Inventing the Job of President: Leadership Style from George Washington to Andrew Jackson

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From George Washington's decision to buy time for the new nation by signing the less-than-ideal Jay Treaty with Great Britain in 1795 to George W. Bush's order of a military intervention in Iraq in 2003, the matter of who is president of the United States is of the utmost importance. In this book, Fred Greenstein examines the leadership styles of the earliest presidents, men who served at a time when it was by no means certain that the American experiment in free government would succeed. In his groundbreaking book The Presidential Difference, Greenstein evaluated the personal strengths and weaknesses of the modern presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Here, he takes us back to the very founding of the republic to apply the same yardsticks to the first seven presidents from Washington to Andrew Jackson, giving his no-nonsense assessment of the qualities that did and did not serve them well in office. For each president, Greenstein provides a concise history of his life and presidency, and evaluates him in the areas of public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. Washington, for example, used his organizational prowess--honed as a military commander and plantation owner--to lead an orderly administration. In contrast, John Adams was erudite but emotionally volatile, and his presidency was an organizational disaster. Inventing the Job of President explains how these early presidents and their successors shaped the American presidency we know today and helped the new republic prosper despite profound challenges at home and abroad.

Reviews

"Greenstein does an excellent job of providing short biographies of each president covered, as well as placing their presidencies into the context of their times, making this book a no-nonsense guide to the characters of these seven presidents, and an examination of the characteristics that the author believes served them well and poorly during their time in office. An interesting addition to the study of the presidency, I would recommend Inventing the Job of President."--Stefan Fergus, Civilian Reader "This fine volume will prove interesting for scholars of the presidency, but its accessible style and fluid prose make it ideal for the undergraduate and general reader as well. Highly recommended."--David A. Crockett, Register of the Kentucky Historical Society "[E]legant and clear ... a captivating and ... easy-to-digest lecture... Inventing the Job of President is a valuable resource for both presidential scholars and for those who had ever read anything about the subject."--Mihail Chiru, CEU Political Science Journal "The book's obvious originality lies in Greenstein's application of a single framework to the leadership styles of the early presidents. In so doing, the book usefully brings together information in a systematic way, emphasizing the enduring features of political leadership in any epoch and whetting the reader's appetite to know more about the subject. It is a relatively inexpensive book, and students and general readers will find it an accessible introduction to the early presidency. Seasoned scholars will find the book more useful as a comparative analysis of the early presidents. It is certainly a book that every presidential scholar will want to read."--Political Studies Review "This latest addition to the Greenstein corpus will find a receptive audience in scholars of the Presidency and those interested in leadership and American political history. Highly recommended."--Stephen K. Shaw, Library Journal "In this brief text, eminent scholar Greenstein examines the role the first seven presidents of the U.S. played in establishing the presidency as an institution."--Choice

Author Bio

Fred I. Greenstein is professor of politics emeritus at Princeton University. His books include "The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to Barack Obama" (Princeton); "The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader"; and "How Presidents Test Reality: Decisions on Vietnam, 1954 and 1965".