We the Presidents: How a Century of Presidents from Harding to Trump Forged Today's America

The perfect holiday gift honoring America's 250th Anniversary of Independence. The disputes over immigration, taxes, trade, war, inflation, and the national debt did not begin with the latest election. Their roots reach back through a century of decisions that changed America and Americans. We the Presidents follows eighteen presidents, from Warren G. Harding through the beginning of Donald Trump's second term, to reveal the history behind the issues facing Americans today. Why did immigration policy move from the national-origin quotas of the 1920s to the current border debates? How have changes in federal tax policy affected income distribution? What drove the postwar boom, and how did the national debt grow so large? Why has the United States entered major conflicts, from Korea and Vietnam to the Middle East wars, without a formal declaration of war? Drawing on more than 1,700 citations, award-winning author Ronald Gruner examines what each administration faced, the choices it made, and the consequences that followed. The result is an account, without the usual political labels, of the decisions that shaped today's America. We the Presidents leaves readers to reach their own conclusions. "Essential reading for every conscientious citizen." - The U.S. Review of Books