The 20th century proved to be one of immense and rapid social and economic change for the United States of America. The dawn of the new century ushered in a new president, Theordore Roosevelt, with a mission to change the face of politics, society, economic life and international relations. He was the first president to explore the possibilities of presidential power, using his influence to formulate progressive policies that would improve the standards of living and working for millions of Americans. His example proved a difficult one to follow and many of the century's presidents and their times in office have faded into obscurity, or failed to live up to the challenges presented.This illustrated encyclopedia of the presidents from 1901 presents a factual account of each of the presidents who have stood for office, and sets them within context of the times in which they each presided. Many have become synonymous with domestic and international events, such as Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, Richard Nixon and Watergate, Ronald Reagan and Star Wars, and Jimmy Carter and the Iranian hostage crisis. Alongside each of the presidential portraits are snapshots of industrial, economic, social and political developments that have changed the world, such as Henry Ford and the mass production of the motor car, the Civil Rights movement, the invention of the atomic bomb, the collapse of communism and international terrorism.More than 240 photographs, facsimile newsreel images, maps and fine art paintings help to provide a visual account of each presidential era, making this book a valuable reference for all those interested in America's social and political history.An illustrated encyclopedia of presidents from 1901 to the current day, with over 240 photographs and paintings Includes an analysis of each leader as politician, statesman and private individual, setting each president in the context of major social, political and economic developments, and discussing their influence on the course of historyProvides an overview of the memorable figures who have made their mark on American political history including Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Martin Luther King, Franklin D Roosevelt, John F Kennedy, Richard Nixon and the popular election of the country's first black president, Barack ObamaLooks at the role of president as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Head of State, Head of Government and Chief Executive, and discusses how each president has exploited the powers at their disposalCharts the momentous social and economic history of the times, including the building of the Panama Canal, the San Francisco earthquake, The Wall Street Crash, the Square Deal, the invention of flight, silent movies, radio, television, space travel and the internet, as well as the rise of popular cultureAnalyzes the implications and legacies of war including World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, the Iraq War and the war on terror, as well as international crises that have altered the course of world diplomacy
About the Author: Jon Roper studied for a BA honours degree in philosophy, politics and economics at St Catherine's College, Oxford, and a doctorate at Georgetown University, Washington, before becoming a lecturer in the Department of Political Theory and Government at Swansea University, Wales. In 1996 he was made head of the Department for American Studies and was appointed professor of the department in 2005. He has a special interest in the American presidency, the Impact of War on American Politics, and Society and Anglo-American Political Ideas. Jon is the author of The Contours of American Politics, Polity Press, The American Presidents: Heroic Leadership from Kennedy to Clinton, Edinburgh University Press, and Democracy and Its Critics: Anglo-American Democratic Thought in the Nineteenth Century, Unwin Hyman. He has edited several books on American political history and contributed to many others.