Leadership and American History
By Based on the comments coming out of the worst American presidents post, I want to write a few follow-up posts in the next few days, including on Jackson and Indian Removal, Wilson, and Hoover. But I want to address one comment now:
Joe R wrote:
I must say I liked the post but I thought the last comment was snide and wrong. First of all our system was predicated on not needing great leadership and I would add that democracy — rule of the people– must assume that great leadership is unnecessary. I find it reassuring that we don’t need too many Lincolns. Second, I disagree I think on the whole we have fairly good leadership — and some duds. For instance, I revere FDR – but I have respect for Hoover’s attempt to deal with the Great Depression. He was just in the thrall of outdated economic theories — and even then he pushed the envelop as far as could. Yes, he was a failure — but he was an honorable failure.
Political history is really fun to talk about. It’s good arguing material. Look at these threads since I’ve started writing about it here.
But I’d also argue that relatively little of the change to transform America came from the top. Positive social change has usually percolated from the bottom, from local activists, civil rights organizations, workers seeking to improve their lives. Sometimes it has come from the top down on a more local or state level, such as the Progressives. But even here, it was often elites working with grassroots people to pass legislation. Where presidential leadership makes the most positive change is those few times when presidents have recognized the sea change in American life and sought to open the doors of democracy further rather than keep them closed in the plutocratic interest. This is partially what makes presidents like Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson so appealing. But very few presidents have been willing to go this far. Most have either ignored reform or actively opposed it. And I think that’s why we have had so few good presidents.
I also disagree on Hoover, but I’ll get to that later.