From George Washington to George W. Bush
I’ve just posted the table of contents for our forthcoming encyclopedia, Milestone Documents of American Leaders, at our Web site. A scan of the list will reveal how wide-ranging the set will be. We’ve got all the usual suspects–presidents from Washington to Bush II, influential Supreme Court Justices (John Marshall, Louis Brandeis, Sandra Day O’Connor), and activists such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington. And, of course, titans of oratory like Lincoln, King, FDR, and JFK.
When I was in Anaheim last month for the ALA convention, a sales rep asked me to describe, in a nutshell, what made our first title, Milestone Documents in American History, unique. In a word, I replied, “analysis.” The texts of the documents we cover there are already widely available online and in print. What makes the title a worthy purchase for librarians is the expert analysis by the historians and scholars who contributed to the work. We’ve sought to bring this same quality to our new title, and it’s on display in the sample article I’ve likewise posted at our Web site. The subject is William McKinley, and the author is an eminent historian and noted McKinley scholar, Lewis L. Gould of the University of Texas at Austin. Here’s an excerpt:
The impact of McKinley’s words in his own time and in the present could not offer a more striking contrast. . . . McKinley strengthened the power of his office and used his authority as commander in chief to govern the overseas empire that had come out of the Spanish-American War. . . . McKinley’s ability to capture the mood of the people in his prose made his reputation dependent on how history viewed what he said and did as president. In the decades that have elapsed since McKinley died, the war with Spain and the imperial adventures that followed have come to be seen as mistaken examples of national overreaching in the world. Subjugating other countries and ruling people against their will are repudiated policies. The words that McKinley used to justify what the nation was doing now seem either insincere or hypocritical. When he says that “the war in Cuba must stop” or that “benevolent assimilation” must occur in the Philippines, he speaks in language that grates on the modern ear. The next step is to assume that McKinley must have known better and thus employed these phrases knowing that they concealed sinister motives. Many historians take that position toward McKinley as a national leader.
In just a few sentences, Gould illuminates both the man and his times as well as the modern view of his presidency–and at the same time offers a compelling parallel to our current affairs. This is fascinating stuff, and Marcia Merryman-Means, who is guiding this project, tells me that there is more where that came from. Needless to say, I hope as many teachers and students as possible eventually find their way to this material.
In the coming months I’ll try to post additional excerpts from the book, and of course I hope you’ll watch our group blog for new posts from our team of experts.