The Complete History of Our Presidents

Since each volume in "The Complete History of the Our Presidents" is 64-pages long, it affords the editors of the series with some interesting options on how to divide up the presidents. Volume One is devoted to just the first three presidents, which makes sense because we begin with George Washington, the first president, and end with the third president, Thomas Jefferson, whose election marked a peaceful transition of power from one political party to another. The importance of the 1800 election is underscored by Michael Weber in the chapter devoted to Jefferson, and hopefully young readers will understand that it was Jefferson's election, along with Washington's decision to not run for a third term, that proved the American experiment in republican democracy was going to work. Obviously you can go pick up juvenile biographies of the individual presidents, but there is still something to be said for the approach here, which is to look at the development of the presidency over the course of several administrations. That is especially true of the first three presidents, who were essentially making up the rules of the game as they went along. John Adams might be seen as being inconsequential compared to the giants who preceded and followed him, but his "midnight" appointment of John Marshall as the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court had an enormous impact on American history. Weber covers the first three presidents in five chapters. Chapter 1, "The New Nation," sets up how the U.S. Constitution provided for an entirely new and stronger central government than the states =had under the Articles of Confederation. Consequently it was to Washington, Adams and Jefferson that the responsibility for leading a new nation trying to survive, grow, and prosper fell. Chapter 2, "George Washington," emphasizes the precedents that Washington set as the first president and focuses on how his administration put the nation's finance in order, established relations with other countries, and dealt with the growth of political parties. Washington's "Farewell Address" and retirement are seen as being pivotal as well. Chapter 3, "John Adams," looks at the serious mistake he made by keeping Washington's cabinet, who were more loyal to Alexander Hamilton than to Adams, and the other political problems Adams had, such as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The chapters devoted to the presidents do touch on their early careers and what happens after they left office, but the focus is on their administrations. Chapter 4, "Thomas Jefferson," covers the major shifts in public policy as the Democratic-Republicans replaced the Federalists, and the decision to double the size of the nation with the Louisiana Purchase, which ran against Jefferson's belief in a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Weber notes that Jefferson's second term was dominated by the same problems that tormented Washington and Adams, underscoring the decision to treat the three