Accidental Presidents: Death, Assassination, Resignation, and Democratic Succession [Paperback]

Accidental presidents, those who assume office as a result of death, assassination or resignation, struggle to establish their legitimacy. This book examines and evaluates the strategies of nine accidental presidents, from John Tyler to Gerald Ford, to demonstrate authority and their capacity to govern.Introduction: Succession and Democratic Theory PART I: INDEPENDENT STRATEGIES 'I can never consent to being dictated to' : John Tyler 'God save us from Whig Vice Presidents' : Millard Fillmore 'I care not about my dignity' : Andrew Johnson 'there's only one life between that madman and the presidency?' : Theodore Roosevelt PART TWO:?HOMAGE STRATEGIES 'He isn't Chet anymore, he's the president' : Chester A. Arthur 'I felt like& all the planets had fallen on me' : Harry S. Truman 'for millions of Americans I was&an illegal usurper' : Lyndon Baines Johnson Minimalist Strategies 'I thought I could swing it' : Calvin Coolidge 'I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President' : Gerald Ford Conclusion: Refounding Succession

Philip Abbott has written an important book on a neglected topic. Scholars of the American presidency will want to read this work, but so, too, will informed citizens. Everyone interested in the behind-the-scene realities of how our accidental presidents came to power will profit from reading this book. - Martin J. Medhurst, Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric and Communication, Baylor University

Philip Abbott is one of the most insightful scholars of the presidency working today. In Accidental Presidents, Abbott explores the peculiar difficulties that accidental presidents, those who come to office by the death or resignation of their elected predecessor, have in establishing their legitimacy and authority. Abbott shows that while some accidental presidents succeed better than others, their political path is invariably steep and rocky. - Cal Jillson, Professor of Political Science, Southern Methodist Univerl3Ñ