended toward the inept. Some
have wanted to exert their war powers while others have shied
away from them. Some have been successful while others have not.