Harry Truman's decision to fire Douglas MacArthur at the height of the Korean War in April 1951 shocked the American political system… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
A lot of people were ambivalent about Vietnam. Lyndon Johnson in 1964 positioned himself as the peace candidate. Once Johnson sent large… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
Abraham Lincoln spoke out against the Mexican War. But once Americans were under fire, people who were on the fence felt obliged… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
There has always been interest in certain phases and aspects of history - military history is a perennial bestseller, the Civil War,… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
People who teach American history survey classes have a lot of ground to cover and tend to focus on landmarks. You get… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
A president can start a war under relatively specious circumstances, and once American soldiers are under fire, Americans will support the soldiers… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class. — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
The Republican Party has moved substantially to the right of where Reagan was. — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
Reagan gave essentially the same speech from the beginning to the end of his political career, which was always, 'The American people are great,… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
Presidents are evaluated not by what they did by the stroke of their own pen; it's what they persuade Congress to do. — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
In the business arena, the standard rules of morality don't apply. What we're really looking for is efficiency. It doesn't do anyone any good… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
There is a certain kind of sobering, civilizing effect that being president imposes on people. There is a certain kind of dignity with which… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
The Founders were anything but demigods to themselves and their contemporaries, who recognized full well that the experiment in self-government had only begun. — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
The American political system is based on the president taking the initiative and Congress responding. With President Trump, it's been the opposite. — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
The president was not the most important political player in the 19th century. Besides Jefferson at the beginning, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, the… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
The shelf life of a seventh-year State of the Union address is about five minutes. Presidents can propose stuff. They're probably not likely to… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
When you look at the development of the American presidency, you see that the presidents who have had the greatest impact are the ones… — H. W. Brands Copy Share Image
