ALL ABOUT HISTORY BOOK 0F US PRESIDENTS Ed9 2021

Harry S Truman

and the United Nations Charter was signed. In during the winter of 1950-51 constituted arguably

1947 he introduced the Truman Doctrine to the most serious act of insubordination against

provide aid to Greece and Turkey, seeking to an American commander-in-chief in American

prevent them from becoming Soviet supplicants. history. Repeatedly critical of the administration

That same year, Truman instituted the in press statements, MacArthur was

Marshall Plan (see timeline) to rescue determined to take the war into

Europe’s war-wrecked economies. In January China itself, overthrowing Mao’s
By 1948, he had recognised the communist regime. He would

State of Israel and that June he 1949, Truman’s later reveal in his memoirs that
initiated an airlift of food and inauguration was he wanted to use a total of 26
supplies to Western-held areas the first in American atomic bombs against North
of Berlin after Soviet forces Korea and China.

blocked access. history to be Even so, MacArthur’s

Truman with Churchill and Stalin at Potsdam In 1949 Truman supported nationally dismissal by Truman,
the establishment of the North televised although well within the
July 1945 and whispered that the United States Atlantic Treaty Organisation presidential prerogative, was
was preparing a new secret weapon against the
Japanese. But Stalin already knew about the atom (NATO), an ultimately nuclear-armed highly unpopular. Returning to the
bomb, thanks to the British spies Klaus Fuchs and
Donald McClean. military alliance against the Soviet United States, MacArthur later made

The 1951 trial and subsequent execution of Union and its East European satellites. a 34-minute address to a joint session of
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for passing atomic
secrets to the Soviets outraged many liberals. But If the Cold War lived up to its billing in Europe, Congress, condemned by Truman as “nothing
declassified Soviet cables decades later revealed
Julius to have been a Soviet courier. the Far East proved to be a region of far more but a bunch of damn bullshit.” But seven million

Truman’s foreign policy, however, was defined volatile superpower rivalry. Americans cheered MacArthur’s ticker tape parade
by its opposition to Soviet communism. He had
taken power only a few weeks before the suicide After China’s civil war reignited following the through New York in April 1951.
of Adolf Hitler. By the end of his administration,
the United Nations, led by American forces, was Japanese defeat, the Truman administration Truman was frustrated by the costly war, which
locked into a stalemated war against communist
forces on the remote Korean peninsula. had backed Chiang Kai Shek’s corrupt and ultimately killed 35,000 American soldiers and

During Truman’s first term the Allies accepted incompetent Nationalists against the communist nearly two million Koreans. Once again his approval
the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers
guerrillas led by Chairman Mao Zedong. ratings plummeted.

When the latter prevailed in 1949, the He left office in January 1953 and in the following

controversy over ‘Who lost China?’ became a years, travelled extensively, publishing his memoirs

cause celebre for anti-communist Republicans in a collection titled Mr Citizen in 1960.

over the following years. By the time of his death twelve years later, it

Moreover, Truman’s handling of the war in was widely recognised that his administration had

Korea (see below) dogged his final years. The profoundly changed the United States and the

conduct of General MacArthur on the battlefield wider world.

Defining moment Defining moment

Truman re-elected for second term US air and sea forces aid South Korea against the
despite predicted defeat communist threat
1948 1950

A jubilant Truman held up a copy of the Chicago Tribune where a strike had The defeat of imperial Japan had left the Korean peninsula partitioned along the 38th parallel
forced the paper to go to press early with ‘Dewey Defeats Truman’ on its of latitude into a Soviet backed North and US-backed South by mid 1948. In June 1950, with the
front page. Truman’s 1948 election victory was one of the great surprises in tacit backing of Joseph Stalin, North Korea’s Kim Il-sung sent his armies storming over the 38th
American political history. Thomas E Dewey made a very credible Republican parallel. “By God I am going to let them have it,” vowed Truman as a UN task force was assembled
candidate: as a special prosecutor in New York he had gone after some of the under the supreme command of General Douglas MacArthur; 16 other nations provided fighting
most notorious gangsters of the Prohibition era. Dewey later served as a district forces to expel the communists from South Korea. For the first twelve months the battlefront
attorney and Governor of New York. In the latter capacity he had cleared slums, ranged from either end of the peninsula. The UN held on to the south eastern Pusan perimeter
reformed mental hospitals, built new clinics, extended the state infrastructure but following a risky amphibious landing at the port of Inchon, MacArthur’s forces pushed the
but was still able to cut the state’s tax rates by 50 per cent. Moreover by 1948, North Koreans towards the River Yalu and the Chinese border. Then, as the freezing winter broke,
Truman’s rating were at an abysmal 32 per cent, kept low by rising inflation, Chairman Mao Zedong sent 300,000 ‘volunteers’ over the Yalu, attacking UN forces and pushing
industrial unrest and persistent shortages of certain consumer items. “To err is the frontline below the South Korean capital of Seoul. The war settled into two years of attrition
Truman” became a popular jibe before the campaign. before an armistice was signed in the village of Panmunjom in July 1953.

l Aid for Europe l Civil rights program l Cold War in Europe l MacArthur is dismissed l Eisenhower takes over 1972
Truman asks for $17 Without prior consultation,
billion in grants and Truman calls on Congress Truman proclaims the The supreme commander Truman attends the Dies in Missouri l
loans over four years for to enact an anti-lynching Truman is 88 when he dies.
the European Recovery law and legislation to North Atlantic Pact which of the UN task force in inauguration of Dwight By this time he had instituted
Program, aka the Marshall prohibit segregation on
Plan. This strategy interstate trains, buses, had been signed by 12 Korea is informed by D Eisenhower, who had a presidential library and
depended on bipartisan planes and in the military. published his memoirs during
support in an ideologically This move angers many nations in Washington brown envelope of his previously worked for Truman
polarised era. southern Democrats. his retirement. In 1960 he
June 1947 2 February 1948 in April. The pact was dismissal while at his at NATO and whose campaign had campaigned successfully
for John F Kennedy. His wife
entrusted to a new residence in Tokyo. He is had been strongly critical Bess died in 1982 at the age

organisation – the shortly replaced on the of the outgoing president’s of 97.
26 December 1972
North Atlantic Treaty ground by Lt General record on Korea and domestic

Organisation (NATO). Matthew Ridgway. corruption scandals.

24 August 1949 11 April 1951 20 January 1953

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US Presidents

34 DWIGHT D EISENHOWER

Republican, 1890 – 1969

Eisenhower For much of his life
made a deal with Dwight D Eisenhower
his brother to work two
jobs so as to pay him Brief would help shape US
through college. Edgar Bio foreign and military
would then return
policy. Before serving
the favour as president he acted as US
Army chief of staff and supreme
allied commander of NATO. Not
many people can claim to have
had more influence on world
events in the 20th century than
President ‘Ike’.

1953 – 1961

Dwight D
Eisenhower
The 34th president oversaw a period of great growth for America while

trying to steer the country away from another world conflict

Afamed general and post-war leader, Dwight, as baseball and American Football. Upon gaining
or ‘Ike’, D Eisenhower is considered to be one entry into West Point in 1911 Eisenhower was set
of the greatest presidents in the history of on the path that would lead to greatness. Enjoying
the United States. In his time in the army he the military tradition and active lifestyle he would
oversaw some of the most pivotal operations of graduate a 2nd lieutenant in 1915 and would spend
WWII, such as the allied landings in northern France WWI training tank crews, which would earn him a
of Operation Overlord. The West Point graduate reputation for his excellent organisational skills. Still
would work hard throughout his life to reach that bitter that he did not get to see combat, Eisenhower
point. Moving from Texas to Kansas when he was continued to climb steadily through the ranks in
very young Dwight enjoyed an active childhood the interwar period, even when tragedy struck in
where he would take great pleasure in sports such 1921 and his son, Doud Dwight, died of scarlet fever.

102

Dwight D Eisenhower

Serving under another great WWII general, Douglas was shot down over Russia during an intelligence

MacArthur, Eisenhower would be a brigadier general gathering mission. The Russians broadcast to the

when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor struck. world what they had done, pointing the finger

The war would be the proving ground of straight at America. Uncomfortable with admitting

Eisenhower. He demonstrated great ability in the truth America claimed the craft was intended

planning Operation Torch, the allied invasion of for weather research and that it had accidentally

North Africa, and commanding allied forces in flown over Soviet airspace. This as all before Russia

Operation Overlord, including the D-Day landings announced that they had the pilot, alive and well,

that allowed the allies to gain a beachhead in from the crashed plane in custody. No longer being

northern France. Recognised as a great military able to deny the accusations the Americans were

mind Eisenhower was made the military governor embarrassed on the world stage, a tough blow for

of the US occupied zone in Germany after the war. any president’s leadership. Eisenhower gives a speech to American
troops on 5 June 1944, the day before the
Here he would help to rebuild Germany, which was Not all of Ike’s presidential landmarks were D-Day invasion

still reeling from the terrible destruction. purely military-based, however. His ‘Atoms for Life in the time
of Dwight D
A pivotal moment for Eisenhower came when, Peace’ speech at the UN in 1953 had far-reaching Eisenhower

in the years just after WWII, he realised consequences for both civil and military life. Two more stars
for the flag
that there could be no long term Delivered to the UN general assembly
In 1959 the US would bring Alaska and Hawaii
cooperation between the US and the this speech was a landmark in into the fold by making them the 49th and
50th states respectively to join the United
Soviet Union. Plans for peaceful A childhood politics as it brought atomic States. Alaska was welcomed for the oil
cohabitation gave way to a accident in which development from secretive revenue that it would bring to the country
containment policy that would his brother lost an eye government research labs and Hawaii was instituted by popular demand.
check Soviet expansion. into the public eye. This These would be the last US territories to be
made into states.
While coming to this had a profound effect on new language of atomic
realisation Eisenhower would young Ike. It taught him warfare, with its terrible Reach for the stars
be encouraged by President destructive power, placed grave
Truman and others to run in to be protective of responsibility on the countries In 1957 you could be forgiven in thinking
the 1948 elections. Although those under him involved in the development of that you were living in a science fiction story.
The Russians had just fired the first artificial
he declined and stated that as a these weapons. Eisenhower had satellite ever into earth’s orbit with Sputnik.
This space age technology would begin the
lifelong professional soldier he should been against the use of the atomic space race that would end with the United
States landing men on the moon for the first
abstain from gaining high political office, bomb on Japan in 1945, but this did not time in history.

this would be the first step towards becoming the stop his administration raising the number of Foot stompin’ music

country’s 34th president. Accepting the presidency nuclear warheads the US possessed from 1000 to With artists like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and
Little Richard blazing the trail, a brand new
of Columbia University and later the post of supreme 20,000 during his time at the White House. Some sound would take 1950s America by storm.
Heavily influenced by the blues, jazz and
allied commander of the North Atlantic Treaty good did come out of the speech though: allied gospel music, rock and roll would come to be
associated with teenage rebellion and helped
Organisation (NATO) Eisenhower was able to make countries that did not previously have access to influence the music we hear today.

his voice and opinions heard about the difficulties nuclear power now had the expertise of American Come on Barbie
let’s go party
and supremacy of US democracy, and where it stood scientists, and this powerful new branch of science
In 1959 toy manufacturer Mattel would launch
on the world stage. He was again pressured to run in was better understood all over the world. one of the world’s most iconic brands, the
Barbie doll. Quickly becoming a fashion icon,
the presidential election by president Truman and Upon reaching the end of his second term, Barbie would captivate America’s young
children for more than 50 years. Despite
finally relented. In 1952 he won the election by a Eisenhower retreated from political life and with being at the heart of many controversies it has
remained a US household name.
landslide with the simple but effective slogan, ‘I like his wife, known as Mamie, would retire to a farm
Watching the stories
Ike’. During his presidency he would continue the in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Admitted to hospital
We can’t imagine a world where TV sitcoms
domestic policy of Roosevelt’s New Deal, while his on 28 March 1969 Eisenhower passed away from don’t exist but in the 1950s they were a
revelation. Shows like Father Knows Best, The
foreign policy would aim to reduce Cold War tensions congestive heart failure. Speaking of Eisenhower, Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and I Love
Lucy captivated audiences across the country.
with Russia through military negotiation. then-president Richard Nixon would say, “Some men Running from 1951-57, I Love Lucy was one of
the most watched shows in the United States.
This was met with mixed success, as although are considered great because they lead great armies
103
he was able to reach breakthroughs like the or they lead powerful nations. For eight years now,

orchestration of a ceasefire on the Korean border, Dwight Eisenhower has neither commanded an

incidents like those involving the U2 spy plane army nor led a nation; and yet he remained through

would prove extremely embarrassing. In 1960 his final days the world’s most admired and

an American U2 spy plane operated by the CIA respected man, truly the first citizen of the world.”

The Space Race begins

Eisenhower and the CIA had known that the USSR had the capability
to launch an object into space nine months before Sputnik was
to break the atmosphere. Not only did this bring the USSR great
prestige it also made it clear that space was fair game to any nation
that wished to claim it. With his administration’s blessing, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was founded
and funding for other scientific programs was granted. Eisenhower
was sceptical of the space program however, and was quoted as
saying: “Anyone who would spend $40 billion in a race to the moon
for national prestige is nuts.”

US Presidents

1961 – 1963

John F
Kennedy
An iconic leader whose time in office was

fraught with Cold War tension, ‘JFK’ remains a

fascinating figure years after his untimely death

Election night, Tuesday 8 November 1960. endorsed by the current President, war hero Dwight JFK: President, statesman
John ‘Jack’ Fitzgerald Kennedy waited for the Eisenhower. He was the safe vote, while Kennedy and American hero
results to come through on the television, was the young, energetic pretender. Kennedy could
his family sat around him in the living only hope and pray that he had done enough. of an A-list celebrity on Capitol Hill, and he didn’t
room of his brother’s home in Hyannis Port, mind the status. This wasn’t to say that he was a
Massachusetts. He hadn’t had a proper meal or a After the “longest night in history”, as Jackie shallow man who simply enjoyed the press for his
good night’s sleep in two weeks, and now he was would later describe it, the call came in the vanity; the press shots of him and Jackie with their
exhausted. The lectures from his father, Joe, about following morning. Nixon had admitted defeat and children in Hyannis Port may have been doctored
image and how it didn’t matter who you were, only sent a congratulatory telegram to Kennedy. It was to fit the idyll of the perfect American family, but
what people thought you, had started to grate on one of the closest elections in American history; they do portray a genuine sentiment of love.
him. Even his wife Jackie, normally a source of the final tally being 34,227,096 to 34,107,646 of the
comfort, was starting to unsettle him – when more popular vote, with 303 to 219 of the electoral vote One of the most compelling stories that
favourable results came in and she said, “Oh bunny, going to the young upstart. The bare facts say it was illustrates his character was not caught on camera,
you’re President now!” He turned his head away hardly a ringing endorsement of Kennedy, but given however. During his tenure in office, an aide was
from the television screen and looked at her with the experience and relative popularity of Nixon, it showing a group of disabled children around the
his tired eyes, replying, “No… no, it’s too early yet.” was a spectacular victory. White House when their wheelchairs prevented
them from joining the rest of the tour group.
After winning the industrial cities of the Kennedy’s presidency would go down in history Kennedy, late for a meeting, spotted them and
Northeast, doubt filled the living room when the as the dawn of a new era. He changed the face of came over to the children. The aide recalled:
loss of the Midwest and the Rocky Mountain states politics by courting the media and creating his very “He crossed the lawn to us, insisted on being
came through on the broadcast. His opponent, own cult of celebrity, inspiring hope through his introduced to each child and either picked up each
Richard Nixon, was more experienced, had more charm and freedom through his liberal policies. limp, paralysed hand to shake it or touched the
supporters in the all-important South, and had been He gave the US a renewed self-confidence through child on the cheek. He had a different conversation
his tough reputation abroad, and after his brutal
Watching The America’s assassination in Dallas, his legacy would live on.
Cup race
At the start of Kennedy’s long fight for
Democratic nomination in 1957, a reporter said
that Kennedy was Washington’s ‘hottest tourist
attraction’. It was rumoured he had an ‘in’ with
Life magazine because of all the positive press he
received there, and the American Mercury hailed
him as the “perfect politician”. Others were less
convinced. “He’ll never make it with that haircut,”
commented a prominent politician from New York.

It was true that Kennedy had his critics, but it
was his deep connection with the media, getting
his name in the public domain and making sure it
stayed there, that made his political campaigns in
the Fifties a success. The media was enamoured
with his looks, beautiful wife and young family. He
represented the American dream, descended from
Irish immigrants and doing well through America’s
bounty to become a senator. He was the equivalent

104

John F Kennedy

35 JOHN F KENNEDY

Democrat, 1917 – 1963

John ‘Jack’ F Kennedy
was born into a rich

Brief Irish-American Catholic
Bio family from Brookline,

Massachusetts. He
served in the Navy during
World War II, commanding a
patrol boat in the Pacific that
was destroyed by enemy fire.
He married Jackie Bouvier,
a rich and well-established
Catholic socialite in 1953, and
ascended to the presidency in
1961. He would only serve two
years of his term before he was
assassinated in 1963.

105

US Presidents

Spectators line the streets of Ireland to catch a Presidential nominees Kennedy and was prepared and ready; Nixon looked nervous
glimpse of Kennedy Nixon smiling for the cameras prior and tired. The result was a victory for Kennedy,
with one newspaper editor commenting, “The
Senator John F Kennedy and Vice to their first televised debate [television] medium is good to Kennedy and
President Richard Nixon during most unkind to Nixon. It makes Kennedy look
the second televised debate had taken a tour of the studio beforehand, where forceful. It makes Nixon look guilty.” Emphasising
his aides had worked out how the lighting, sound the differences in perception television offered,
with each child… the child’s face radiated a joy and shooting angles would benefit him. Both the majority of those who heard the radio debate
impossible to describe.” Kennedy’s natural charm candidates were offered the services of a CBS thought Nixon had won, while those who watched
was rooted in compassion – something that the make-up artist – not that Kennedy needed it, as his on television were inclined in favour of Kennedy.
press could project, but not create. skin looked tanned and healthy. Nixon, however,
looked pasty, having only just recovered from a Kennedy was the first Presidential candidate to
The power over the media he possessed even knee injury, but declined the make-up services. properly utilise the power of the media and the
allowed him to overcome the prejudices that some Ultimately, he got one of his aides to apply some idea of looking ‘right’ to connect with audiences
sections of American society held against him due make-up minutes before the broadcast to cover up through the medium of television, and it paid out
to his Catholic upbringing; one writer remarked, his stubble but it only made him look ill and dirty. in dividends. Subsequent Presidents and their
“The stereotype of the Irish Catholic politician, PR teams would never forget it. It was Kennedy’s
the pugnacious, priest-ridden representative of Nixon was confident he could wing it, with one stunning victory and his associations with the
an embittered, embattled minority, simply does commentator noting afterwards that, “Nixon was press before and after the 1960 election that
not fit the poised, urbane, cosmopolitan young addressing himself to Kennedy – but Kennedy subsequent Presidential campaigns modelled
socialite from Harvard.” This assertion was put to was addressing himself to the audience that was themselves on. But of course, looking right was
the test when he was nominated as the Democratic the nation.” Kennedy chose a suit that contrasted only part of the story; Kennedy had to have the
candidate for the presidency. Kennedy would need well with the background of the set, while Nixon’s right policies to fully tap into the pool of voters. As
more than his easy smile, good looks and friends blended horribly into the backdrop. Kennedy influential columnist William V Shannon wrote,
in the print media, as these alone would not be “Month after month, from the glossy pages of Life
enough to go up against a seasoned politician like to the multicoloured cover of Redbook, Jack and
Nixon; he would need something that would allow Jackie Kennedy smile out at millions of readers; he
him to reach millions and captivate them with his with his tousled hair and winning smile, she with
personality. He needed the power of television. her dark eyes and beautiful face… But what has all
this to with statesmanship?” Ostensibly, the answer
Kennedy’s time would come during the first live could be found in his hard-nosed Cold War rhetoric,
television debates in September 1960. Kennedy but there was another issue burning through
America in the Sixties that Kennedy could not
afford to ignore: the fight for civil rights.

By 1960, the civil rights movement under Martin
Luther King Jr was worrying the southern states,
which were holding firm on segregation and
humiliating the political community in America
as a whole in the process. How on earth could
a country that claimed to be the leader of the
free world still instigate a policy that restricted,
oppressed and degraded citizens based on their
skin colour? It was a question that was becoming
urgent, with the broadcast media reporting all the
sit-ins and protests of Black citizens in the Deep
South to an anxious American public; the very
people Kennedy would have to get on his side if he
was to take the presidency and keep hold of it.

As the election loomed in the autumn of 1960,
Kennedy was looking weak on the civil rights
issue. He was certainly more liberal than his
opponent, but he didn’t have anything of substance
to beat him with. King was arrested on 19 October
– a month before the election – while taking part
in a sit-in protest, and Kennedy pounced on it as
an opportunity. He phoned the shaken Mrs King,
saying “I want to express to you my concern about
your husband. I understand that you are expecting
a baby, and I just wanted you to know that I was
thinking about you and Dr King.” It galvanised

“The media was enamoured with his
good looks, beautiful wife and family”

106

John F Kennedy

Black voters, with King’s father saying, “He can be Kennedy children visit
my President, Catholic or whatever he is. It took the Oval Office
courage to call my daughter-in-law at a time like
this. He has the moral courage to stand up for what President Kennedy presiding over
he knows is right.” King himself was unconvinced. a meeting with senior White House
Despite these words, Kennedy was still not pushing officials during the Cuban Missile Crisis
civil rights; he was playing the political game.
Kennedy looks deep in thought as he
King would call Kennedy’s bluff in August awaits developments in the Cuban crisis
1963 after Kennedy’s inaction, marching on that could have escalated to nuclear war
Washington with thousands of supporters.
Kennedy begged him not to, fearing the marchers
would turn violent. But march they did the largest
demonstration to ever come to the capital, with
King at the front of the huge procession, proudly
proclaiming, “I have a dream that one day this
nation will rise up and live out the true meaning
of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident
that all men are created equal.” Kennedy looked
on open-mouthed. He immediately invited King
and his inner circle to the White House, offering
refreshments and a promise to get things moving
where he could on civil rights. It was probably a
combination of Kennedy’s own moral scruples and
King’s loud insistence that finally got civil rights
on the right path, but inaction would still dog
Kennedy’s record on the agenda.

To say that Kennedy was a mere political
opportunist would be unfair, however. He was
a man of principles, and the treatment of Black
communities in the Deep South sickened him.
However, it is a myth that he was a radical activist
of the civil rights movement; he was far too
pragmatic for that. Actively supporting the civil
rights movement more than he did would have
destroyed his support in the South. His presidency
did not bring solid change, and his successor

How America Hawaii

was won 49.6% 49.7% 40.75%

The Presidential election of 1960 was one Alaska
of the closest in American history. Richard
Nixon, Kennedy’s opponent, was able to Republican Democratic Electoral Popular
gain significant control over the American (Nixon) (Kennedy)
Midwest, a traditional Republican vote total: vote total:
stronghold, and in California and Florida, 537 68,836,385
which carried with it a large number of
votes in the electoral college. Kennedy,
however, seized control of Texas, a state
with a large number of voters, through
his running mate Lyndon B Johnson and
the industrial heartland of America in
the Northeast with the help of his father
through his political connections with
influential industrialists. One of the major
battlegrounds was Chicago, Illinois, which
held a large amount of supporters for
both Kennedy and Nixon. Controversies
would emerge later about Democratic
mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, rigging
the Illinois vote for Kennedy after a
conversation he had with Joe Kennedy
and, apparently, the Chicago outfit. In
the end, Illinois was won by a paper-thin
margin of 8,858 votes.

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US Presidents

The Kennedy family
relax at their home in
Hyannis Port

First lady John and Jackie on their
wedding day in 1953
Jackie Kennedy was a woman of
intelligence, beauty and money; a true Kennedy signs the Nuclear Test President and Mrs Kennedy with
American socialite. She was born into Ban Treaty in the White House leaders of the Cuban Invasion Brigade
one of the wealthiest Catholic families Treaty Room on 7 October 1963
in America, and her father, John Vernou
‘Black Jack’ Bouvier, owned land and Lyndon B Johnson would do far more, but it was a the biggest conventional and nuclear arsenal available
capital throughout the Northeast. She rallying cry for a new beginning. By meeting King and to scare the Communists into never attacking the free
met John Fitzgerald Kennedy through her publicly endorsing the ideal of civil rights for all, even world, and Kennedy believed in it completely. He would
work as a photographer in Washington DC, if he did not actively support the campaign in practice, go on to talk about the need for reconciliation, but
marrying him on 12 September 1953 after a Kennedy gave civil rights the platform it needed. As warned against negotiating “out of fear”. He had followed
whirlwind romance. In many ways she set Arthur Schlesinger, a social commentator in the Sixties the line of Theodore Roosevelt, the man who flexed
the tone for future First Ladies. observed, “He had quietly created an atmosphere American muscle at the turn of the century: tread softly
where change, when it came, would seem no longer an on the international stage, but carry a big stick.
Like her husband she courted the upheaval, but the inexorable unfolding of the promise of
media, making sure she always dressed American life.” Kennedy would not go eyeball-to-eyeball Rhetoric would turn to action when Kennedy gave the
immaculately and remained on message with civil rights, but he would with Communism. It was green light to the ill-fated Bay of Pigs operation. It was
for press interviews. But she also made the realms of foreign affairs where he would make his the first major military undertaking of his presidency, but
the position her own, and was a force for stand, where there could be no comprise, and where the plan was ill-conceived. The plan was for the CIA to
change in the White House, seeing to it the legend of Kennedy’s confrontation with the Soviets land thousands of military-trained Cuban exiles onto the
that the unique furniture, ornaments and would change the world forever. Cuban mainland and, by proxy, enact a coup. It relied on
pictures within its rooms were preserved Fidel Castro not being in full control of Cuba, although
and catalogued, where before they had Communism was not only objectionable as far unfortunately for Kennedy he was. As the invasion party
either been lost or neglected by previous as Kennedy was concerned, but a moral evil. The landed, Castro loyalists bombed and machine-gunned
occupants. She established the post of Communist leadership were godless, their state control the exiles into the sea, causing horrendous casualties.
White House Curator, and created the and vast armies oppressed the people; it was to be CIA chiefs pleaded with the President to allow the US
White House Fine Arts Committee to despised. When he made his inaugural address he spoke air force to support the exiles, and initially, Kennedy
protect the treasures inside its walls. She of not daring to “tempt them with weakness. For only was inclined to agree, saying, “I’d rather be called an
could also speak several foreign languages, when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be aggressor than a bum.” Soviet interest in the affair
which she would use to her advantage on certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.” would cool his aggression, and after tense diplomatic
goodwill missions abroad. Her charm and This was the hard line of the Cold War warrior – create negotiation he shied away from further intervention in
grace enamoured foreign dignitaries, and
after one trip to Paris, Vienna and Greece,
Clark Clifford, advisor to the President
sent her a congratulatory note saying,
“Once in a great while, an individual will
capture the imagination of people all over
the world. You have done this… through
your graciousness and tact.” As her
celebrity status spread, she received so
much fan mail that it required 13 people
to process the letters. Often they were
deeply personal, with a girl from Indonesia
writing, “I’ve seen pictures of you. I am
studying English because I admire you
so much.” Another from a Japanese girl
said, “My mother tells me not to slump so
that I will grow up to be tall and queenly
like you.” She became so popular that her
husband often joked that it was Jackie
people wanted to see. She always put
her family first, ensuring that her children
were well cared for and educated, saying
to a reporter, “If you bungle raising your
children, I don’t think whatever else you do
well matters very much.”

108

John F Kennedy

With Martin Luther King and other Over 200,000 protestors
delegates from the rally in Washington DC marched along the Capitol mall in
Washington on 28 August 1963

case the Russians were “apt to cause trouble.” It was “Communism supposed to be protecting was a cruel dictatorship.
seen as a betrayal by the CIA and the Cuban exiles, was not only However, US troops remained in Vietnam as
who died in their hundreds on beaches. Neither objectionable to Diem’s regime may have been harsh, but as far as
the CIA nor the exiles would forget it. Kennedy, but a Kennedy’s administration was concerned, at least it
moral evil” wasn’t Communist.
The failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion did
not temper the attitudes of the President or his family and the hawks in his government, who were The memory of Kennedy’s legendary stand-off
advisors; quite the contrary. The disaster convinced ever-ready to go toe-to-toe with the Communists. with Communism would linger in the halls of the
the Kennedy administration that the Communists Ultimately, his refusal to ‘blink’ during the blockade White House after his death. No future President
needed to be taken seriously. Bobby Kennedy, of Cuba brought the world to the brink of war: for would dare look weak in front of the Communist,
Jack’s younger brother and Attorney-General for 13 days in 1962, he held the fate of billions in his prompting a military invasion of Vietnam by
the American government, took the Bay of Pigs hands to prove to the Russian Premier Khrushchev Johnson. Debates about whether the Vietnam War
disaster as a personal slight. Castro had made the that when it came to American security there would have been conducted differently if Kennedy
Kennedy family (and the US) look weak, and now could be no compromise. Kennedy felt deceived had been at the helm endure. Kennedy was a far
he was going to “get him” by any means necessary, by the Soviets, who were talking to him about more able negotiator than his successors and, it
even commissioning a plan for an exploding nuclear disarmament while installing medium- is said by some, would have brought Vietnam to
seashell to be planted at Castro’s favourite diving range missiles on the Cuban mainland. He called a peaceful conclusion far quicker and with fewer
spot. Conversely, Jack didn’t order a full invasion of the Soviets “barefaced liars” and hurled expletives casualties. His image as young, energetic and tough
Cuba, nor any provocative move in the region until whenever he heard the names of Castro or chimed well with the mood of a US that wanted an
it was necessary. In a famous comment made to an Khrushchev in the run-up to the blockade. assertive nation and cut away from the stagnation
aide about the prospect of an American invasion of of the Eisenhower years and the defeats under
Cuba, he said; “The minute I land one marine we’re Rational thinking gave way to zero-sum thinking Truman. It is unlikely Kennedy would have ordered
in this thing up to our necks. I can’t get the United on the nature of the Communist threat after the a full withdrawal at Vietnam, but part of his
States into a war and then lose it, no matter what it Cuban Missile Crisis, even if by this point evidence enduring persona has created a myth that things
takes. I’m not going to risk a slaughter”. suggested that Communism was not only far would have been different had he survived.
weaker but also hopelessly divided among its global
But Kennedy’s caution was still infused with the constituents. To Kennedy, however, the threat was The bleak days of November 1963 would haunt
influence of bravado inherited from his patriarchal still real and it was engulfing Southeast Asia. He America forever. Kennedy’s funeral took place on
ordered more advisors into Vietnam, as well as 25 November, three days after his assassination.
Deep in thought while in transit in the the creation of a new force designed to combat As his funeral procession made its long march up
1960 US Presidential campaign insurgents at a grass-roots level: the Green Berets. to St Matthew’s Cathedral, it was accompanied by
Black Jack, a riderless horse symbolising the loss
He endorsed the Diem regime in South Vietnam of a great leader. When his casket was brought
led by Ngo Dinh Diem, despite private reservations out after the service, foreign dignitaries including
about their effectiveness and cruelty to their Charles de Gaulle of France and thousands of
people. Diem, a staunch Catholic, was drawing American citizens watched in silence. Troops of the
ever more criticism from his people, the majority US Navy brought the casket down the steep steps,
of who were Buddhist. After brutal crackdowns and as it reached the bottom Jackie Kennedy knelt
on the Buddhist community at the beginning of and whispered to her son, John Jr; “John, you can
1963, monks set themselves on fire in the middle salute your daddy now and say goodbye to him.”
of a busy street in Saigon in protest. The response Kennedy’s final resting place was the Arlington
by one of Diem’s closet advisors, his sister-in- National Cemetery – as befitting an American hero.
law Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, was heartless. She
told a CBS film crew that the Buddhists had On hearing of Kennedy’s death, British Prime
just “barbecued” themselves, and next time she Minister Harold Macmillan said that Kennedy
would provide the mustard. For Kennedy, this embodied “all the hopes and aspirations of this new
was a disaster. The regime that America was world.” His influence continues to be felt; Barack
Obama’s ‘Hope’ campaign was influenced by
Kennedy’s own in 1960. Kennedy was a man that
could be admired and respected. His death shocked
everyone, and his boundless potential and hope for
a better and more peaceful world was lost forever,
along with the man that he might have become.

109

US Presidents

1963 – 1969 36 LYNDON B JOHNSON

Lyndon B Democrat, 1908 – 1973
Johnson
Born in a small
farmhouse in

Brief Stonewall, Texas,
Bio Johnson rose out of

poverty to become
the 36th president of the
United States. While serving
as president he oversaw
one of the most progressive
periods in the country’s history,
declaring war on poverty and
racial discrimination. However,
Johnson escalated the USA’s role
in the Vietnam war and bred a
nation of disillusioned youth.

‘Landslide Lyndon’ was one of the most
popular presidents of all time, but in a matter

of years he was loathed by the nation

When John F Kennedy was shot and killed team. However, he was not particularly gifted at
in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963 school and, amidst pressure from his parents,
he was replaced by a man he had fought struggled to get into college. He moved to California
against in the run up to election. Lyndon in an effort to find a college that would enrol him,

B Johnson was nothing like Kennedy: and supported himself by picking grapes. It was a

he wasn’t young, he wasn’t particularly charming difficult period in the young Johnson’s life; he flitted

or camera-ready, but he was a brilliant and skilled from job to job and got into trouble, but finally he

politician. He had support from a wide portion of managed to obtain a place at Texas State University

the American people, however, in just over five years in 1926, two years after graduating high school.

he would retire from the White House as one of Despite enrolling in college, Johnson still struggled

the most unpopular presidents in US history. to support himself financially, and took time

Today historians continue to argue over out to teach at a school for disadvantaged

his ground-breaking policies and how Mexican-American students. His

one man could be such a force for Not only was experience there gave Johnson an

good, but also responsible for Johnson the first unfiltered glimpse into the lives
one of the darkest periods in president to be sworn of those facing extreme poverty
American history. in aboard an aircraft, and racial discrimination, and
this had a profound effect on
Texas wasn’t just the place

of Johnson’s birth, it was in but he was also the the young man. The desire to fix
his blood. The Johnson family first to be sworn in these two problems in particular
was so ingrained in Texas that would prove to be his driving
Johnson City in the state was by a woman force through the rest of his life.

named after Johnson’s own cousin. Johnson’s political ambitions

The Johnson family had fought for the were already starting to form, and in

Confederacy in the Civil War and had lived 1931 he became a legislative secretary to

there, taming the land as farmers and ranchers Congressman Richard M Kleberg. In such a position

for years previously. Johnson’s father had been a Johnson was thrust headfirst into the web of politics;

gifted politician himself, but he also amassed huge he met many influential people, congressmen,

debts, and in Lyndon’s early years, lost the family newspapermen and lobbyists and he began to refine

farm and descended into financial crisis. There is his own political skills. The political world was LBJ’s

no doubting that this brush with poverty had a natural environment and he flourished. In 1934 he

striking effect on Johnson. met his future wife, Claudia Alta Taylor. Charming

Even in his youngest days, Johnson had a gift and intelligent, she was the perfect complement to

for talking. In high school he was elected class the coarse and passionate Johnson. In just three

president and was a keen member of the debate months they were married and she served as

110

Lyndon B Johnson

Life in the time
of Lyndon B
Johnson

The end of prosperity

While Johnson was still young, the United
States experienced the worst economic
decline in its history. Not only were thousands
out of work, but thousands more were forced
to abandon their farms in the heartland due
to horrific dust storms. This in turn spawned
lawlessness and increased crime.

World War II

The Second World War was hugely costly to
the United States, and it affected not only
those fighting abroad, but those on the home
front. Women rapidly entered the workforce,
many for the first time, and the number of
high school drop-outs increased. 20 million
people struggled on the border of starvation
due to shortages of food, hospital beds,
housing and child-care.

The US rules

In the post-war years the US boasted the
strongest military and economy in the world.
For its citizens this meant they could enjoy a
wealth of consumer goods such as cars and
televisions, which were available to more
people than ever. The US also experienced a
baby boom, with approximately four million
babies born each year during the 1950s.

A house in the suburbs

With so many new families being created,
there was a huge increase of Americans
moving to small, inexpensive houses in the
suburbs. However, the idealised suburban life
of a white picket fence wasn’t quite what it
seemed. Many American women felt trapped
and dissatisfied with a life of quietly rearing
children behind closed doors.

The youth rebel

Disillusioned with the mounting war in
Vietnam, many young Americans chose to
reject traditional values in every way they
could. They protested, wore their hair long,
listened to artists such as Bob Dylan and
gathered at Hippie rock festivals.

111

US Presidents

“[He] seized the chance to use Kennedy’s
memory to power his own goals”

Johnson’s most trusted aide. Her modest inheritance unlikely duo teamed up in the 1960 presidential

would later fund his 1937 run for Congress. campaign. They won by the smallest popular

The money and Johnson’s abilities secured him margin of the century.

a place in Congress aged at 28 years old. He was Johnson was ill-suited to the vice presidency, as

smart, hardworking, and he won allies quickly, Kennedy and the majority of his administration

including President Roosevelt. However, he failed to placed no great trust in him and LBJ found himself

win a Senate seat and in 1941 fate and war led him locked out of the president’s inner circle. Despite

elsewhere, and he became the first member this, Johnson did make some waves, he

of Congress to volunteer for active duty headed the space program and worked

as a navy lieutenant commander. on pushing through civil rights

The president His stint in the navy was brief, but Upon seeing the legislation. Johnson, however,
and the King he won a Silver Star before he official portrait of with his driving ambition
and when all serving members himself by famed artist and grand dreams of curing
One of the most significant and of Congress were ordered to America of poverty remained
controversial relationships in Johnson’s
life was with the civil rights trailblazer leave active service. In 1948 he Peter Hurd, Johnson frustrated by his lack of
Martin Luther King Jr. Their complicated
partnership has filled books and inspired finally made it into the Senate. rejected it, declaring it influence, but wouldn’t have
films, with some claiming that Johnson The appointment wasn’t “the ugliest thing I to wait long to take centre
was reluctant to help King achieve without controversy, however. ever saw” stage. On 22 November 1963,
equal voting rights for black Americans. Allegations of voter fraud three years into his presidency,
However, others have stated that the
partnership between the two charismatic prompted his opponents to dub Kennedy was assassinated.
men was one of the most consequential in
American history. Those who worked with him ‘Landslide Lyndon’. Despite this Johnson was only two cars behind
Johnson insist that he was supportive and
enthusiastic about voting rights, urging he advanced quickly through the Senate: him. Just a few hours later the coarse
King to organise rallies and protests. King
himself wrote that the two of them did by 1953 he was elected majority leader and by 1960 Texan was sworn in as president.
‘differ concerning the tempo’ but that he
had genuine involvement in the issues. he had set his sights on the White House. Now in the driving seat, Johnson could finally
Taped interviews of the meetings between
the men indicate that Johnson had Unfortunately for Johnson, someone else was begin pushing his vision for a ‘War on Poverty.’ The
been pressuring the Justice Department
for some time to develop voting right eyeing the same prize. Young, handsome, rich and new president seized the chance to use Kennedy’s
legislation. However, they also reveal that
the president was hesitant for the public charismatic, John F Kennedy wooed and impressed memory to power his own goals and legislative
to view him as close to the controversial
civil rights leader. Regardless of whether his fellow Democrats and snatched the role of agendas, sending his Economic Opportunity Act,
Johnson did prioritise King’s aims or not,
the two remarkable men both played a Democratic candidate from under Johnson’s nose. designed to tackle local poverty, to Congress as
part in the ultimate Civil Rights Act. On 2
July 1964 Johnson signed it into law, and The two men didn’t get on, but Johnson needed quickly as possible. He also pushed through, with
a few months later gave the very same
pen to King who called it one of his “most Kennedy’s newfound power, and Kennedy needed a combination of great political manoeuvring and
cherished possessions.”
Johnson’s popularity in the southern states and the sheer force of will, the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. Johnson
Timeline
Defining moment

Kennedy vs Johnson 1960

Johnson enjoyed success at the Senate and was a prime contender for
the Democratic presidential candidacy. The only other real competition
was an ambitious young man called John F Kennedy. Johnson chose
to delay his campaign, believing that Kennedy would cause a division
in the party, but instead this gave the charismatic man a lead. Johnson
completely underestimated Kennedy’s charm and, in a mad fear of
failure, formed a ‘Stop Kennedy’ coalition, which was unsuccessful.
Johnson received only 409 votes to Kennedy’s 806. It was with
shock then, that Kennedy offered the vice-presidential nomination to
Johnson, who then accepted. Whether it was in an effort to win, or
simply an act of courtesy, Kennedy’s actions would profoundly affect
the future of the US in ways he could never have comprehend.

1908

l Johnson is born l Johnson refines l The bitter truth l Entry into politics l Tying the knot
After a short courtship
Johnson is born in central his skills In order to earn money to complete Johnson first dips his toe and engagement, Johnson
marries Claudia Alta Taylor,
Texas in a small farmhouse The young Johnson enrols his education, Johnson takes a into the world of politics also known as ‘Lady Bird’,
in . They will go on to have
to Samuel Ealy Johnson and at SWTSTC, now known as job teaching Mexican-American by campaigning for Texas two daughters, all with LBJ
initials – Lynda Bird, born
Rebekah Baines. He is the Texas State University. He children. It has a profound effect State Senator Welly in 1944, and Luci Baines,
born in 1947.
oldest of what will eventually becomes very involved in on him, as he realises that entry Hopkins in his run for 17 November 1934

become five siblings: a school activities, including to college would be impossible to Congress. The experience

brother, Sam, and three editing the newspaper almost all of them. He decides to has a profound effect on

sisters, Rebekah, josefa and participating in various create a nation where the door to him, however, and he will

and Lucia. college debates. knowledge is open to all Americans. quickly climb the ranks.

27 August 1908 1926 1928–1929 1931

112

Lyndon B Johnson

immediately feared a backlash from the southern The conflict in Vietnam was waging on. nothing but produce horrific images to fill the
white population, but when he ran for election in Johnson was determined to prevent the spread of pages of newspapers. In private Johnson cursed
1964 he won by the biggest popular margin in history. communism, just like the men who had sat in the the war, saying “If I left the woman I really loved –
Kennedy had been liked, but without him, Johnson White House before him, and believed the only way the Great Society – in order to get involved in that
was more popular than ever. to do that was to stop the Viet Cong from taking bitch of a war on the other side of the world, then
South Vietnam, and he was willing to do anything I would lose everything at home.” Like it or not,
Now Johnson had four more years to put his to prevent it. Johnson poured money and men into Johnson was already losing everything before the
plans into action, and his sights focused on his Vietnam, with troop numbers soaring from 16,000 war was lost. His approval rating had plummeted
‘Great Society’. This legislative agenda would to more than 500,000 in five years. This inevitably and in just four short years the record-breaking
become one of the most impactful and far-reaching meant American casualties sky-rocketed, and many winner had become one of America’s most
programs in the country’s history. Johnson Americans took a stand against the war. Anti-war unpopular presidents of all time.
orchestrated the passage of Medicare, pushed campaigns gained support across the country, and
through three civil rights bills, which outlawed when some ended in tragedy, Johnson’s popularity Despite his low approval rating, when Johnson
discrimination in housing, voting and commerce. drifted steadily downwards. announced he would not seek or accept a
He poured money into urban renewal, championed nomination as the Democrats’ candidate in 1968,
the arts and education and targeted crime. It was Johnson was stuck between a rock and a the country was shocked. But in reality he had
everything that Johnson had dreamed of doing hard place. He wasn’t the sort of man to admit lost control of his own party, which was now split
since teaching in that classroom decades ago. defeat, and he had already poured countless into four rival factions. Privately he was dealing
Unfortunately for the president, there was another funds into winning what was now so obviously with worsening health issues. Johnson vacated
war he would have to fight. an unwinnable war. His bombing campaigns did the running race, and with his party in tatters, the
White House doors were open for the Republican
candidate, Richard Nixon to walk in.

Johnson, meanwhile, returned home to his
ranch in Stonewall, Texas to work on his memoirs,
perhaps aware of how little time remained. In
1970 Johnson suffered an attack of angina, the
following year he had a heart attack. His condition
rapidly worsened and he was rushed to hospital
for surgery. However, his condition was too severe
to operate and was diagnosed as terminal. The
ex-president died on 22 January 1973, two days
after Nixon’s inauguration. Johnson was honoured
with a state funeral and buried in his family
cemetery. Johnson remains one of the most
controversial and divisive presidents of all time; an
outspoken man with idealistic but sincere aims,
torn asunder by fighting an unwinnable war.

Defining moment Defining moment

The ‘Great Society’ 1964–1965 Rolling thunder 1964–1968

One of the central driving factors in Johnson’s presidency America’s involvement in Vietnam dramatically changed
was his vision of the ‘Great Society’, seen as the when Johnson became president. He immediately reversed
elimination of racial injustice and poverty. Johnson Kennedy’s order to withdraw military personnel, and
pursued these aims tirelessly, and combated racial instead chose to expand the American military numbers
injustice with the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and 1968 and in the conflict. When this proved ineffective he launched
the Voting Rights Act of 1965. However, due to having a systematic bombing campaign to grasp victory from
personal experience of poverty, it was legislation to end defeat. However, when this also failed to result in the
poverty that dominated Johnson’s presidency, declaring desired outcome he poured more men and money into the
it his ‘War on Poverty.’ He introduced Medicare and conflict, and by the end of October 1965 American troops
Medicaid, providing free medical care to needy Americans, in Vietnam numbered 200,000. In the following years
the Food Stamp Act of 1964, the Elementary and this number grew and grew, and faith in the president
Secondary Education Act and the Economic Opportunity plummeted. The Tet Offensive in 1968 was the final nail in
Act. Johnson’s War on Poverty enabled millions of Johnson’s coffin, turning popular opinion against the war,
Americans to rise above the poverty line. and against the president.

l A rushed inauguration l An historic victory l The Voting Rights Act l The president steps down 1973
At the height of the civil rights In a shocking turn of events,
2 hours and 8 minutes Johnson runs against movement, and urged by Johnson announces that he will Johnson dies l
Martin Luther King Jr, Johnson not be running for re-election, After being diagnosed
after the assassination Republican Barry Goldwater pushes debate on the voting declaring, “I shall not seek, and I
rights bill in February 1965. will not accept, the nomination with a terminal heart
of Kennedy, Johnson in the 1964 presidential Finally becoming effective of my party for another term as condition, Johnson
on 6 August 1965, the Voting your president.” Ironically this dies at home at his
is hastily sworn in as election. Despite early Rights Act prohibits racial sees his approval rating
discrimination in voting. increase dramatically. ranch in Texas. He is
president on Air Force indication that Goldwater 1965 1968 buried in his family

One. There are immediate may win, Johnson wins the cemetery, only a few
yards from the house
fears that he could be the election with 61 per cent –
of his birth.
next target in a conspiracy the widest popular margin 22 January 1973

against the government. in American history.

22 November 1963 1964

113

US Presidents

1969 – 1974

Richard
Nixon

One of the most controversial and enigmatic
presidents ever, Nixon’s legacy will forever be
tarnished by the scandal that led to his downfall

With beads of sweat forming at his brow, 18 months earlier, on 17 June 1972, five men
the president of the United States of had been arrested by police on the sixth floor of
America looks straight down the lens of a the Watergate Hotel building in Washington, DC.
television camera and says defiantly: “I’m Noticing that a number of doors have been taped
not a crook.” The president, Richard Nixon, open to prevent them from locking, a security guard
is in the middle of an hour-long televised question- called the police. All five were arrested and found
and-answer session with over 400 journalists. That to have connections with the CIA and a group that
the leader of the world’s foremost superpower is raised funds for the re-election of Richard Nixon,
forced to make such an astonishing statement shows the Committee for the Re-Election of the President
the scale of a scandal that has spread like wildfire (CRP), often satirically abbreviated to CREEP.
through the White House. It will lead to the first and
only resignation of an incumbent president to date Nixon is a familiar face, having been a vice
and become the defining political misdemeanour of president to Dwight Eisenhower between 1952
the 20th century. and 1960 and previously unsuccessfully fighting
John F Kennedy for the White House. During a
So seismic is Watergate that the last syllable will debate, the future president falls foul of a relatively
be added as a suffix to any public series of events new medium in political campaigning – while
deemed scandalous, yet the origins are seemingly voters listening on the radio believe that Nixon
small-fry in comparison to many political has triumphed, television viewers are won over
controversies – a burglary at the Watergate Hotel, by JFK’s good looks and charm; they are equally
the site of the Democratic National Committee. dismayed by Nixon’s hunched shoulders, jowly
appearance and sweaty brow. But, having narrowly
At the time Richard Nixon delivers the quote, won the presidency in 1968, Nixon wins by a
late in 1973, the walls are beginning to close around landslide in 1972 and enjoys approval ratings of
him, yet it will take almost another year for the more than 70 per cent – almost unheard of for a
president to tender his resignation following a president in his second term.
‘death by a thousand cuts’ that sees allies and aides
resigning or cast ruthlessly aside. Days before Nixon However, Nixon deploys an array of dubious
resigns, beleaguered and facing impeachment, techniques to smear opponents. The CRP becomes
he consults an old colleague, Henry Kissinger, a de facto intelligence organisation engaged in
on his options. Seeing a broken man in torment dirty campaigns against potential rivals: bugging
at the prospect of only the second presidential offices, seeking material that could be used against
impeachment and a potential criminal trial, opponents and attempting to prevent leaks to the
Kissinger tries to console Nixon and even accedes media. While the CRP is technically and officially
to his request that the pair of them get down on a private fundraising group, its existence and true
their knees and pray. That it has come to this is nature is known to several federal government
an indication of the devastating nature of the employees and Nixon himself – while he is aware
revelations over a dirty-tricks campaign that struck that the CRP gathers intelligence on his rivals and
at the heart of the White House. administration’s enemies, conversations reveal that

114

Richard Nixon

37 RICHARD NIXON

Republican, 1913 – 1994
A California
senator who was

Brief vice president for
Bio eight years under

Eisenhower, Nixon
was elected to the presidency
himself in 1968 and would go
on to become one of the most
controversial leaders in history.
Though he officially ended US
involvement in Vietnam, Nixon
will always be remembered
for his involvement in the
Watergate scandal, which
ultimately led to his resignation.

115

US Presidents

Why Watergate? he is either unaware of the scale of their activities Protestors congregate outside
or simply chooses not to know. the White House as pressure on
What was the motive behind the Nixon mounts
biggest political scandal of the The five men arrested at the Watergate were
20th century? likely there either to recover bugs that had been the burglary, Hunt demands money from the CRP
left on the telephone of senior Democrats or install and White House to support the seven’s legal fees
The reason the Watergate burglaries remained new surveillance equipment but originally little – essentially hush money. They are all convicted
shrouded in mystery for decades was the conflicting significance is ascribed to the break-in. When the in early-1973 and given stiff sentences, reflecting
reports from the various parties involved. Certainly, Washington Post’s rookie reporter Bob Woodward Judge John Sirica’s belief that the men are lying
those involved in the burglaries – including prominent is sent to a local courthouse to cover the story, about their external help. The president announces
members of the White House Plumbers, a covert he discovers that the five men are no ordinary that a full investigation has occurred and found
intelligence group acting with the tacit approval of burglars, being found with unusually advanced no evidence of wrongdoing – while in fact no
Nixon – were working on behalf of Nixon, whether the bugging equipment and a surprisingly high- investigation has taken place. In his announcement,
president was aware of the specific activities or not. powered attorney. One of the men, James McCord, Nixon says: “I can say categorically that his
That Nixon learned about Watergate and sought a admits that he has previously worked for the CIA investigation indicates that no one on the White
cover-up is beyond dispute. – Woodward connects him to E Howard Hunt and House staff, no one in this administration, presently
Charles Colson using phone books belonging to the employed, was involved in this very bizarre
Various sources indicate that government agencies men. Colson will claim that upon hearing of the incident. What really hurts in matters of this sort is
believed that the Cuban government – one of USA’s arrests the day after they took place, Nixon hurled not the fact that they occur, because overzealous
greatest ideological foes of the time – was funding an ashtray at the wall in fury. people in campaigns do things that are wrong.
the rival Democratic Party or that people in the upper What really hurts is if you try to cover it up.”
echelons of government were keen to smear or bug Hunt is another CIA operative with a colourful
Democratic bigwigs or retrieve previously installed background – he had once been accused of The words will prove to be prescient. Payments
wires. What may have begun as an attempt to prevent involvement in the assassination of JFK; anecdotal to the jailed men create a paper trail that implicates
classified documents being leaked to the press evidence implies he may have been in Dallas at the senior figures in the administration. Woodward
degenerated into a dirty-tricks campaign against political time of the killing – and at the time was working deduces that the chief of staff, HR Haldeman and
opponents that was as widespread as it was inept. for the White House Plumbers, a shadowy group Attorney General John Mitchell are also implicated.
that worked to prevent classified information being Deep Throat claims the Watergate break-in was
No definitive motive has ever come to light, leaked to the media from the Nixon administration. masterminded by Haldeman and also states that
with even those involved seemingly evasive or the lives of the two reporters may be in jeopardy:
confused – perhaps due to the passage of time, the While the existence of the Plumbers – comprising
desire to paint their own motives as righteous or a mix of CIA operatives, Republican aides and
contemporaneous misinformation – over the true assorted security personnel – is known to Nixon, the
motive behind the biggest US political scandal of the extent of their activities is initially kept from him by
20th century. Perhaps the old maxim about absolute senior staff. The group had come into existence from
power rings truest here, where ‘The President’s Men’ a desire to undermine the Republicans’ enemies – a
ordered the burglary and the president approved the 1971 memo suggested the group use any federal
cover-up simply because they could. machinery “to screw our political enemies” – but the
line between what constitutes enemies of America,
The Watergate Hotel, the the Nixon administration and the Republican
beginning of the end for Nixon Party becomes blurred. Colson is a special counsel,
essentially a lawyer, and Woodward realises that he,
Timeline unlike Hunt, is a genuine link between the Watergate
burglary and the White House.

In 1972, Woodward is teamed with another
reporter, Carl Bernstein, and the pair is urged
to develop the story by the Post’s executive
editor. Woodward contacts an FBI source he has
previously used, and using an elaborate system of
signals and instructions he is told that the scandal
originates in the White House. The source is
referred to as Deep Throat.

When Hunt, G Gordon Liddy and the five
burglars are indicted on federal charges relating to

1972 l McCord confesses l Nixon implicated l Butterfield’s admission l Impeachment
One of the Watergate Presidential Alexander Butterfield, process begins
l First arrests burglars, James McCord, counsel John Dean a former presidential Nixon is ordered
A security guard writes a letter to Judge tells Watergate secretary, makes the to hand over tapes
notices suspicious John Sirica claiming that investigators that startling revelation that to investigators
activity and the White he lied during trial and he has discussed all conversations and by the Supreme
House Plumbers that the burglary had the cover-up of the telephone calls in White Court. Congress
are arrested in the in fact involved other scandal with Nixon at House offices have been begins impeachment
Democratic National government officials. least 35 times. covertly taped since 1971. proceedings.
Committee offices at 17 March 1973 3 June 1973 13 July 1973 24 July 1974
the Watergate Hotel.
17 June 1972

116

Richard Nixon

The accused Watergate burglars
and their lawyer, 9 January, 1973

Woodward and Bernstein press on regardless and administration can ride it out. Even Dean himself a month later the Watergate hearings are being
write a book, All The President’s Men, later turned is starting to feel the pressure and can’t shake the televised; viewers see John Dean tell investigators
into a film, about their experience of the scandal. impression that he is being set up as a scapegoat. that he had discussed the cover-up with Nixon at
He is probably correct: Nixon fires Dean, who turns least 35 times. Although Nixon can plausibly deny
While Woodward and Bernstein are busy star witness for the prosecution, and the president knowledge of the CRP campaigns and protect
uncovering the paper trail to the White House, rolls the dice and gambles by disposing of some himself by firing staff, things are about to get much
another revelation will prove just as disastrous for of his most trusted lieutenants, asking for the worse for the president.
Nixon. James McCord sends a letter to Judge Sirica in resignation of both Haldeman and Ehrlichman.
March 1973, explaining that he has perjured himself, Richard Kleindienst also resigns. Nixon is a suspicious individual who has few
alleging orders from high up in the White House. real friends and sees conspiracies against him
Also in March, Nixon gets a lengthy rundown from Coincidentally, at around this time, confirmation everywhere. Given to brooding behaviour and
John Dean on the scale of the dirty-tricks campaign hearings begin for installing L Patrick Gray as capable of vulgar outbursts and ruthless behaviour,
and how the Watergate burglary came to happen. permanent director of the FBI. During the hearings, the president will later acknowledge that the
Nixon listens, appalled, as Dean recounts the web of Gray reveals that he has provided daily updates American people knew little of his real personality.
deceit in which many of his staff are now trapped – on the Watergate investigation to the White House This side of his personality was to be his undoing.
Dean’s prognosis is grim: “We have a cancer, close to and alleges that John Dean has “probably lied” to Known only to a few individuals, Nixon has had
the Presidency, that’s growing. It’s growing daily. It’s FBI investigators, enraging the White House. It is secret recording equipment installed in the Oval
compounding, it grows geometrically now because it subsequently revealed that Gray has disposed of Office, Cabinet Room and his private office in
compounds itself.” some of the contents of a safe belonging to Hunt – the White House. The resulting tapes are vital in
drawing the FBI into a web of deceit along with the proving his knowledge of – and active participation
An exasperated Nixon sighs his way through CIA, the federal government and the Republican in – the Watergate cover-up and wider culpability
Dean’s prognosis, which reveals illegal activities, Party – forcing his resignation in April 1973. In just a in allowing his aides to commit behaviour both
blackmail and perjury on a grand scale. It is clear few turbulent weeks Nixon had lost his three most immoral and illegal.
the chain is only as strong as its weakest link – trusted lieutenants, his attorney general and the
and those are cropping up everywhere as the net head of the FBI. By May, more people disapprove Nixon has been at the sharp end of American
tightens. Asked about his personal feelings on than approve of Richard Nixon’s presidency and politics for decades. He has made powerful friends
the matter, Dean replies he is not confident the and enemies alike and learned how to play dirty,

l Smoking Gun l The resignation l Convictions 1919
The Smoking Gun tape, Nixon announces John N Mitchell, John
including an incriminating his resignation of Ehrlichman and HR Frost/Nixon l
conversation between the presidency. Vice Haldeman are all Nixon gives his first
Nixon and Haldeman president Gerald convicted of conspiracy, major interview about
formulating the cover-up, Ford succeeds him obstruction of justice and the Watergate scandal
is released by the White as president for the perjury. All three go on to with British journalist
House. Opinion quickly remainder of the serve prison sentences of David Frost. This series
turns against Nixon. term, until 1977. at least 18 months.
3 August 1974 9 August 1974 1 January 1975 of talks would be
dramatised in the film

Frost/Nixon.
4 May 1977

117

US Presidents

even ordering tax investigations on Kennedy and Nixon met by an angry crowd while campaigning Who was
1972’s Democratic presidential candidate, Hubert during the height of the Watergate scandal, 1974 Deep Throat?
Humphrey. On the tapes, Nixon is heard to remark:
“I can only hope that we are, frankly, doing a little Public opinion quickly turns against Nixon, Bob Woodward of The Washington Post
persecuting. Right?” with protests greeting the president’s public knew a source at the FBI who fed him regular
appearances. In November, he goes on the information. When the Watergate scandal
In the run-up to the presidential election of 1972, offensive, delivering a televised question-and- broke, the source was in a perfect position
when it looks like Ted Kennedy – brother of JFK – answer session where he delivers the famous to observe the presidency and resulting
will be a potential opponent for the 1976 election, “I’m not a crook” speech. He claims the tapes will investigation. His source was Mark Felt, an
Nixon and his aides attempt to use the Secret exonerate him, but knows that this is not the case associate director at the FBI. Woodward
Service to spy on the Democrat senator in the hope and that his political manoeuvrings are merely referred to him as ‘My Friend’ but the Post’s
of discovering material they can use to smear him. buying time: his presidency is a busted flush. editor, Howard Simons, renamed him ‘Deep
Such operations have been learned over 25 years in Nixon had earlier recognised the danger the tapes Throat’ – a reference to a pornographic film of
politics – Nixon smears his first political opponents posed and asked Haldeman to dispose of them: the time – to protect his identity.
as communists or communist sympathisers during “Most of it is worth destroying”, says the president.
his 1946 and 1950 Congress election runs. His “Would you like – would you do that?” Haldeman The pseudonym fired the public
nickname, Tricky Dicky, is devised during 1950 replies in the affirmative but crucially is not as imagination: Woodward would move a
and he finds it hard to shake. Nixon also uses the good as his word, perhaps believing that if he is flowerpot on the balcony of his apartment
shooting of presidential hopeful George McGovern seen to be responsible for destroying the tapes he when he desired a meeting; Felt would
in 1972 as an opportunity to place a loyal man would make the president bulletproof and seal his respond by leaving a time written on the
within a security protection detail on Ted Kennedy. own fate. journalist’s daily newspaper. The pair would
The spy, Robert Newbrand, is to pass information meet in an underground garage in Virginia.
back to the White House. “[W]e just might get lucky In July 1974, having exhausted various means
and catch this son of a bitch and ruin him for ‘76”, of preventing their release, including releasing The source fed information about the
says Nixon of Kennedy. transcripts and heavily redacted tapes, Nixon is investigation to Woodward, revealing a
ordered to give up the tapes to investigators and complex web of deceit to bring down the
In light of what the president knows to be Congress moves to impeach the president. Any president. Woodward and colleague Carl
on the tapes, July 1973 brings a bombshell that possibility that Nixon might hang on disappears Bernstein protected Deep Throat’s identity for
Nixon instantly recognises as disastrous. The aide in August, when a previously unheard tape is 30 years before Felt outed himself in 2005,
responsible for the president’s schedule and day-to- released. The evidence is known as the Smoking just three years before his death.
day archiving testifies that Nixon has had recording Gun tape. On the tape Nixon is heard advising
equipment secretly installed throughout White Haldeman to advise the CIA to stop the FBI from
House offices. The ramifications are obvious, with investigating the Watergate break-in: “When you
the tapes laying bare just how widespread the use get in these people, when you… get these people
of dirty tricks are and how the orders frequently in, say: ‘Look, the problem is that this will open the
come direct from the president. whole, the whole Bay of Pigs thing’ […] they should

Archibald Cox, leading the hearings, instantly
subpoenas the tapes. Realising the gravity of
the situation, Nixon refuses the request, citing
executive privilege and – for the next few months
– begins a high-stakes game of bureaucratic cat
and mouse in an effort to keep the tapes in his
possession. In October, just days after losing his
vice president, Spiro Agnew, to an investigation
into past corruption, Nixon astonishes his advisors
by ordering Cox’s firing – something only Elliot
Richardson, the attorney general, could legally do.

The president, furious at Cox’s intransigence
over refusing to accede to an offer to appoint a
Democrat senator to listen to the tapes, rather
than hand them over, makes it clear that he will
accept the resignation of Richardson and Deputy
Attorney General William Ruckelshaus if they do
not sack Cox. On a night in October, dubbed the
Saturday Night Massacre, Richardson refuses the
order and promptly resigns. Having been given the
same order by Nixon, Ruckelshaus also refuses and
resigns, leaving Solicitor General Robert Bork to
reluctantly carry out the order.

“In just a few turbulent weeks Nixon had
lost his three most trusted lieutenants
and the head of the FBI“

118

Richard Nixon

An emotional Nixon gives his farewell The aftermath
speech at the White House, August 1, 1974
Following his resignation Nixon cut a sorry
“July 1973 brings with it a bombshell that figure. Inconsolable at losing the job he
Nixon instantly recognises as disastrous“ had coveted so deeply, wounded by the
thought he had betrayed the American
call the FBI in and say that we wish for the country, his domestic and foreign accomplishments. He is people and lost with little to do at his
don’t go any further into this case, period!” almost immediately pardoned by his successor, home in California, he quickly became ill
Gerald Ford, in a move that many decry. and almost died. However, he worked to
Opinion is divided as to exactly what ‘the Bay of rehabilitate himself and by the time of
Pigs thing’ refers to, though the implication to the Nixon avoids jail but the scale of wrongdoing – his death was a respected political elder;
CIA is obvious – if they do not assist in the Watergate and the depth of the unpleasantness that modern sought after for his advice by sitting
cover-up then sensitive information regarding the US politics constitute – takes voters by surprise presidents and even former opponents
agency’s role in the aborted CIA-backed invasion of and reveals those at the top of government as like Hillary Clinton. When he died it was
Cuba in 1961 will be released by the White House. venal, vulgar, deceitful and greedy. Most of all, it revealed that he had requested not
The tape constitutes authentic evidence that the shows US presidents to be flawed and long after his to have a state funeral, as is the usual
president was involved in the Watergate cover-up resignation Nixon still inspires fascination. custom for deceased US presidents.
and attempted to pressure federal agencies into
participating in it. Upon leaving the White House, Nixon spends In his resignation speech, Nixon made
most of his time at his house in California – driving much of the advances he thought had
Senior Republicans gather to tell Nixon that to a small outhouse on his golf buggy every day been made in foreign policy – where many
he has no support in Congress. Ever the political to work on his memoirs. In 1977, short of cash US presidents believe their legacy will
survivor and having claimed that he would never and keen to rehabilitate his reputation, he agrees be judged. Opinions vary on his efforts
resign, even Nixon realises that he has exhausted to the now-famous series of interviews with here and Vietnam will always tarnish the
all his options. The president promptly resigns, journalist David Frost. The trained lawyer and reputation of Nixon and his predecessor,
knowing full well that he will be impeached if long-serving politician initially runs rings around Lyndon B Johnson. However, Nixon’s work
he remains in office. His resignation speech is the under-prepared Frost, but on the final day of at home is perhaps more impressive. He
broadcast from the White House the night before interview the disgraced president finally opens up forged ahead with the desegregation of the
he leaves for his home in California. Typically, on the Watergate scandal: “I let down the country. South, created numerous environmental
his speech wrongfoots many, with allusions to I brought myself down. I gave them a sword and acts to protect the US ecology and steered
the difficulties of office and oblique mentions of they stuck it in. And they twisted it with relish.” a course that avoided the ideological
wrongdoing, notions of duty and vague expressions impulses of following Republican presidents.
of regret. The former president may have admitted some
culpability but he never shakes off his ardent Nixon strikes a strange figure among
Nixon also includes a lengthy summation belief that the ends justified the means. Nixon had US presidents – oddly awkward and self-
of what he sees as his achievements in office, relied on a range of dirty tricks – many illegal – to aware, yet driven by a conviction that the
preferring them to discussions of Watergate – a claim power, and then affect change as he saw it. president could not be wrong and that the
trope that would become familiar in years to The apparently insignificant burglary that brought interests of the ruling administration and
come. Nixon never escapes the taint of Watergate down the 37th president of the United States was United States were indivisible. He displayed
but he becomes a respected statesman on the just one of the ways that he bent the law – it’s just the brooding character of someone bearing
American and global stages and wins acclaim for that this time, he got caught. a great burden; his own self-image was
laid bare in a quote from his resignation
speech: “Sometimes I have succeeded
and sometimes I have failed, but always
I have taken heart from what Theodore
Roosevelt once said about the man in the
arena, ‘whose face is marred by dust and
sweat and blood, who strives valiantly,
who errs and comes short again and again
because there is not effort without error
and shortcoming, but who does actually
strive to do the deed, who knows the great
enthusiasms, the great devotions, who
spends himself in a worthy cause, who at
the best knows in the end the triumphs of
high achievements and who at the worst, if
he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.’”

119

US Presidents

38 Ford met his wife
Betty Bloomer Warren
GERALD FORD in August 1947. She was a
particularly outspoken first
Republican, 1913 – 2006 lady, going public about her
breast cancer and alcoholism,
A student of law who the latter leading to the
served in the US establishment of the

Brief Navy during World Betty Ford Clinic
Bio War II, Ford was

House minority leader
from 1965 to 1973, becoming
president when Richard Nixon
resigned over the Watergate
scandal. His pardoning of
his disgraced predecessor
was controversial, and his
administration was dogged by a
stagnating economy.

1974 – 1977

Gerald Ford
An unlikely candidate for the presidency, the Watergate scandal thrust Ford

to the fore at a time of domestic and international instability

The Ford presidency, lasting just 895 days, is graves of over 58,000 soldiers. Meanwhile for the
not a period many Americans remember with devastated nations of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia,
affection. As if the Watergate scandal was not a decade and a half of fighting had left two million
sufficiently demoralising, they began feeling dead and millions more maimed.
the pinch of economic uncertainty for the
first time in a generation. Taking power on 9 August 1974 after Richard
Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment, Ford
The long post-war boom faltered, confronting promptly pardoned his predecessor. It was a highly
western economies with the simultaneous rise controversial decision and some of his political
of unemployment and inflation. Meanwhile the enemies speculated that the pardon had been part
longest war in American history came to a chaotic of a prearranged deal to reach the Oval Office.
and sordid end under Ford’s watch.
He inherited much of Nixon’s cabinet, including
Vietnam had divided America like nothing else his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger. But he
since the Civil War. But despite massive amounts struggled with a Democrat-dominated Congress,
of money, manpower and technology it ended vetoing 66 pieces of legislation that he felt clashed
in American humiliation, leaving a bill for $173 with his fiscally conservative outlook.
billion, added inflation, a generation of traumatised
veterans and, in the national cemeteries, the “If he saw a school kid who needed clothing, he’d
give him the shirt off his back, literally,” remarked

120

Gerald Ford

Jerald terHorst, his first press secretary as president. drafted by Kissinger and signed by Nixon, dated 14

“Then he’d go right into the White House and veto November 1972 and 5 January 1973.

a school lunch bill.” But after 1968 he had been a In early 1975 the North Vietnamese Army (NVA)

Nixon loyalist, voting for policies he disliked such launched ‘Operation Ho Chi Minh’ and dug deep into

as federal wage and price controls. Thus after Spiro South Vietnamese territory within weeks.

T Agnew resigned in October 1973 over charges of When Congress learned of the letters in April

bribery and tax evasion – unrelated to Watergate 1975, it was furious that it had not been consulted.

– Ford was appointed vice president as per the Ford was powerless to authorise air strikes or aid. By

president’s executive prerogative. March, polls showed that 80 percent of Americans The notorious Daily News headline after
Ford turned down a request from the New
Born Leslie Lynch King Jnr in Omaha, Nebraska opposed further support for Thieu or his Cambodian York mayor for federal aid in 1975

in 1913, his parents divorced when he was less than counterpart, General Lon Nol. Life in the
time of
a year old, his mother remarrying Gerald R Ford, By the morning of 28 April, NVA tanks were Gerald Ford

whose name he took. An accomplished high school at the gates of Saigon. Operation Frequent Wind Paranoia and nostalgia

footballer, he attended the University of Michigan on commenced: an audacious helicopter evacuation Political corruption loomed large in the popular
culture of the Ford years. Reflecting deep
an athletic scholarship. Having earned a degree in from the American embassy. Hours after the last disillusionment over Vietnam and Watergate,
movies like The Godfather Part II (1974),
economics, he then studied law at Yale University. chopper ascended from the embassy roof, NVA Chinatown (1974), Jaws (1975) and Taxi Driver
(1976) feature corrupt and hypocritical authority
During World War II Ford enlisted in the US tanks cashed through the gates of the Presidential figures. Television was more escapist with shows
like The Waltons and Happy Days harking back to
Navy and served aboard an aircraft carrier. By palace in Saigon. a folksy uncomplicated US, where the traumas of
the 1960s and 70s were still in the future.
1948 he had been elected to the US House of But Ford was not quite finished in Indo-China.
Economic woes
Representatives; he would be re-elected to Congress When the cargo vessel Mayaguez was captured off
The economic decline of the 1970s was
12 times in a row, always with more than 50 per the Cambodian coast, Kissinger advised sending epitomised by the bankruptcy of New York City,
prompting the mayor Abraham Beame to apply
cent of the vote. È Marines to recapture the ship. The 39 Mayaguez for federal aid. A speech by Ford on 29 October
1975 refusing a bail out was infamously reported
From 1965 to 1973 he was House minority crew were rescued but 41 American military were as ‘Ford to City: Drop Dead’ by the New York
Daily News, but Ford never used those words.
leader. He supported the Vietnam War and killed in the operation.
Vietnam amnesty
opposed Lyndon Johnson’s ‘War on Poverty.’ Elsewhere, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Between 1964 and 1973 over 210,000 men
Ford’s domestic policies were conditioned by strained relations within the North Atlantic Treaty evaded the Vietnam draft. Famous cases
included boxer Muhammad Ali, whose
a worsening economy: the federal budget ran a Organisation while disputes with Israel following the conviction was overturned. On 16 September
1974 Ford offered them a conditional amnesty:
deficit every year of his presidency. Exacerbated by 1973 Yom Kippur war resulted in a cessation of aid they had to reaffirm allegiance to the United
States and do two years of public service.
the oil crisis, unemployment reached nine through much of 1975.
Emancipation of women
per cent in 1975. Ford Ford also travelled to the Russian
Ford considered inflation to be was the port of Vladivostok in November In 1975 Time magazine named ‘American
women’ as its Person of the Year. The president
the more immediate threat to 1974 and signed a strategic nuclear and first lady were pro-choice after the
landmark Roe vs Wade Supreme Court ruling
American living standards. In United States’ arms control agreement with the in 1973 liberalised abortion laws in many states
October 1974 he asked the public only unelected Soviets. The following August, but also divided American opinion. In 1975
to ‘WIN’ (Whip Inflation Now) by vice president and the United States was a signatory feminist journalist Susan Brownmiller published
making economies and spending to the Helsinki Accords, which ‘Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape’ which
attacked male defined views on sexual assault.
less. Buttons were even issued to president. He was were designed to defuse Cold
Urban guerrillas
promote WIN which sceptics wore also the longest- War tensions through a series of
upside down: NIM stood for ‘no lived mutual agreements on trade, travel, In the same month Ford survived two
immediate miracles.’ security and human rights. assassination attempts, the San Francisco police
arrested newspaper heiress Patty Hearst, by
Ford’s foreign policy record was Ford was lucky to get the Republican then a member of the Symbionese Liberation
Army – one of numerous groups committed
undoubtedly overshadowed by the collapse of nomination in August 1976, having beaten off to terrorism and urban warfare. She had
apparently been turned over to their cause in
US-backed regimes in South Vietnam and Cambodia a challenge by the former Governor of California, the eighteen months since her kidnapping. In
January 1975 the far-left Weathermen bombed
in April and May 1975. Ronald Reagan. But the Nixon pardon, Vietnam and the State Department building.

Ironically, President Nguyen Van Thieu’s regime the recession weighed heavily upon his record and 121

had 1.1 million men under arms at the time of the he lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

1973 Paris Peace Agreement. He also had a secret In the years of his retirement, he skied, golfed

pledge that Washington would respond with “full and served as a director on the board of numerous

force” should North Vietnam violate the agreement. companies. His autobiography A Time to Heal was

The pledge came in the form of two letters, published in 1979.

Assassination attempt aftermath © Getty

Ford had already survived an assassination attempt when Oliver ‘Billy’ Sipple
saved his life. On 5 September 1975, Lynette ‘Squeaky’ Fromme, an acolyte of
the murderous cult leader Charles Manson, got within a few yards of Ford in
Sacramento, California. Seventeen days later Sipple, a high school football star
and Vietnam veteran, was walking past the St Francis Hotel as Ford emerged to
a crowd. Spotting the mentally disturbed Sara Jane Moore about to pull a gun,
Sipple wrestled her to the ground.

Sipple was gay, but had not come out. When his sexuality was disclosed,
reportedly by the openly gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, there was
no invite to the White House. Ford sent a short thank you note a few weeks
later. But exposure traumatised Sipple who drifted into alcoholism and drug
addiction, taking his life in 1989.

US Presidents

Since 2007 39 JIMMY CARTER
Carter has served as
a member of ‘The Elders’, Democrat, 1924 – present
a group of independent
world leaders who work A naval officer and
to promote conflict peanut farmer before

resolution and Brief turning to politics,
human rights Bio Jimmy Carter sought

reconciliation at
home and abroad. Although
much praised for his diplomatic
and humanitarian work since
leaving office, Carter’s one-term
presidency was assailed by
numerous crises. The second
great oil shock of the 1970s led
to recession while his handling
of the Iranian hostage crisis
attracted much criticism.

1977 – 1981

Jimmy Carter

An outsider from Plains, Georgia, Carter sought an end to the imperial

presidency at home and the promotion of human rights abroad

The presidency of Jimmy Carter illustrates the the wrong time. Had he been confronted with Civil
importance of good luck in any political career. Rights or the Vietnam War, he might have excelled.
The qualities he has employed in the But the late Seventies presented challenges that
decades since leaving office: tenacity, would have taxed any incumbent.

conviction and a sense of moral vision, have He arrived as an outsider in January 1977. Following

certainly stood to him as a negotiator in hotspots his inauguration, Carter and first lady Rosalyn alighted

such as The Balkans, North Korea and the Middle from the presidential limousine and walked to the

East. The Carter Centre, a non-partisan, non-profit White House along Pennsylvania Avenue, much to the

organisation which he set up in 1982 in conjunction consternation of his security detail. This symbolised

with Emory University Atlanta, has sent over 100 the end of the ‘imperial presidency’ of Johnson

electoral observation missions around the world. and Nixon. Carter promised reconciliation in a

The 2002 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to United States divided and demoralised by Vietnam

Carter “for his decades of untiring effort to find and Watergate. He also promised to end economic

peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to mismanagement and sought to lead by example.

advance democracy and human rights and to The presidential yacht Sequoia was sold in 1977

promote economic and social development.” It has and White House salaries were cut by 10 per cent.

even been suggested that Carter was in office at In the first six months of his presidency, Carter

122

Jimmy Carter

personally reviewed all requests to use the White He ran successfully for a seat on Sumter County

House tennis court. Board of Education and served two terms in the

Energy conservation was a key element of his Senate during the 1960s. In 1966 he was defeated

policy platform. To emphasise the point, when in the gubernatorial primary by the segregationist

Carter made the first of his televised “fireside chats” Lester Maddox.

to the American public, he turned down the White Four years later, however he was elected

House thermostats and wore a cardigan sweater. governor of Georgia with 49 per cent of the

At the same time, Carter promoted unprecedented vote. Carter was nationally unknown when he Throughout his time in office, Carter’s
dealings with Iran drew heated criticism
numbers of women and ethnic minorities to announced his campaign. The near obliteration
Life in the
government jobs. The combination of high-minded of the liberal George McGovern in the 1972 time of
Jimmy Carter
idealism and personal rectitude did not always presidential election convinced him that the
Volcker’s shock therapy
sit easily within an environment characterised by Democrats needed a centrist approach. Thus he
Americans felt the pain of rising oil prices in the
compromise, trade-offs and bargaining. worked the primary system to gain the 1976 form of an economic malady called ‘stagflation.’
Inflation went over 10 per cent in 1979-80.
The Georgians Carter had brought to Democratic nomination: his victory was The newly appointed chairman of the Federal
Reserve Paul Volcker responded with the ‘shock
the White House, particularly his chief Carter narrow, gaining 40.8 million votes therapy’ of jacking up interest rates above 20 per
cent. Unemployment reached double digits in
aid Hamilton Jordan, frequently has written and 297 electoral votes to Gerald some areas.
clashed with the vice president, 29 books, both Ford’s 39.1 million and 240 votes.
Walter Mondale and the liberal As President he created the Gay rights movement

wing of the Democrats, led by fiction and non-fiction, departments of Energy and After decades underground, homosexuality
was increasingly visible. Harvey Milk became
Ted Kennedy. The latter wanted and in 1982 he became Education and promoted America’s first openly gay politician to be elected
spending on social programs university distinguished reform of the civil service. to office, winning a seat on the San Francisco
that clashed with the balanced Under Carter, the dumping Board of Supervisors in 1977. His murder by
budget Carter had promised. professor at Emory of raw sewage in the oceans the mentally disturbed Dan White, another city
supervisor, and the relatively lenient sentence
But Carter’s style was a product University, Atlanta, was banned and controls placed given to White provoked riots in San Francisco in
of his rural, Baptist upbringing in Georgia on strip mining. The airline and May 1979.
America’s deep south. trucking industries were deregulated.
Space exploration
The first American president to be His administration moved right-ward in
Although the heady days of the Apollo Moon
born in a hospital, his mother ‘Miss’ Lillian was its final year, cutting social spending and raising missions were over, the National Aeronautics
Space Agency (NASA) was pushing further
a trained nurse who joined the Peace Corps at age the defence budget. afield. In 1976 Viking I became the first
spacecraft to land on Mars. The following year
68. Unusually for the time, black people who sought In his foreign policy, Carter advocated promoting Voyager I and II began their tour of the solar
system. Both probes contained records with a
her advice were allowed into the house by the front human rights but the posture of his national myriad of images and sounds from Earth. These
included a greeting from President Carter,
door. The ancestors of his father Earl had arrived from security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski was that of intended for any extraterrestrials who might
encounter the spacecraft.
17th-century England. an ardent Cold Warrior over conflicts in Indonesia,
Protecting the environment
Carter was a cadet at the US Naval Academy from Afghanistan, Cambodia and Latin America.
Concerns over environmental destruction became
1943-46 and upon graduating married Rosalyn Smith, His administration established full diplomatic particularly acute following a partial meltdown at
the Three Mile Island nuclear station at Dauphin
a friend of his sister Ruth. In 1948, having finished relations with China, but then imposed a boycott County, Pennsylvania, in March 1979, which
adversely affected American attitudes towards
third out of 52 seamen in the Navy’s submarine on the 1980 Moscow Olympics when the Soviets nuclear energy. Carter expanded America’s
national park system, including protection of
program, he was assigned to the nuclear submarine invaded Afghanistan. In September 1978 Carter Alaska, promoted solar energy and passed laws to
clean up polluted locations.
Sea Wolf. When Earl Carter died five years later, facilitated a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister
Nuclear war fear
Jimmy resigned his commission and returned Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar
Carter followed Nixon and Ford in negotiating
to Georgia to rescue the family farm and peanut Sadat at the retreat of Camp David, Maryland. This the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II)
which limited the development of strategic
brokerage. He threw himself into farming but Rosalyn resulted in an agreement wherein Israel agreed to nuclear delivery systems. Although signed
by Carter and his Soviet counterpart Leonid
found the adjustment from military life punishing. withdraw troops from the occupied Sinai Peninsula Brezhnev in June 1979, the treaty was not
ratified by the US Senate due to the Soviet
Carter became a church deacon and Sunday and the state of war between both nations ended. invasion of Afghanistan later that year.

school teacher at the Plains Baptist Church. Faith However, his handling of the Iranian hostage crisis 123

was integral to his political maturation. It guided fatally damaged his credibility in an election year.

his decision, at the risk of his business being Few presidents have been so conspicuous on

boycotted, not to join the White Citizens Council, the world stage since leaving office. Now in his

set up in opposition to the Supreme Court’s ruling nineties, Carter is often feted as one of America’s

on school integration in 1954. greatest ex-presidents.

The Iran Hostage Crisis

Ronald Reagan was taking the oath of the office when the biggest disaster of Carter’s administration ended. After
444 days of captivity, 52 American hostages, seized in the chaos of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, returned home.

Vast crowds had welcomed the ageing Shi’ite cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to the capital of Tehran
in February 1979 after a long exile in Paris. Committed to establishing a new order based on strict Islamic
principles, he was fiercely resentful of the United States and the West in general.

On 4 November 1979, thousands of Iranians stormed the US embassy in Tehran, a 27-acre parkland complex
comprising 20 city blocks. The previous month Carter had allowed the exiled and terminally ill Shah to enter the
United States for medical treatment. The blindfolded hostages, paraded before television cameras, became a
focus for anger towards Carter, perceived as inept and feeble. Criticism became particularly sharp following the
debacle of Operation Eagle Claw in April 1980, wherein helicopters and C-130 aircraft were poised to stage an
audacious rescue mission within Iran itself. Two days before Reagan’s electoral victory, an agreement was
reached to unfreeze Iranian assets and the hostages were released.

US Presidents

1981 – 1989 40 RONALD REAGAN

Ronald Republican, 1911 – 2004
Reagan
Raised in a poor
After two troubled decades, Americans sought family, Reagan
a president to restore confidence in themselves
and the country – and Ronald Reagan delivered Brief followed a reasonably
Bio successful acting
The plot of the 1967 film In Like Flint involves coverage of the Chicago Cubs baseball team proved
an imposter replacing the president of the popular in the state – and also kick-started his career with a
United States. Secret agent Derek Flint, played acting career. stunningly successful political
by James Coburn, uncovers the truth that one. He was once a Democrat
In 1937, while following the Cubs to a training who later became an icon of
Republican conservatives.
a nefarious stand-in has been playing the camp in California, the budding reporter also Affable by nature, he
nevertheless heightened the
part of the leader of the free world. “An actor? As arranged to make a screen test at Warner Brothers Cold War with provocative
rhetoric before negotiating arms
president?” Flint gasps in astonished incredulity. studios. Tall, athletic, good-looking, and with an reductions. Above all, he made
a previously uncertain America
Barely 13 years later, the US voted for Ronald impressive speaking voice, Reagan landed a $200 feel good about itself again.

Reagan, a former Hollywood star and TV performer, per week contract.

as the 40th president of the country. It was an He appeared mostly in films regarded not as

unlikely previous occupation for a resident of features but as B-movies. Frequently he

the White House, yet he proved to be an played wholesome, easy-going ‘good

extraordinary leader. At the age guy’ characters who were, many
Born in Tampico, Illinois in of 69, Reagan have noted, rather like himself. In
the relaxed, self-mocking manner
1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan’s

immediate family consisted of was the oldest that served him so well in his

alcoholic father John (known man to become the political career, Reagan later
as Jack), older brother Neil, and US president until explained the studio “didn’t
nurturing, compassionate mother Trump’s election want the films good, they
Nelle. She taught her boys not to wanted them Thursday.”

blame their father as alcoholism in 2016 Critics and himself regarded
was a disease. It impacted upon his best film as King’s Row. Yet any

everyone, however, in that the Reagan hopes Reagan had of building on that

family had to move frequently for Jack to 1942 release were curtailed by the war. A

find work. They finally settled in Dixon, Illinois in US Army cavalry reserve since the 1930s, in the

1920, where Reagan’s father sold shoes. wake of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Reagan

Following high school graduation, Jack’s was called to active service. Eyesight problems

youngest enrolled in Eureka College, Illinois. He meant he wasn’t suitable for combat duty but

majored in economics and sociology, and while his talents were put to use in the military’s first

only average academically, he excelled in sport motion picture unit narrating training films and

and drama. Tellingly perhaps, he was elected class appearing in patriotic movies to aid the war effort.

president in his senior year. He had married actress Jane Wyman by then, too.

Reagan first found work as a radio sports reporter Their first child, Maureen, was born in 1941, and

in Davenport, Iowa, soon progressing to a similar a second, Michael, was adopted in 1945, but the

post with larger station, WHO, in Des Moines. His marriage ended in divorce four years later.

124

Ronald Reagan

Nancy and Ronald Reagan aboard a boat in
California in 1964

Life in the
time of Ronald
Reagan

Cue VT

With the words, “Ladies and gentlemen, rock
and roll,” MTV was launched on 1 August 1981,
kick-starting a revolution in the music industry.
The first music video shown on the channel
was ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’, by British
recording duo The Buggles.

Car wars

The DeLorean gull-winged sports car launched
on the American market in the early 1980s
– with the car industry in its biggest slump
for decades. The company went bankrupt in
1982, though the car later featured as a time
machine in the Back To The Future trilogy.

Armageddon almost
by accident

The world came dangerously close to
destruction in 1983. With Cold War tensions
high, US and NATO forces began a wargame
exercise called Able Archer ’83. The Soviet
Union, fearing a a surprise attack might be
instigated under such a premise, mobilised its
nuclear forces and came close to launching.

Sport and politics

The Moscow Olympics in 1980 were boycotted
by many countries included the United
States. Four years later, the Soviet Union and
others boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics.
The Goodwill Games, introduced in 1986,
attempted to break the cycle. Moscow hosted
first, Seattle four years later, and there were
three further tournaments.

Disaster in the skies

Space Shuttle Challenger began its tenth
mission in January 1986. Among its seven
astronauts was school teacher Christa
McAuliffe, due to give lessons from space.
Seconds into the mission, the Shuttle
exploded, killing all on board. Reagan
addressed the nation that evening to pay a
moving tribute to the lost astronauts.

125

US Presidents

Making Reagan was first elected president of the Screen
nuclear
weapons Actors Guild, the union for film and television
obsolete
performers, in 1947. He served as its leader for a
Rather than trust that the volume of
nuclear weapons of both superpowers further five years. They were turbulent times in
would prevent war because of mutually
assured destruction, Reagan seized on the the movie industry because of investigations by
notion of a Strategic Defence Initiative.
He charged the scientific community the House of Un-American Activities Committee
with creating a system largely deployed
in space to shoot down missiles launched into left-wing politics in Hollywood. Strongly
at the United States. Research and
development costs would be enormous, anti-communist, Reagan fought other movie
while such a system risked breaching
existing weapons control treaties and unions he felt were under communist influence,
instigating a new arms race.
The economy of the Soviet Union, testified as a friendly witness to the HUAC, and
meanwhile, was in a parlous state,
particularly after the price of its main was an FBI informant on suspected Hollywood
export oil plummeted. Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev was introducing leftist sympathisers. The blacklist of performers,
reforms promising greater freedom and
sought negotiations with Reagan. The two writers and directors prevented from working Reagan’s acting career was a success, but few predicted
leaders met four times. for major studios because of their political views he would eventually land the presidency

The second summit in Iceland began subsequently numbered more than 300.
with low expectations but progressed
rapidly, Gorbachev eventually offering During this period, Reagan’s own politics were After campaigning with Democrats-for-
to eliminate all nuclear weapons within
a decade if the Americans would shifting. He had been a liberal, Democratic Eisenhower to vote the Republican to the
confine SDI research to laboratories.
Reagan, however, would not give up Roosevelt supporter but was becoming White House in 1952 and 1956, Reagan
on SDI and such an historic agreement
was never made, even though a later more conservative. Meeting supported the Grand Old Party’s
summit produced a treaty eliminating
intermediate-range nuclear forces. Years actress Nancy Davis, who had During his second Richard Nixon against John F
later, with SDI as originally conceived views similar to her right- Kennedy, finally registering as
proving difficult to achieve, defence
systems were downgraded to earth-based wing adoptive father, only term as governor a Republican in 1962. As such,
theatre, not national, levels.
accelerated the process. The of California, Reagan he championed the party’s
pair married in 1952. granted country singer 1964 conservative presidential
candidate, Barry Goldwater. In
The movie offers were Merle Haggard a full the last week of the campaign,
drying up, but in 1954

Reagan landed a TV job as pardon from his Reagan presented “A Time
presenter and occasional past crimes for Choosing,” a 30-minute
performer for General Electric nationally televised address,

Theatre, a drama series which considered to be one of the finest

became a staple of Sunday night political endorsements ever made.

viewing. Part of his role was to visit Although Goldwater lost, Reagan rocketed

the sponsor company’s plants, giving talks to to pre-eminence on the Republican right.

its employees. Over the years, this exposure The next move was to seek office himself.

to ‘business America’ convinced the actor that Against Democrat incumbent ‘Pat’ Brown, Reagan

big government hindered rather than helped ran for governor of California in 1966. Brown tried

enterprise, pushing him further towards the discrediting his opponent as an inexperienced

political right, while the talks helped hone his lightweight, but Reagan flipped the accusations,

speech construction and delivery skills. arguing he was an ordinary citizen fed up with

Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Defining moment
Gorbachev sign the Intermediate-Rang
Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987 A true soulmate
4 March 1952
Timeline
After numerous film appearances, and a divorce, Reagan
marries actress Nancy Davis. She claims her life only really
begins after her marriage, which produces two children,
Patricia and Ronald. The couple are devoted to each other,
remaining deeply in love for the rest of their lives. Reagan’s
personal politics have begun to shift, in part through
Nancy, in part due to his position as president of the
Screen Actors Guild, and in part because of his exposure to
the business world brought about by his role as presenter
of TV’s General Electric Theatre

1911

l Humble l Hollywood Beckons l New career l Time to govern l Out of office l The White House beckons

Beginnings Reagan begins working A nationwide TV appearance Reagan is elected governor of Reagan bides his He is sworn in as the 40th

Reagan is born in as a radio sports reporter endorsing Republican California, serving two terms. time giving speeches president following a

Tampico, Illinois. and is soon broadcasting presidential candidate Barry Untypically, he sanctions record and writing a weekly resounding election victory

When the family on Chicago Cubs baseball Goldwater brings in $1 million tax increases to tackle a budget newspaper column before the previous November over

settle in Dixon, his games. Covering the team worth of support. Goldwater deficit and achieves some announcing he wishes to Jimmy Carter. He advocates

alcoholic father takes him to California, loses, but Reagan’s profile notable environmental success. seek the Republican Party supply-side economic reforms

becomes a shoe where he makes a as a prominent politician is Controversially uses the National presidential nomination. which quickly become known

salesman. successful screen test. firmly established. Guard to quell student unrest. He comfortably secures it. as ‘Reagonomics’.

6 February 1911 1932-1937 27 October 1964 1796 13 November 1979 20 January 1981

126

Ronald Reagan

remote and inefficient state government. This Some contended this was a dangerous escalation of in Lebanon by groups friendly to Iran. Despite
appealed to voters, who also warmed to Reagan’s
affable personality. He won convincingly, securing a the arms race that would create a black hole in the a policy of not dealing with terrorists, between
second term four years later.
military budget. In later years, however, others say 1985 and 1986, arms were shipped to Iran in
A half-hearted tilt at the Republican presidential
nomination failed in 1968. A more serious challenge pressures created by the SDI helped end the Cold exchange for hostage releases and payments.
to Gerald Ford – president after Nixon’s resignation
– followed eight years later. That failed too, but War and pushed the Soviet Union into collapse, as Later, some of the payments were diverted to
when Ford lost to Jimmy Carter, Reagan was the
obvious choice to secure the GOP nomination in its increasingly unstable economy was incapable of the Contras of Nicaragua who were fighting to
1980. He resoundingly defeated President Carter,
confidently asserting that he could rebuild the competing with such US military expansion. overthrow the country’s socialist government,
nation’s economy and spirit – badly tarnished
after Vietnam, the Watergate scandal, and the Iran With the economy booming again, even though such funding was outlawed
hostage crisis – with sweeping tax cuts, increased
defence spending, less government interference, a landslide second election victory by Congress. It remains unclear how
and a balanced federal budget.
was achieved in 1984. After In his 1984 much the president knew about
The American hostages in Iran were released the Brezhnev, Andropov and the Affair, but he did apologise to
day Reagan was inaugurated, but that auspicious
start was abruptly halted when John Hinckley Chernenko, a fourth Soviet re-election, Reagan the nation for it, tarnishing his
Jr attempted to assassinate the new President in leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, won more electoral image. Nevertheless, on leaving
early 1981. With a bullet lodged in Reagan’s body came to power during college votes – 525 out office, Reagan had the highest
just millimetres from his heart, he was rushed to Reagan’s presidency. Unlike of 538 – than any other presidential approval ratings
hospital. When Nancy arrived, her husband told her, the previous three, Gorbachev since Roosevelt.
“Honey, I forgot to duck.” Just before undergoing
surgery, he removed his oxygen mask, enquiring of signalled he was prepared to president in history Five years after exiting
the staff, “I hope you are all Republicans.” Reagan’s negotiate with the US President, the White House, Reagan was
survival of the attack and his endearing quips
made his popularity soar. whose bellicose language began diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

His language was hawkishly tough, however, to soften during his second term. Despite periods in his last years in
when confronting the Soviet Union. Reagan dubbed
it “an evil empire”, escalating the Cold War with his From a position of strength following office when he appeared confused, with
increased military spending. A further step came
in 1983 when the president announced the country military expansion, Reagan’s discussions with Nancy occasionally stepping forward to prompt his
would develop the Strategic Defence Initiative.
Labelled “Star Wars” by critics, the system called for Gorbachev on limiting the nuclear arsenal of both answers before the press, his doctors insisted he
space-based technologies to intercept and destroy
nuclear missiles launched at the United States. super powers bore fruit. Historic agreements on did not have the illness when serving.

strategic arms reductions were signed, though The degenerative disease curtailed his public

some contend more could have been achieved had appearances in later life. He died aged 93 in 2004.

Reagan not been so steadfastly wedded to SDI. Although the image of a rider-less horse following

While the economy continued expanding during the carriage carrying his coffin, with Reagan’s own

Reagan’s second term, there were increases to the riding boots reversed in the stirrups, seemed pure

budget deficit and the national debt, yet neither Hollywood for the former actor, it has been seen at

harmed his popularity. What did was the Iran- state funerals for other former Presidents who were,

Contra Affair. American hostages were being held like Ronald Reagan, venerated by the nation.

“Reagan dubbed the Soviet Union an ‘evil
empire’, escalating the Cold War”

Defining moment Defining moment Reagan delivers his famous speech in front of the
Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, in which he appealed to
Assassination attempt Last day Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”
30 March 1981 20 January 1989

Leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel, the president Reagan retires from the White House. Four successful
and three others are hit by a hail of bullets fired by summits with Soviet leader Gorbachev have paved the
John Hinckley Jr. Reagan is rushed to hospital and way for a peaceful resolution to the Cold War. Not all
undergoes emergency surgery. He survives, the first foreign policy ventures have been successful, though.
president to do so after being shot in an assassination The Iran-Contra Affair in particular has been shambolic,
attempt. His popularity skyrockets. Hinckley, obsessed even down to how much the president knew or didn’t
with the actress Jodie Foster, sought to impress her know about it. At home, there are mixed economic
by emulating a character from her film Taxi Driver outcomes too. Inflation is down and under control
who makes an assassination attempt. Charged with and there has been extensive growth, yet the budget
attempting to assassinate the president, Hinckley is deficit has deepened while the national debt has soared.
found not guilty by reason of insanity and is confined Without doubt, however, the president leaves office a
to a psychiatric institution popular and highly regarded figure

l Reach for the stars l Four more years l Iconic speech l No Sir! l Incurable illness 2004

Reagan unveils his After declaring it was Reagan visits the Berlin Reagan is awarded an After appearing in The curtain
comes down l
proposal for a Strategic “Morning again in America” Wall’s Brandenburg Gate. honorary knighthood public for the last time
At the age of
Defence Initiative to during the campaign Superpower summits have by Queen Elizabeth II. at Richard Nixon’s 93, Reagan dies

protect the US from attack because of the resurgent been productive but he It is the highest honour funeral earlier in the of pneumonia
complicated by
by nuclear missiles with economy, he secures a challenges the Soviet Union Britain can bestow year, Reagan discloses Alzheimer’s at his

space-based systems. second term as president to go further with reforms, upon a foreign national, in an open letter to the Bel Air home © Getty; Corbis
in California.
Critics call it “Star Wars” with the largest ever urging, “Mr Gorbachev, tear though he cannot be American people that he 5 June 2004

and claim it is unfeasible. electoral college victory. down this wall!” referred to as Sir. has Alzheimer’s disease.

23 March 1983 4 November 1984 12 June 1987 14 June 1989 5 November 1994

127

US Presidents

41

GEORGE HW BUSH

Republican, 1924 – 2018

Having served as a
naval aviator during

Brief the World War II,
Bio George HW Bush

would eventually
join the Republican party and
serve as a congressman, an
ambassador, the governor of
Texas, the head of the Central
Intelligence Agency and,
eventually, as the 41st President
of the United States of America.

As a young
man, Bush was
nicknamed ‘Poppy’,
especially while
studying at Yale where
he captained the
baseball team

1989 – 1993

George HW Bush

He was the last living president to have served during WWII, and the elder

statesman at the head of one of the US’s most influential political families

Born into a wealthy family on 12 June 1924, at his side for decades to come. A year later, on
George Herbert Walker Bush was already his 18th birthday, Bush followed in his father’s
a part of legacy well versed in the minutia footsteps and joined the military, opting for the US
of military service and politics. His father, Navy. He became the youngest ever naval aviator
Prescott Bush, had served as a captain at the time, and flew a total of 58 combat missions
during World War I and had gone on to serve as a during World War II.
US senator. The second of five children, the young
Bush attended the super-elite preparatory school After the war, Bush married his fiancée
Phillips Academy where he excelled both socially Barbara, graduated from Yale with a degree in
and academically, captaining varsity teams and economics and moved to Texas (with son, and
holding a variety of leadership positions. future president, George Jr in tow) where he made
his mark in oil refinery. However, his attention
It was here, in 1941, that Bush met a young soon turned to politics. He became chairman of
Barbara Pierce, the woman who would remain the Harris County Republican Party by 1963, but

128

George HW Bush

failed in his attempts to gain a seat in the Senate Bush began a dialogue with liberal Soviet leader

on behalf of Texas. This knockback, and the one Mikhail Gorbachev, and between them Russo-

that followed the year after, didn’t dissuade him American relations improved significantly. The two

and he eventually earned a seat in the House of would form something of a political power couple

Representatives in 1966. on the global stage and the signing of the Soviet

His political career then began to bloom. His Arms Reduction Treaty in July 1991 typified this

no-nonsense and direct demeanour, mixed with his new strategy of cooperation.

family name, his experience as a war veteran and Another significant factor that defined Bush’s time

his influence as a former oil magnate made him a in office was the Gulf War. When the Iraqi military

formidable force as he served as the US ambassador invaded Kuwait in January 1991, it thrust the world’s

to the United Nations and headed up oil resources into crisis. With infamous Iraqi

the Republican National Committee leader Saddam Hussein now in control of

during President Nixon’s Watergate As well as these oil fields illegally, Bush and his
scandal. His political ascendance administration had to act. Shortly

even saw him assume the post flying 58 combat after, Congress sanctioned the

of director of the CIA in 1976. missions, Bush use of military force. Operations Bush’s long list of political appointments,
But by the end of the 1970s, was awarded three Desert Shield and Desert Storm including being director of the CIA, made
Air Medals and the saw US forces drive out the Iraqi him a popular candidate for the presidency
Bush’s attention had moved occupation and liberate Kuwait.
to the highest office of all: the Life in the
time of George
presidency. His attempt to win Distinguished The liberation of Kuwait (and, HW Bush
the Republican nomination in Flying Cross of course, its precious oil reserves)
1980 wasn’t to be, losing out to sent Bush’s approval ratings through Somali strife

charismatic former Hollywood star the roof – but for all his successes in In the early 1990s African state Somalia
descended into a devastating civil war, which
Ronald Reagan, but his campaign made foreign policy, his domestic administration plunged the country towards a humanitarian
crisis. In April 1994, the United Nations
a big impact and Reagan selected him as vice brought him no end of ridicule. The United States’ attempted to aid the situation, but the mission
failed. The war continued through Bush’s
president. The pairing proved successful and Bush economy was in recession, mainly due to sluggish administration and into Bill Clinton’s.

served two full terms as vice president. job recovery across the nation, and while this Into the light

His own presidential campaign (1987-1988), took economic downturn wasn’t necessarily the fault Bush established the Point Of Light Award, an
affectation of the Points Of Light movement,
a far more proactive and aggressive tone than his of the Bush administration, it still left a significant which aimed to promote the spirit of
volunteerism in local communities. The award
previous effort, and his renewed vigour ultimately proportion of the American population feeling itself was created to recognise those that went
above and beyond in the name of helping their
struck a chord – although Bush’s victory wasn’t a vulnerable and disillusioned. fellow Americans. In 2013, the 5,000th award
was granted.
landslide, with the Republican taking 54.4% of the When Bush actively raised taxes (after,
Berlin united
popular vote. Slim margin or not, Bush was in and rather ironically, using the slogan, “Read my
In the same year Bush finally ascended to the
he became the first serving vice president to be lips: no new taxes,” as one of the tenets of his office of the president, the world around his
new administration was changing drastically.
elected president since Martin Van Buren in 1836, presidential campaign) in order to deal with the The crumbling of the Soviet Union saw East
and West Berlin – divided for over three
and the first president to succeed someone from worsening budget deficit, his popularity ultimately decades – united as one.

his own party since Herbert Hoover in 1929. plummeted. Even his successes overseas couldn’t Soviet Union disbanded

Sworn into office on 20 January 1989, Bush repair the damage and Bush lost his seat in the In December 1991, the prime and first
ministers of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed
assumed the presidency at a time of dramatic 1993 presidential elections to the popular Democrat the Belavezha Accords which deemed the
Soviet Union dissolved. A Commonwealth of
change for the Western world, most notably the Bill Clinton. Independent States (CIS) was established in
its place.
destabilisation of the Soviet Union. The Cold War After serving a single term as president, Bush
Flood damage
that had silently raged for decades had petered proudly watched his son George W Bush assume
Between April and October 1993, the United
out and Soviet states were finally transforming the presidency in 2000, while his other son Jeb States suffered its worst recorded flooding in
the history of the country. It occurred in the
into democratic territories once more. In the became governor of Florida between 1999 and American Midwest along the Mississippi and
Missouri rivers and caused a staggering $15
face of such events, it’s no surprise that Bush’s 2007. The elder Bush continued his philanthropic billion in damages across agriculture, property
and more.
administration would focus a great deal of its work into his nineties, working with charities
129
attention on foreign policy and the United States’ across the US to raise money for countless good

relationship with the changing world. causes. He died on 30 November 2018.

The US invasion of Panama

During the 1980s, Panamanian leader Manuel
Noriega (who had previously been openly pro-US)
had been smuggling drugs from his nation into
the US. When a democratic election ousted him
from power he nullified the vote and reassumed
control. In response, Bush sent 2,000 American
troops into Panama (Operation Just Cause) to
settle the growing unrest under Noriega’s de
facto government. The leader had been an issue
for Reagan’s administration, but the Republican
president had been unable to find a solution.
Under Bush’s presidency, Noriega was removed
from office and power was granted back to the
rightful winner of the election, Guillermo Endara.

US Presidents

42

BILL CLINTON

Democrat, 1946 – present

In 1992, Clinton Bill Clinton’s
was accused presidency came

of draft dodging Brief at a time of relative
during the Bio stability in United

Vietnam War States history and his
government oversaw a booming
Bill economy and progressive
welfare reforms. Although
the Democrat’s time was
nevertheless marked by scandal,
particularly during his second
term, he left with the highest
end-of-office approval rating of
any American president since
World War II.

1993 – 2001

Clinton

Calling himself ‘The Comeback Kid’, Bill Clinton’s reign was tainted

by scandal but it was impossible to keep him down

With the phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid,” He was raised alone by his mother, Virginia Cassidy
ringing in the ears of the American Blythe; his father had died in a car crash three
electorate, Bill Clinton found himself the months before Clinton was born. With his mother
victor in the 1992 presidential campaign studying for a nursing degree in New Orleans, the
against President George HW Bush. The young boy was raised by his grandparents Eldridge
phrase hammered home the message that the and Edith Cassidy. His mother married Roger Clinton
economy was the most important electoral issue in 1950 and although the used car salesman was
and, during Clinton’s subsequent term, the United a gambler and an alcoholic prone to violence, the
States’ economy prospered. But it was to be just one future president nevertheless officially adopted his
of a number of things that would mark his eight stepfather’s surname at the age of 15.
roller-coaster years in office.
During his formative years, Clinton had shown
Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe in deep intelligence. He graduated from Georgetown
the tiny town of Hope, Arkansas, on 19 August 1946. University, won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford

130

Bill Clinton

The Lewinsky scandal

When former Arkansas state employee Paula
Jones sued Clinton for sexual harassment, her
lawyers went on to subpoena White House intern
Monica Lewinsky, another woman with whom
Clinton was suspected of having an affair. Clinton
denied a sexual relationship twice in January
1998 saying, “I did not have sexual relations with
that woman”. But Lewinsky, who also initially said
the accusations were false, testified before the
Starr commission and admitted nine encounters.
Clinton, meanwhile, denied the affair under oath.
It led to an impeachment trial in the Senate in
December 1998 but in February the following year
he was found not guilty on the charges of perjury
and obstruction of justice.

University and studied law at Yale until 1973. But Canada and Mexico which created a trade bloc and Clinton meets with President Jimmy Carter
during his time as governor of Arkansas
controversially, he was also questioned about his eliminated barriers to investment.
Life in the time
drug use at Oxford, responding infamously: “When But reform of the US healthcare system had to be of Bill Clinton

I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a scrapped and it was a bitter blow. First lady Hillary A changing Europe

time or two, and didn’t like it… I didn’t inhale, and I Clinton had been put in charge of spearheading Although the Cold War was over, many
European borders were being redrawn in the
didn’t try it again.” On the positive side, he met an the proposal – unofficially nicknamed Hillarycare east, particularly due to the Yugoslav Wars,
the Kosovo War and the Bosnian War. Many
ambitious, smart woman called Hillary Rodham at – and the president had hoped to see it through. countries were also shifting away from the
influence of the former Soviet Union. The
Yale and the couple married in 1975. He yearned for universal health care and made political landscape was shifting and the United
States’ standing was strengthened.
By the time the couple had a daughter, Chelsea, it part of his presidential campaign but strong
Prosperous times in
in 1980, the Democratic Party member had opposition and red tape strangled it. Following that, the US

already served two years – from 3 January 1977 the midterm elections in 1994 saw the Republican The American economy was flourishing in
the Nineties, experiencing the longest period
to 9 January 1979 – as the 50th attorney general Party make a net gain of 54 seats in the House of peacetime economic expansion in its
history. The US had more than overcome the
of Arkansas. He had only just begun his first of of Representatives and pick up eight seats in the recession at the turn of the decade and the
Welfare Reform Act also succeeded in reducing
two split terms as the 40th and 42nd governor of Senate. The Republican Revolution saw the party poverty from 1996.

Arkansas too, the second of which ended on 12 win both houses of Congress. Dawn of the Internet

December 1992. It did not prevent Clinton from winning re-election Around 1995, the Internet really began to take
off, three years after the first photo on the
But Clinton was destined for greater in 1996. He became the first Democrat since World Wide Web was published by its inventor,
English scientist Tim Berners-Lee (he had also
things and his reputation was growing. Franklin D Roosevelt to win a second term, written the first web browser in 1990). The
internet was proving to be revolutionary with
He followed a progressive brand Jazz fan beating Republican Party nominee email a popular form of communication.
of politics, which was part and Clinton began to Bob Dole. Applauded for raising the
parcel of a New Democrat, national minimum wage, he clamped Blair’s rise to power

centrist faction ideology that had play the saxophone down on crime and became the It is said that the progressive politics of Bill
emerged following George HW aged nine and first serving US president to visit Clinton were mimicked by Tony Blair who
Bush’s victory in 1988. He firmly Northern Ireland, telling his hosts became prime minister of the United Kingdom
believed in the need to improve would play for 12 the two countries were “partners for in 1997, following a landslide victory against
the previously ruling Conservative Party. The
the quality of public education. hours a day security, partners for prosperity, and UK and Ireland signed the Good Friday peace
agreement in 1998.
In 1992, he had won his party’s most [importantly], partners for peace.”
Booming entertainment
nomination, running for president on Unemployment also fell to its lowest and high-profile cases

a promise of welfare reform, a tax cut for levels and the economy boomed. Yet further The 1990s saw the release of the first Star
Wars prequel while animation moved up a
the middle classes and an expansion of the Earned trouble brewed in his personal life and his second notch with the debut of Toy Story. Punk rock
flourished in California and nu metal became
Income Tax Credit for the working poor. term was marked by the scandal involving White influential. Footballer and actor OJ Simpson
fell from grace, accused of the double-murder
His campaign was marred by claims of an affair House intern Monica Lewinsky. It led to the of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her
friend Ronald Goldman.
by nightclub singer Gennifer Flowers yet with president’s impeachment (and later acquittal),
131
Clinton and his running mate Al Gore successfully which blemished his reputation.

in the White House, public attention turned firmly His final years of presidency saw a rise in his

to politics. Clinton focused his work on economic popularity with the signing of tax-relief plans, tax

reforms that would drag the US out of the recession credits for children and college tuition, and the

that had blighted Bush’s later years. announcement of a $70 billion budget surplus. But

There were some positive standout moments world tensions began to simmer and he oversaw a

including the so-called ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ law United States-led, two-month NATO bombardment

in 1993 which replaced an outright ban on gay of Serbia in support of the Albanians. He also

people serving in the military and prohibited warned in 1998 that Iraq was pursuing nuclear

discrimination. That same year, Israel’s prime weapons, prompting four days of concentrated air

minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands with the attacks on Iraqi military installations. He may have

Palestine Liberation Organisation’s Yasser Arafat taken office after the end of the Cold War but the

following the signing of the Oslo Accords. An United States’ brief time of peace was coming to an

agreement was also ratified in 1994 by the US, end. Clinton left office on 20 January 2001.

US Presidents

2001 – 2009

George
W Bush

Bush’s time in office was marked by the
terrorist attacks on the United States which led

to the global War on Terror

I t is video footage which has been seen many against terrorism – and he formed the Department 43 GEORGE W BUSH
times over and yet it still manages to stay in of Homeland Security. The US was plunged into
the minds of those who view it. On the day two long military campaigns in Afghanistan and Republican, 1946 – present
Al-Qaeda terrorists flew two hijacked aeroplanes Iraq, which split the opinion of its citizens. There
George W Bush was
into the World Trade Center in New York, the was no denying Bush’s impact. the son of another

White House chief of staff, Andrew Card, was Bush was born on 6 July 1946 in New Haven, Brief president – George
Bio HW Bush, and his
filmed whispering into the ear of George W Bush in Connecticut, the son of Barbara Bush and the future
earlier life had
front of schoolchildren. That day also saw another President George HW Bush, who made his fortune in alternated between forays in
politics and business. After
plane blasted into the Pentagon and control of oil. It was a relatively happy childhood albeit tinged becoming governor of Texas,
he was elected as the 43rd
United Airlines Flight 93 seized – both were acts by with great sadness following the death of his younger president, only to bear the
brunt of the terrorist atrocities
Al-Qaeda – only for Flight 93 to crash in sister, Pauline, of leukaemia aged just three. of September 11 in 2001, which
went on to define both of the
a field in Pennsylvania after its brave Bush Bush was seven at the time and it was terms he eventually served.
passengers attempted to overcome and wife an event which dominated and
the terrorists. shaped his early years as he battled

The president listened Laura were to come to terms with his grief. A

intently for the few seconds instrumental in setting report in the Washington Post in
it took for the message to up PEPFAR, which helps 1999 said that Bush repeatedly
be delivered, his face barely questioned why no one had told
flickering as the news cameras save the lives of HIV him she had been dying. It was

focused upon him. He was and AIDS sufferers an event which defined him,

reading a book to schoolchildren in Africa ensuring his life would be driven
in Florida and, after the news was by chance and humour.

delivered, he continued to read for a This was evident during his time

few more minutes, stood up, apologised reading history at Yale University. He

and left. But for those brief moments, he was was a member of the privileged Skull and Bones

a picture of calm on an otherwise hectic and society and he spent more time socialising and

uncertain day. drinking than studying. “To the C students, I say,

September 11 is the day which would define the ‘You too can be president of the United States,’” he

43rd president’s time in office. He had only been quipped in 2001 at Yale’s 300th commencement.

leader for eight months when 9/11 – as it became Even so, he was – literally – a high flier after

known – happened in 2001, and he barely had graduation: until 1972, he served as an F-102 fighter

the opportunity to make his mark. But from that pilot in the Texas Air National Guard during the

moment on, he led the global War on Terror. He Vietnam War. He went on to receive a Master of

positioned himself as the head of the coalition of Business Administration from Harvard Business

the willing – a group of allied countries uniting School in 1975.

132

George W Bush

An infant George W Bush is held lovingly
by his parents, future president George HW
Bush and his wife Barbara circa 1947

Life in the
time of George
W Bush

The War on Terror

September 11 changed everything for the first
decade of the 21st century. Al-Qaeda terrorists
would strike in Madrid, London and Mumbai,
while Iraq and Afghanistan dominated political
thinking. There were mass protests against
war, rising fears of further attacks and concern
over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Religious awareness rises

The world became less ignorant of other
religions and began to learn and understand
more about Islam, in particular. Meanwhile,
Pope John Paul II died on 2 April 2005. Two
years earlier, he had sent Cardinal Pio Laghi to
meet Bush, asking him to reconsider invading
Iraq. He wouldn’t.

The rise of Apple

More people began to invest in technology,
in part, because of the phoenix-like revival
of Apple spearheaded by founder Steve Jobs
who had returned to the company in 1997. The
iPod was released in 2001 and revolutionised
the way that people bought and listened to
music and the iPhone in 2007 ushered in the
smartphone era.

Slower air travel

Concorde was retired in 2003 following
its only crash in 2000. It was also a victim
of the terrorist attacks of September 11
which had caused a general downturn in air
travel numbers, and it heralded the end of
supersonic transport and fast travel between
the United States and Europe.

Superheroes dominate
Hollywood films

With wars, climate change worries and
disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the world
needed superheroes, it seemed. The box
office was awash with X-Men, Fantastic Four,
Iron Man, Watchmen, Batman and Spider-Man
movies, and fantasy films such as The Lord of
the Rings were also popular.

133

US Presidents

even though Gore had won the popular vote by

48.4 per cent to Bush’s 47.9 per cent.

When Bush was seeking election, he had

promised to overhaul Medicare, Social Security

and public education. He wanted to put to bed

the Clinton-esque scandals of the last office and

he rode a wave of principled policies. Newspapers

spoke of his desire to cut taxes and help the poor

with health insurance tax credits. He wanted

investment in the military too.

In his first term Bush achieved tax cuts, and

he made strides in the education sector but on

September 11 everything would change.

Bush Bush’s priorities needed to shift in line
with the expectations he laid out on

was only the evening of that day.
the second Having been fully briefed on the
president after John
Quincy Adams to terrorist attacks and their likely
motivation, Bush’s attention fixed on
foreign rather than domestic policy.

His success, experience and responsibilities won governorship of Texas and be the son of a Analysts believed the United States
did not curb his fondness for alcohol, though. In president could become an isolationist country
1976, he was caught drink-driving and arrested. but instead the US went all-out, seeking
He continued drinking for another ten years, only
giving up alcohol in 1986, just two years before he served two terms. It led to him retribution. “The search is underway for
became a paid campaign advisor on his father’s
successful presidential bid. During that time he had becoming the Republican presidential those who were behind these evil acts,” he told
married Laura Welch, joined the United Methodist
Church, run a failed campaign for the House of nominee for the 2000 elections. This had put him the nation as Osama Bin Laden quickly became
Representatives from Texas’ 19th congressional
district against Kent Hance, created Arbusto Energy up against Al Gore, vice president of the United identified as the enemy’s leader and targets started
which became Bush Exploration and fathered two
children: twin daughters Barbara and Jenna. States under President Bill Clinton. to be identified.

In 1994, two years after being campaign advisor The election was mired in controversy as scores Bush had, after all, said that “we will make
for his father’s failed re-election campaign, Bush
of voters said they had accidentally voted for no distinction between the terrorists who

the wrong candidate because the ballot was not committed these acts and those who harbour

entirely clear. A recount was triggered in Florida them” and so the army and air force were sent

where Bush’s victory of margin was just 537. to bombard Afghanistan and drive out the ruling

Disappointed voters had rows over hand recounts Taliban. In 2003, attention switched to Saddam

and punch card ballots where so-called ‘chads’ were Hussein, the president of Iraq and a man who

hanging from the papers and were not registering Bush’s father had fought in the Gulf War between

votes. In the end, Bush was declared the winner 2 August 1990 and 28 February 1991. Hussein

Defining moment Defining moment

Bush graduates from Yale Bush elected governor of Texas
University 1968 1994

Bush arrives at Yale in 1964, at the same time his father is in Bush defeats the popular incumbent Ann Richards and
the running for the Texas United States Senate election against governs Texas for five years, having won a second term
Democrat Ralph Yarborough. He studies history but it is not in 1998 – the first Texas governor to have done so. He
known what his grades were, quite possibly because he was not proves to be popular, winning 68.6 per cent of the vote
viewed as an exceptional student, rather someone who liked to the second time around. Bush is improves public schools,
drink, party and have fun. On one occasion he is arrested for cuts taxes and encourages growth in business, but there
disorderly conduct for taking a Christmas wreath from a shop is condemnation from human rights activists throughout
door but the charges are dropped. On 1 January 1967, a notice his time in charge. By the time he leaves office, he has
in the Houston Chronicle says Bush is engaged to Cathryn Lee presided over 152 executions – more than any other
Wolfman. The wedding is later called off. governor in the state’s history at that time.

Timeline

1946

● George W Bush is born ● The Bush family ● Death of his sister ● Bush marries Laura ● Bush enters politics ● Bush wins the
Bush is born in New relocate to West Texas Just a few weeks after the presidential election
Haven, Connecticut and is Bush’s father decides to birth of Barbara Bush’s Welch in Texas Bush runs for the House After one of the most
the first child of Barbara move the family to West second son, Jeb, daughter controversial elections
and George HW Bush. Texas in order to pursue Pauline Robinson Bush Less than a year after of Representatives from ever, Bush becomes the
His parents would later a new career in the oil – nicknamed Robin – is 43rd president of the
give him three younger industry. This is where diagnosed with leukaemia meeting, Bush, who is now Texas’ 19th congressional United States and he
brothers – Jeb, Neil and the young Bush grows up, and dies six months later. resigns as governor of
Marvin – and two sisters – later attending The Kinkaid The young George is 31, marries Laura Welch, district but loses. He Texas. He is inaugurated
Dorothy and Robin. School in Houston. understandably devastated. on 20 January 2001.
6 July 1946 1948 11 October 1953 aged 33, at the First decides to pursue a 2000

United Methodist Church business career in oil

in Midland, Texas. They go and becomes highly

on to have twin daughters successful. He also buys

called Barbara and Jenna. the Texas Rangers.

5 November 1977 1978

134

George W Bush

“Bush’s slow response to Katrina rankled
with the American people”

was identified as supporting terrorist groups and administration had approved the Guantanamo Bush oversaw the construction of a
he was captured in December 2003. Bay detention camp in 2002 which held 779 men brand new stadium in Arlington
and boys in harsh conditions. At that time, Bush
Key to Bush’s efforts to remove Hussein from had the highest approval rating of any president Bush the
power and cause change in Iraq was a litany of during a mid-term congressional since Dwight D sports fan
supposed evidence that Iraq was actively pursuing Eisenhower. His second term saw his popularity
nuclear weapons. He was claimed to have a stash dip, though. His standing deteriorated in 2005 Bush was a keen sportsman and he played
of chemicals earmarked for warfare and was said when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in rugby union during his high school and
to be a threat to world peace. The words ‘weapons the summer, killing more than 1,000 people and Yale years. Having learned in 1988 that
of mass destruction’, or WMD, became widely used causing $100 billion of damage. the Texas Rangers were being put up for
but searches in Iraq found nothing at the time of sale, he headed a group the following April
invasion and no caches have ever been discovered Bush was on vacation in the 1,600-acre Prairie which invested $89 million and took a
since. The whole affair was ultimately highly Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas, and he did not controlling stake in the franchise.
embarrassing and controversial. immediately cut it short. Bush’s slow response to
Katrina rankled with the American people as news Under Bush’s watch – and in conjunction
Bush was accused of misleading the American reports continued to show the extreme devastation. with the city of Arlington – a new stadium
people, an allegation he has strenuously denied. Even when he did end his holiday two days earlier was built for the team costing $193 million.
He also risked becoming tarnished by a war that than intended, he did not visit the area straight It was financed through a half-cent sales
seemingly had no end point in sight. Some sections away. It was widely seen as the event which caused tax increase for Arlington residents. The
of the US and the press often held him to ridicule the United States to lose confidence in him. His move boosted attendances, pushing them
and he was the victim of hoaxes falsely claiming approval rating dropped to 40 per cent in 2006. beyond two million for the first time in
him to have the lowest IQ of any US president franchise history.
over the preceding 50 years. ‘Bushisms’ became By 2008 it had dropped further, to an
a term given to his frequent verbal slip-ups. “Our astonishing 22 per cent according to one poll. Bush continued to buy more shares and
enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so By this time the United States was suffering a he eventually took his personal financial
are we,” he said in August 2004. “They never stop financial crisis that was also engulfing the world. investment to $606,302. But attorney
thinking about new ways to harm our country and The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 sought to Glenn Sodd sued the Rangers on behalf
our people, and neither do we.” That year, though, stimulate the economy but the global recession was of two families whose property had been
he ran for re-election and won, defeating the in full force. Amid growing discontentment, Bush seized for stadium parking space. They
Democratic Party’s challenger, John Kerry with 50.7 had come to the end of his second term but there argued that they had received only a
per cent of the popular vote and a margin of 286 to was no appetite for four more years of Republican fraction of its value.
252 electoral votes. policies. It paved the way for a Democratic Party
victory as Barack Obama defeated John McCain to The new Ballpark eventually opened
Certain policies – while controversial around spark a new era in American history. in 1994 and achieved average crowds
the world – did not seem to affect him. Bush’s of 40,374 but when Bush was elected
governor, he decided to step down as
Defining moment managing general partner. In 1998, the
franchise was eventually sold to Tom Hicks
Terrorists strike the United for $250 million, a sum which netted Bush
States 11 September 2001 a cool $14.9 million. Bush remains a huge
fan of the Texas Rangers and he is often
No timeline of George W Bush could be complete without seen at the games.
mention of September 11 since it would go on to define
his entire presidency and overshadow everything else he
achieved. Bush is informed of the multiple terrorist attacks
on US soil while he is reading The Pet Goat to children at
the Emma E Booker School in Sarasota, Florida. He gives
a short press conference at 9.30am that morning before
he is moved to a secure location on board Air Force One.
He returns to the White House and begins work on a more
long-term response.

2008

● Education reform ● A busy year ● Bush is inaugurated again ● Sealing the borders ● More activity in Iraq ● Second term ends
Further US troops are Bush draws his second term
introduced As well as declaring war Having beaten senator John F The Secure Fence Act of committed to Iraq in order of office to a close and
to secure Baghdad and Democrat Barack Obama is
Bush pushed through on Iraq – ensuring that Kerry in the presidential race of 2006 was signed in a bid the adjascent Al Anbar elected the 44th president
province. Former Iraq of the United States. Bush
the No Child Left Behind it joined Afghanistan in 2004, Bush assumes a second to halt the rise of illegal president Saddam publishes his memoirs in
Hussein was finally 2010 and he becomes a
Act which introduced being part of the War on term, but the destruction in entry, drug trafficking and executed by the United grandparent for the first time
States the year before. in 2013.
the standardised testing Terror, Bush brings in laws New Orleans brought about security threats in the 2007 26 October 2008

of children to close the encouraging business by Hurricane Katrina severely United States. A fence

achievement gap between growth, better health dents his popularity ratings 700 miles long was built

the advantaged and systems and he also signs and leaves him with a public on the Mexico-US border

disadvantaged. the HIV/AIDS act. relations mountain to climb. to boost security.

2002 2003 2005 26 October 2006

135

US Presidents

44 BARACK OBAMA

Democrat, 1961 – 2016

Born in Hawaii less
than two years after

Brief it was made the 50th
Bio US state, Barack

Obama would make
history by becoming the first
black president of the United
States. Inheriting an economy
in the depths of a recession
and still engaged in two wars in
the Middle East, he faced many
difficulties in a pair of terms that
have yet to be fully evaluated.

2009 – 2017

Barack Obama
Barack Obama’s inauguration generated unprecedented excitement and

clamour. He largely delivered on his promises to restore the country’s shattered

reputation abroad and resurrect it from the doldrums of the Great Recession

On 20 January 2009, downtown Washington as a teen, and admitted to smoking marijuana
DC was swamped with millions of and experimenting with cocaine to fit in. He was
supporters, generating the largest rigorously home-schooled for much of his childhood
inauguration crowds since Lyndon Johnson’s by his mother, and he credited this occasionally
re-election in 1965. The man they had come stern upbringing with instilling in him the values
to see: President Barack Obama. Elected to the that would allow him to succeed. He gained national
nation’s highest office at the tender age of 47, his attention in 1991 when he was elected the first
only political experience consisting of one term in black president of the Harvard Law Review. He also
the Senate, Obama was a sensation. began writing a book on race relations that would
become his bestselling memoir, Dreams From My
Obama’s upbringing was atypical, yet emblematic Father. Obama began teaching at the University of
of the American dream that came to underscore Chicago Law School, lecturing on constitutional
his political story. Born in Honolulu to a mother law, and working as a community organiser. During
from Kansas and a father from Kenya, he lived his political career, he would often return to the
in Indonesia and Hawaii, splitting time between measured, patient tones that he honed teaching law.
his mother and grandparents. He was unsettled

136

Barack Obama

Later political opponents mocked Obama’s days as achievement was his Affordable Care Act, dubbed

a community organiser and point to his associations ObamaCare, which, although neutered somewhat

with unsavoury characters that he cultivated, but his in Congress, was a genuine and lasting effort to

work with black churches in Chicago helped bolster make basic healthcare available to all Americans. His

his image as a man of the people, rather than an efforts at working with Republicans on landmark

elite and disconnected Ivy League scholar. legislation foundered, and he repeatedly faced

During his candidacy for the Illinois Senate, the threat of government shutdowns from an Obama won a Grammy in 2006 for the
audiobook reading of his memoir
Obama gained notoriety with his bitter opposition increasingly fractious Republican House critical of
Life in the
to Bush’s invasion of Iraq. At the 2004 Democratic his excessive spending. In the wake of the Sandy time of Barack
Obama
National Convention, he electrified his party with Hook school shooting, Obama reiterated his desire to
The Great Recession
the keynote speech, rising from obscurity to a pass gun-control legislation, but was again thwarted.
A sub-prime mortgage crisis, a shady
genuine party leader. Despite a fruitful first term Obama will be remembered for his deep default swaps market, and the bundling of
exotic financial instruments combined with
as Senator, Obama was a political neophyte, so few commitment to progressive ideals. He repealed the deregulation of Wall Street in the 1990s
and 2000s led to a total collapse of the
expected him to pose a serious challenge to Hillary ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, allowing openly gay men financial system and the housing market in
2007. Obama creditably resurrected the car
Clinton in the lead up to the 2008 presidential and women to serve in the military. And in 2015, industry, regulated the banks, and restored the
economy over his two terms.
election. However, Obama’s accessible, tech-savvy a Supreme Court featuring two of his appointed
The Iraq War ‘ends’
campaign harnessed an engaged new cadre of justices made same-sex marriage federally legal. He
In early 2009, Obama announced that he
young voters and small fundraisers. He was an considered himself an arbitrator of racial disputes, would end the Iraq War within 18 months.
The US public was upset with the fraudulent
excellent orator, charismatic, and rode a wave of and often intervened in police matters (notably entry into the war and the subsequent failure
of nation-building. Obama kept his word.
adulation and excitement to the White House, issuing statements on the killings of Michael Brown However, when the Islamic State shrugged off
the American-trained and American-supported
defeating John McCain in a landslide victory. and Trayvon Martin), yet towards the end of his Iraqi army, captured Mosul and carried out
ethnic cleansing campaigns in 2014, thousands
The country was in a bad state, suffering from second term it became clear that racial tensions in of US troops re-entered Iraq.

the wounds inflicted by a runaway Wall Street, and the US were worse than ever before. Osama meets his
watery grave
dealing with the worst recession since the Great Obama’s two terms featured notable foreign
In May 2011, CIA intelligence revealed that
Depression. Obama embraced a radical spending plan, policy successes, the highlights being the Osama Bin Laden was living in Abbottabad,
Pakistan. Obama rejected a plan to bomb the
rejecting the austerity that many European nations rapprochement with Cuba, the killing of Osama compound, opting instead for a raid by Navy
Seals. The raid was successful, and Bin Laden
opted for. His stimulus plan was his most lasting and Bin Laden, and the successful negotiations with was shot and buried at sea. Though he was no
longer actively involved in Al-Qaeda, the raid
resounding success, as the country recovered quickly Iran over its nuclear program. However, those were was considered a strategic and moral victory
for the US and bolstered Obama’s popularity.
from the recession and unemployment decreased overshadowed by his failure to deal with ISIS, his
Spying among friends
steadily over his two terms. sluggish action in Syria, an inability to control
When Edward Snowden revealed the NSA’s
When Obama was inaugurated, the US the security environment in Iraq, a bombing overreach in collecting data, the US faced a
stern backlash abroad. German Chancellor
was also embroiled in two unpopular campaign in Libya that left it a failed Angela Merkel was particularly enraged that US
intelligence was listening to her mobile phone
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had Obama state, frosty relations with Israel, the calls. The NSA agreed to stop the overeager
promised to end both wars, and debacle in Benghazi, backtracking collection of data but Obama’s popularity dipped.

when he was re-elected in 2012, he worked in on a warning to Bashar al-Assad A thin red line

campaigned on his successes in Baskin Robbins as over chemical weapons use, and When Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad used
the Middle East, having ostensibly a teenager and as a repeated humiliation at the hands sarin gas, a chemical weapon outlawed by
ended the Iraq War in 2011. result can’t stand of Vladimir Putin and Russia. the Geneva Convention, to murder thousands
However, as tensions boiled over in Critics will find similarities in the of innocent civilians in Damascus, Obama
faced a conundrum. He had called the use of
Syria and Iraq, Obama sent troops ice cream foreign policy of Obama and his such weapons a red line not to be crossed, at
back in — and he never did withdraw predecessor, as he continued Bush’s the threat of immediate military reprisal. Yet
Obama backed down from his threat and Putin
troops from Afghanistan altogether. extra-judicial drone strikes in dozens of mediated the situation instead, humiliating him.

His presidency was characterised countries, and stepped up a mass surveillance 137

throughout by battles with a stubborn Congress plan through the National Security Agency. Obama

— the Democrats had a majority in both Houses swept in on a platform of hope, and to his credit

in his first term, but that didn’t last. He failed to delivered on many domestic items, salvaged the

follow through on his campaign pledge to close the economy, and did much to restore the United

notorious Guantanamo Bay detention facility when States’ reputation abroad, yet he failed to realise

Congress refused to cooperate, but supporters will many of his promises and was widely seen as

wonder if he could have done more. His lingering indecisive when it mattered most.

The Affordable Care Act

Obama’s most lasting achievement was healthcare reform,
which he pushed through in 2010 with the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Acts. Despite serious
opposition from the right-wing Tea Party movement and
virtually every Republican in Congress, the act carried and
was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in 2012. Despite a
slow roll-out of government-sponsored healthcare plans,
and subsequent opposition by state governors, the Act
has made affordable healthcare available to working-class
Americans, and granted the consumer protection from
predatory insurance company practices.

US Presidents

2017 – present

Donald
Trump

Trump’s shock election win split opinion not only
in the US but across the world. His time in office

marked the most controversial Presidency yet

Like Barack Obama, Donald Trump’s in 1968. Although he had worked for the family 45 DONALD TRUMP
inauguration in Washington was attended by firm, Elizabeth Trump and Son, during university,
many, many people. “I looked over that sea his father handed him a “small” million-dollar Republican, 1946 – present
of people and I said to myself, ‘wow’,” Trump loan, which allowed him to start his own real
Born in the New
would later tell ABC News. “That was some estate venture. He later joined the company full York City borough of

crowd.” Yet unlike his predecessor’s passage to the time and took control. He renamed it the Trump Brief Queens to wealthy
Bio parents, Donald
White House, Trump’s claim to have the largest Organization in 1971.
Trump made history
Presidential inauguration audience in history was During that decade and the 1980s, Trump by becoming the first US
president to have no political or
immediately called into question. Images emerged cemented his reputation as an all-American military experience. Elected on
a promise to “drain the swamp”
of large empty spaces. But Trump’s presidency – a businessman. In 1976, a glowing profile about of Washington, Trump is seen
as a highly experienced and
man who had no prior political experience – him in The New York Times reported that successful businessman who
also starred in the reality TV
was always going to be controversial. he was worth $200 million aged 30. show The Apprentice.

Trump announced his Presidential Donald But although he sought to shape
bid on 16 June 2015 following Trump has been Manhattan, renovating properties
months of speculation. Seeking in the borough and altering

the Republican Presidential embroiled in a war of the skyline (most notably

nomination, he declared the words with the press, with the erection of Trump
United States needed somebody in particular the Tower on Fifth Avenue, which
who could “make it great again”, “failing” New York was completed in 1983), there
but with a dozen major candidates was a sense it was the elites’

also in the running, few believed Times approval that he sought most. “I

that he would actually succeed. think he came to Manhattan and

Trump, however, was confident from the he really set his sights on making it

outset and he vowed to use his own money in Manhattan,” the newspaper’s current

to fund his campaign. As a billionaire real-estate executive editor Dean Baquet said in March 2017.

developer with interests in hotels, golf courses and Since then, Trump has led a colourful life.

casinos, he certainly had enough cash. Although his businesses have suffered four

Trump’s father was the self-made real estate bankruptcy filings over the years, he has written

tycoon Fred Trump, who had helped pioneer 19 books (a mix of self-help, business guides and

the concept of supermarkets during the Great co-written fiction), taken a large stake in the beauty

Depression of the mid 1930s. When Trump was pageants Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen

found misbehaving at school, he was sent to USA, had a starring role in the reality television

the New York Military Academy but, in 1966, he show The Apprentice, and even found time for a

entered the business school of the University of cameo in Home Alone 2. It’s certainly fair to say that

Pennsylvania to study economics, graduating he’s a driven man in his pursuit of success.

138

© Gage Skidmore Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s Cabinet in March 2017.
Some, though most certainly not all, of his
selections have been controversial

Life in the time
of Donald Trump

Social media

While the likes of Facebook, Instagram and
Twitter were widely used before President
Trump’s tenure as president, his infamous
usage of social media to mobilise his following
and provoke controversy was a mainstay
of news headlines. In early 2021, Trump
was banned from a number of social media
platforms, including his primary outlet, Twitter.

#MeToo

In 2017, the New York Times broke the first
widespread reports of sexual misconduct
claims against Hollywood mogul Harvey
Weinstein. The ensuing controversy prompted
waves of victims to come forward to share
their own stories of abuse under the banner
of the Me Too movement, and in the wake
of that came new allegations against abusers
beyond Weinstein.

Fake news

Throughout his life, President Trump has had
something of a ‘love-hate’ relationship with
the press, however once he began to pursue
a political career, it became increasingly clear
that the relationship had skewed more towards
the ‘hate’ side. President Trump often accused
the press of bias, and frequently denounced
journalists as “fake news media”.

Coronavirus pandemic

In late 2019 a new strain of Coronavirus, later
dubbed COVID-19, was identified in Wuhan,
China. Within a few months, the virus had
spread globally and caused massive strain
on countries worldwide. Trump downplayed
the impact on the virus in the USA, and his
response was less severe compared to other
governments. Trump eventually contracted
COVID-19 himself and made a full recovery.

George Floyd

On 25 May 2020, George Floyd was killed
during an arrest where officer Derek Chauvin
knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.
The killing triggered protests across the
USA, and while the majority were peaceful,
demonstrations in some cities led to violence
from both police and protesters. The Trump
administration drew widespread criticism for
handling the protests with hardline rhetoric
and an aggressive militarised response.

139

US Presidents

“Once Trump took office, US foreign US President account (@POTUS) to give his opinion
on home and world affairs, and also to flag up

policy saw a dramatic change” when he thinks he is not getting enough credit
for something. He ended up signing 90 executive

actions in his first 100 days.

One executive order in particular proved

Time on the In the race for the White House, Clinton, as controversial: the attempt to ban visitors from
golf course expected, took the Democratic nomination, and seven Muslim-majority countries. It was taken
Trump led a side-campaign to have her prosecuted to court and defeated following confusion and
Although Donald Trump repeatedly called for using her private email server while she was protests, frustrating Trump, who tried and failed
Barack Obama out for taking time away Secretary of State. During Presidential debates, to implement it a second time. But in June 2018
to play golf, his own fixation with the Clinton accused Trump of tax avoidance, sexism – on Trump’s third attempt – the Supreme Court
sport saw him spend seven of his first and racism. Then in October, a tape emerged in passed a revised version. Nationals from Yemen,
14 weekends as president at Mar-a-Lago, which Trump’s candid views of women were Iran, Libya, Syria and Somalia – as well as North

his golf club in Florida. Indeed, as of July caught and there were accusations that he had Koreans and Venezuelan government officials –
2017 he had spent more than 20 per cent inappropriately touched four women. But Trump were prevented from entering the US unless they
of his time as president at one of his golf trusted his instincts and he was bolstered by the meet strict conditions. The policy was deemed
clubs and he had even taken to calling mass attendances at his rallies. So while
Mar-a-Lago the “Southern White House”. the world was shocked when, on 9 Islamophobic, and closed the door for refugees
At least four of his clubs have a framed November 2016, Trump was elected fleeing war-torn nations. Its passage
copy of a Time magazine cover hung in the Supreme Court was closely

on the wall. Bearing his image and the the 45th President of the United One of Trump’s contested, with only 5-4 in favour.
headline “Donald Trump: The Apprentice States, it came as little surprise most pressing Jobs and the environment
is a television smash!”, it was then to him. He was inaugurated on matters has been the
revealed to be fake. 20 January 2017. ongoing issue of North figured highly in Trump’s
Korea, which he presidency. On the one hand,
The Trump Organization operates 18 Almost immediately, Trump CNNMoney’s Trump Jobs
golf courses across the world, raking in got down to business, signing Tracker gave the President
hundreds of millions of dollars each year. numerous executive actions credit for the addition of
The most controversial is in Balmedie,

Scotland where opponents say it impacts aimed at dismantling Obama’s vowed to solve 317,000 jobs. On the other, his
on a site of special scientific interest. regulations. He withdrew the announcement that the US would
An unflattering documentary aired on
BBC2 called You’ve Been Trumped, which US from the TPP, banned funding pull out of the Paris climate accord
highlighted those fighting against the
development. As for how good he is as a for international groups that provide was seen as a setback in the efforts
player, he told golfdigest.com that he was
abortions and placed a freeze on the to combat global warming. Yet Trump was

hiring of non-military federal workers. On each applauded for his action in the Syrian war. When

self-taught and trusted his instinct. The occasion, he was filmed putting pen to paper in President Bashar Al-Assad of Syria used chemical

reporter said his “swing was imperfect the Oval Office, later congratulating himself on weapons, America’s military hit out, firing 59
but grooved”. Twitter. Indeed, his heavy use of social media Tomahawk cruise missiles at the air base used to

continued. He used both his own and the official launch the attack.

Trump International Golf Links in Defining moment
Balmedie, Scotland is a championship
course and viewed as one of the best in James B Comey is fired
the world 9 May 2017

Trump so far On 10 January 2017, it emerged a dossier had been written by
a former British M16 intelligence officer, Christopher Steele,
alleging secret contacts between the Russian government
and Trump during the presidential election. The matter has
rumbled on since, with Michael Flynn, who Trump appointed
national security advisor, quitting over his links to Russia, and
FBI director James B Comey later confirming the bureau was
investigating Russia’s alleged interference in the US election.
On 9 May 2017 Trump sacked Comey, saying he hadn’t
effectively handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use
of a private email server but later admits “this Russia thing”
had played a part.

l Donald Trump’s l Attempts a Muslim ban l North Korea fires missile l US strikes Syrian targets l Putin offers to help l Withdraws from
inauguration He signs an executive North Korea test-fires a Trump takes action against Reports that Trump Paris agreement
Donald Trump takes order which prohibits ballistic missile, which hands Syrian targets after the had divulged classified Trump formally announces
the presidential oath at travel from seven Muslim- Trump his first international country’s president, Bashar information to a Russian that the United States will
the Capitol and tells his majority countries to the crisis. Widely viewed as Al-Assad, uses chemical minister and envoy is be withdrawing from the
audience the day will be US for 90 days, prompting being a “show of force” weapons against civilians, denied by President Paris climate agreement,
remembered “as the day protests. It is blocked by Pyongyang, the missile including children. He says Vladimir Putin, who which had been struck in
the people became the within days by a federal safely lands in the Sea it was in the “vital national offers to release a 2015. The decision is widely
rulers of this nation again”. judge, but his appeal sees of Japan. security interest” of the US. record of the meeting. condemned by the EU.
20 January 2017 it return in March. 12 February 2017 7 April 2017 17 May 2017 1 June 2017
27 January 2017

140

Donald Trump

leaders met two more times since then, although concert shooting in 2017 was the deadliest shooting

no policies were announced. in US history, taking almost 60 lives in just a few

Trump’s supporters would argue had other minutes. Though he offered his condolences, he

triumphs, too. The stock market reached record refused to condemn the act as domestic terrorism,

highs, and illegal border crossings fell. But Trump’s and when asked about gun control said, “We aren’t

lack of political experience often showed. His going to talk about that today”. The Valentine’s Day

language was blunt and critics were quick to 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida killed

seize on his blunders no matter how 17 teenagers and school staff. Trump,

small. Even Trump’s assertive whose campaign received significant

handshakes, in which he appears donations from the National Rifle

to pull people towards him in Lots of licensed Association, showed that he
an almost-aggressive manner, products have used largely opposed restricting the
were put under the spotlight. his name, from vodka Second Amendment.

Trump’s domestic The final years of Trump’s
Donald Trump speaking at an election rally in Arizona© Gage Skidmore
wearing a cap that bears his campaign slogan, Make © Wikipolicy was also heavilyand steaks, to furniturePresidency were perhaps his
America Great Again criticised. As well as and board games most controversial. During
dismantling the Medicare 2020, the world was gripped
Once Trump took office, America’s foreign policy
saw a dramatic change. In Israel, for example, system, which was a step on the global COVID-19 pandemic,
the President caused international outcry by
recognising Jerusalem (a contested zone between the path to providing Americans and the President’s downplaying
Israel and Palestine) as the Israeli capital, and
promised to move the US embassy there. The with universal health care, Trump of the severity of the virus drew
US also withdrew from many key international
agreements, such as the UN Human Rights Council, was instrumental in restricting abortions criticism from health specialists. In the 2020
which it did in protest to its frequent criticism of
Israeli treatment of Palestinians. to women across the country. Although he Presidential election, Trump fought a bitter battle

Another break from his predecessors was his struggled to maintain a clear position on the against his Democrat rival Joe Biden. After Biden’s
conduct on the North Korean issue. It seemed as
if the US and North Korea were about to go head- specifics, he was staunchly against abortion. victory, Trump contested the results and made
to-head in nuclear war. In August 2017, Trump and
Kim Jong-un were at each other’s throats, Trump He signed an order to stop providing funding repeated false claims of voter fraud and launched
calling Kim a “rocket man”, with Kim firing back
that Trump was a “dotard”. But in a surprise cooling to international groups that either perform, or a string of unsuccessful lawsuits. This denial
of tensions, the two leaders met at a summit in
Singapore in June 2018. The two nations stated provide information on, them. He also stated his to accept the result culminated on 6 January
they should work together to create “a lasting and
stable peace regime on the Korean peninsula”, and commitment to overturning the landmark case 2021, where Trump rallied his supporters and
that North Korea was looking to denuclearise. The
Roe v. Wade, which affirmed a woman’s right to told them to march on the Capitol. Congress

abortion in the US. was forced to evacuate and five people lost their

As gun violence and mass shootings in America lives in the ensuing chaos. One week later, the

become more commonplace, the President’s lack House of Representatives impeached him for

of action led to widespread criticism and pleas for ‘incitement of insurrection’. While it’s currently

him to take a stand. Many politicians from across too early to tell how people will remember

the political spectrum, as well as ordinary people, Trump’s time in office, a cloud of controversy will

cried out for gun control. 323 mass shootings forever hang over him as the only President who

took place in the US in 2018 alone. The Las Vegas has been impeached twice.

Defining moment Defining moment

Homeland Security First impeachment
separates families December 18, 2019
15 June 2018
Following a series of allegations, a formal
In a shocking revelation, the Department of Homeland House inquiry was called to investigate whether
Security reveals that in April and May, many immigrant President Trump had solicited foreign interference to
families were separated at the southern US border, with aid his re-election bid for 2020. The inquiry reported
that Trump had withheld miliary aid from Ukrainian
nearly 2,000 children being taken away from their President Volodymyr Zelensky in order to influence
parents, who were to be prosecuted for illegal border
crossings. Trump said he hated to see children being taken the country into announcing an investigation
from their families, but blamed the Democrats for causing into Trump’s political rival, Joe Biden. Trump
the problem – though his own ‘zero tolerance’ policy was impeached by the House of Representatives,
allowed this treatment to blossom. On 20 June, he signed however he was acquitted by the US Senate and
an executive order ending family separation, but many
parents have not yet been reunited with their children. remained in power.

l Trump Jr admits l Stormy Daniels affair l G7 Summit l Government l Visiting North Korea l Second Impeachment
Russian link After the former adult Trump attends the G7 shutdown
Donald Trump Jr admits to film actress filed a lawsuit, summit in Canada. He The longest government Trump becomes the In the twilight of his
meeting the Russian lawyer Trump’s lawyer admitted leaves early, having had shutdown in US history
Natalia Veselnitskaya on that Trump paid $130,000 a strained conversation occurs as a result of first sitting US President Presidency, Donald Trump
9 June 2016 following for her silence about their with Canadian PM Justin disagreements between
claims that she had affair – apparently out of his Trudeau, and accused Trump and Congress to step foot in North was impeached for the
damaging information own wealth. him of ‘stabbing him in about the federal
about Hillary Clinton. 13 February 2018 the back’. budget. It lasts 35 days. Korea. After a summit second time for “incitement of
19 July 2017 8-9 June 2018 22 December 2018 –
25 January 2019 with South Korea, Trump insurrection” following claims

heads to the DMZ to and that he incited the 6 January

holds a meeting with Kim storming of the US Capitol.

Jong-un before being Trump was, once again,

invited to step onto acquitted by the US Senate.

North Korean soil. 13 January 2021

30 June 2019

141

US Presidents

2021 – present

Joe Biden
Having made his reputation as a bipartisan
dealmaker in the Senate, Joe Biden’s skills will

be tested as he attempts to bring unity to a
highly polarised and weary nation

If you wish to take a measure of the nation science from the University of Delaware in 1965,
that Joe Biden inherited upon being sworn in Biden embarked on a brief career as a lawyer,
as President in January 2021, his inauguration during which time he worked for firms with
ceremony is a fine way to do it. Despite gaining politically active heads. Put off the Republican

the largest popular vote of any candidate in cause by Richard Nixon, Biden initially registered

history, Joe Biden would look out to an empty as an independent before being swayed to the

National Mall as he took the oath of office, as the Democrats by his employer Sid Balick. In 1970 he

public were not allowed to attend the event. The successfully ran for a seat on New Castle County

risks were simply too great. Over the previous Council in Delaware, but quickly made the switch

ten months, the COVID-19 pandemic had killed from local to national politics by winning election

over 400,000 Americans and was nowhere to the Senate in 1972. Biden’s victory over

near being under control, meaning J Caleb Boggs, the two-term Republican

that those few in attendance were Biden incumbent who had served as
required to wear face masks and is a proud Governor of Delware, was an
maintain their distance from dog owner and enormous upset as Boggs’
one another. Worse yet, just two margin of victory in 1966 had

weeks prior the United States welcomed his two been over 18%. Biden would 46
Capitol had been stormed by German Shepherds, hold this seat for the next 36
extremist Trump supporters Champ and Major, years, making him Delaware’s
who had attempted to halt the longest serving senator ever.

certification of election results into the White Just weeks later, Biden suffered

that they believed to be fraudulent. House a personal tragedy when his wife JOE BIDEN
But in spite of the challenges ahead and children were in a car accident.
Democrat, 1942 - present

of him, the inauguration was a moment Though his sons Beau and Hunter

that Biden surely would have savoured, as survived the crash with relatively minor The son of a used
car salesman, Joe
there would have been points at which he would injuries, his wife Neilia and one-year-old daughter
Brief Biden is a tenured
have doubted that it might ever happen. Naomi were both killed. Biden considered not Bio career politician with

Born to Joseph Biden Sr and Catherine Eugenia taking up his seat, but was persuaded to do so by 36 years of Senate
experience and eight years as
‘Jean’ Biden on 20 November 1942 in Scranton, leading Democrat Mike Mansfield and was sworn Barack Obama’s Vice President.
As a moderate Democrat
Pennsylvania, Joe Biden spent his formative years in at the hospital where his sons were recovering. with a talent for traditional
campaigning, Joe Biden
in Delaware. Though he was a class president He gained some attention in his early career for his hopes to use his Washington
experience and dealmaking
in high school, he was more comfortable on the focus on arms control and his role in the rejection skills to heal the political and
social divisions of recent years.
football field than in the classroom, and possessed of Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

a stutter that made public speaking difficult. Following his failed bid for the 1988 Democratic

After gaining a degree in history and political Presidential nomination, he suffered two brain

142

Joe Biden Images: Alamy, Getty

Joe Biden’s term as President is speculated
to be much more conventional compared to
his predecessor Donald Trump

Biden’s cabinet

Antony Blinken

Secretary of State
Under the Clinton and Obama administrations,
Blinken had held senior foreign policy
positions including Deputy Secretary of State
from 2015 to 2017. He favours international
cooperation, stating that America “can’t solve
all the world’s problems alone”, and regards
the country’s relationship with China as “the
biggest geopolitical test” of this century.

Janet Yellen

Secretary of the Treasury
Yellen became the first woman to hold her
cabinet role upon her appointment, and from
2014 to 2018 had been the first woman to
serve as chair of the Federal Reserve. She
views stimulus spending as a key component
to tackling the COVID-19 recession, arguing
that “without further action, we risk a longer,
more painful recession”.

Lloyd Austin

Secretary of Defense
Over the course of a 41-year military career,
Austin became a four-star general and served
in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the commander of
United States Central Command from 2013 to
2016, he briefed the Obama administration,
where he came to know Biden. He is the first
African American to hold this office.

Miguel Cardona

Secretary of Education
Cardona’s rise has been rapid, having been
appointed a school principal at just 27 and
previously served as the Commissioner of
Education in Connecticut from 2019 to 2021.
He aims to tackle “an internalised culture of
low expectations for some”, as well as the
“cost burdens” that make college education
inaccessible to many Americans.

Merrick Garland

Attorney General
The former chief judge of the DC Circuit had
previously been nominated to the Supreme
Court by Barack Obama in 2016, but his
appointment was controversially blocked when
Senate Republicans refused the nomination. He
is considered to have been a moderate centrist
throughout his judicial career.

143

US Presidents

Third time “He served as a key
lucky liaison between
the White House
Prior to his success in 2020, Joe Biden had and Congress”
previously made two serious bids to run
as the Democratic Presidential candidate. aneurysms in February 1988 and had to undergo Biden’s running mate
The first was for the 1988 election, in surgery. Biden would subsequently have a major Kamala Harris made
which the New York Times described hand in crafting the Violent Crime Control and Law history when she was
him as being “initially considered the hot Enforcement Act of 1994, the nation’s largest ever sworn in as the first
property of the Democratic field” due crime bill. He supported military interventions in female African American
to his impressive fundraising ability and Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, though by the time and Asian American
recognisable staff. However, this bid fell of his 2008 Presidential campaign he had come Vice  President
apart in the autumn of 1987 following to regard the war in Iraq as a mistake. Though
allegations that he had plagiarised parts his campaign failed early on, he became Barack shutdown of 2013, wanting to take a tougher
of his speech from one previously made Obama’s running mate and was elected in 2008. position where Biden’s inclination was to make a
by UK Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock. deal. However, his Violence Against Women Act
Further allegations of plagiarism at law As Vice President, Joe Biden was known to spend was renewed in 2013 and he spent a great deal of
school ended the campaign before any a lot of his time challenging assumptions and time speaking out on sexual assault issues. Joe
primary votes were cast, though Biden forcing members of the administration to argue the Biden declined to run for the presidency in 2016,
would later be cleared by the Board of case for their policies. He was given responsibility feeling that the recent death of his son Beau meant
Professional Responsibility of the Delaware for the infrastructure spending portion of the that he would be unable to give the campaign his
Supreme Court. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. all, and endorsed Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. He
He also took a keen interest in foreign affairs and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom shortly
In 2008, Joe Biden’s second attempt particularly the United States’ military involvement before leaving office in January 2017, and remained
to gain the Democratic nomination was far in Iraq, making frequent visits to the country before in the public eye in the months that followed.
less eventful. Running on a liberal platform, the 2011 withdrawal of troops. During 2011, he
he hoped to expand health care coverage served as a key liaison between the White House
and end the USA’s military involvement and Congress during crisis talks over the federal
in Iraq. After gaining just 1% of the vote budget and later, the national debt ceiling. Biden
in the Iowa caucuses, placing fifth in the was selected as Obama’s running mate again in
field overall, Biden ended his campaign in 2012 and served a second term as Vice President,
January 2008. In June 2008 he endorsed but this was less eventful than his first. In part
Barack Obama’s candidacy, and in August this was because Democratic leaders excluded him
joined Obama’s campaign as his Vice from negotiations during the federal government
Presidential candidate.
Defining moment
Then-Senator Joe Biden in 1974, smiling
for a documentary “President Trump, step up”
6 January 2020
Timeline
During an attack on the Capitol designed to prevent
January 2021 the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory, the
President-elect made an unprecedented speech
l Joe Biden’s inauguration admonishing the sitting President. Stating that “the
Joe Biden takes the words of a President matter, no matter how good or
Presidential oath at the bad that President is”, Biden called on Donald Trump
Capitol, with an enhanced to appear on TV and demand an end to the violence.
security presence of Within minutes, the President uploaded a Twitter video
almost 26,000 National stating “we have to have peace, so go home,” but not
Guard troops. In his first without repeating baseless claims that “we had an
speech as President, Biden election that was stolen from us”.
declares that “unity is the
path forward”. February 2021
20 January 2021
l First phone calls l Immigration policies l Trump acquitted l First resignation
144 Commenting on the Deputy White House
Joe Biden speaks to his reversed acquittal of Donald press secretary TJ Ducklo
international colleagues for the Signing three executive orders, Trump following his resigns, following a report
first time as President, calling Joe Biden creates a task force second impeachment, that he had threatened a
Canadian prime minister to reunite families separated at Biden remarked that “the journalist. The former senior
Justin Trudeau and Mexican the border, initiates a review substance of the charge communications director
is not in dispute” and that for NBC News had also
President Andrés López about of legal immigration policies the event “has reminded us been the press secretary for
that democracy is fragile”. Biden’s campaign.
future plans, including bilateral and an assessment of whether 13 February 2021 13 February 2021

cooperation on environmental existing policy promotes

and immigration policies. integration and inclusion.

22 January 2021 2 February 2021

Joe Biden

The Presidential campaign itself was the most first day in office, he issued a large number of
executive orders designed to undo the actions of
ill-tempered for many years. Donald Trump often his predecessor and improve international relations.
These included rejoining the Paris climate accord,
referred to his opponent as “Sleepy Joe” as part halting the country’s withdrawal from the World
Health Organisation, lifting travel restrictions on
of his effort to cast doubt over Biden’s age and citizens Muslim-majority countries and halting the
construction of a wall on the border with Mexico.
mental capability. Biden characterised Trump as Other early orders concentrated on addressing the
climate crisis, including the development of a new
“believing that job is all about him”, and stated emissions reduction target and the cancellation
of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Over subsequent
that he “blames others, cosies up to dictators, and weeks, he sought to institute measures to tackle
the COVID-19 pandemic, though this raised
fans the flames of hate and division”. This came tensions between state governments and the
federal government – when Texas and Mississippi
to a head during the first debate of the campaign. lifted mandates requiring the wearing of face
masks in March, Biden referred to the decisions
During the ugly encounter, frequent interruptions as “Neanderthal thinking.” Biden secured his
first major legislative victory in March with the
by Trump caused an exasperated Biden to passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of
2021, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package intended to
respond, “Will you shut up, man?” Having been counteract the economic damage caused by the
pandemic. However, the bill was passed along party
told by Biden that he needed to be “a lot lines – a far cry from the kind of bipartisanship that
Biden has expressed a desire for.
smarter”, Trump responded, “There’s
Joe Biden has taken control of the USA at a
nothing smart about you, Joe.” time when it faces a variety of crises. As well the
pandemic, the nation is beset by racial tensions,
Biden ultimately won the a loss of trust in democracy and a loss of status
internationally. His energetic approach to tackling
Joe Biden is election on 3 November them belies his status as the oldest ever first-term
the oldest person 2020, and the Democrats President, but with a precarious Senate majority
to assume the US won slim majorities in both and a fierce opposition, it remains to be seen
Presidency. He was chambers of Congress – a whether his efforts will be effective. One thing is
comprehensive success, but certain – Biden’s Presidency will be considerably
more conventional than that of his predecessor.
sworn in two months one that did not amount to
after turning 78 the wholesale repudiation Defining moment
of Donald Trump that some
Pandemic stimulus act passed
Democrats had hoped for. 12 March 2020

Joe Biden announced his third Recognising this, Biden spoke Joe Biden’s first piece of major legislation was the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion effort to combat
campaign for the presidency on 25 April of his desire to “restore the soul of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures included
direct payments of $1,400 to individuals, expanded
2019. Despite polling ahead of his rivals for America” and have people “listen to each unemployment support of $300 per week, tax credits for
employers providing emergency paid sick leave and family
months prior to the beginning of the primaries, he other again” during his victory speech. Trump leave, grants for small businesses and a $350 billion fund
to cover budgetary shortfalls in state and local government.
got off to a shaky start, placing fourth in the Iowa refused to accept defeat, claiming to have won The Federal Emergency Management Agency also received
$50 billion for vaccine distribution. The bill passed by a vote
caucuses and fifth in New Hampshire, with Bernie the election “by a lot” and continuing to make of 50-49 in the Senate and 220-211 in the House.

Sanders taking an early lead. A resounding victory unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud.

in South Carolina revived his campaign, and Super During his early days in office, Biden

Tuesday in March 2020 saw him pull ahead of his concentrated instead on implementing his own

progressive rival. Biden became the presumptive policies, electing to keep his distance from the

nominee in April. Though some saw the result as impeachment of his predecessor over his part

disappointing, citing Biden as exactly the kind of in inspiring the attack on the Capitol. On his

establishment politician that Donald Trump had

distinguished himself from, proponents regarded

him as being able to pick up independent voters

who had a distaste for Trump, but might regard the

likes of Sanders as too extreme to support. Indeed,

in the wake of civil unrest triggered by the killing

of George Floyd, Biden opposed the movement

to defund police forces, instead pushing for more

moderate reforms. In August 2020 Biden appointed

Kamala Harris as his running mate. The former

California Attorney General’s African American and

Asian American heritage gave credence to Biden’s

commitment to diversity, and strengthened the

ticket’s law and order credentials.

March 2021

l “America is back” l Disaster in Texas l Moment of silence l Vaccination progress Imposes sanctions on l
Myanmar
Speaking to G7 leaders Beset by an unusually Outside the White House, made In response to a coup
in which Myanmar’s
at the Munich Security cold winter, Texas power Biden holds a moment of Biden announces that government was overthrown,
Biden blocks the nation
Conference, Biden seeks networks are disrupted silence for over 500,000 vaccinations for all American from certain types of trade
and imposes export control
to reassure his allies of and 14 million citizens are Americans that have adults should be delivered by restrictions on “military end
use” items.
his departure from his left without access to clean died during the COVID-19 the end of May, two months 5 March 2021

predecessor’s “America water. Biden upgrades the global pandemic. He tells ahead of schedule, thanks in 145

first” policy, stating that emergency designation the nation “we have to part to a deal allowing Merck Images: Getty

the country is “determined for the state, allocating resist becoming numb to to manufacture the Johnson

to re-engage with Europe.” additional recovery funds. the sorrow”. & Johnson vaccine.

19 February 2021 20 February 2021 22 February 2021 2 March 2021

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