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Presidential Misconduct: From George Washington to Today
Named a best book of the year by The Economist and Foreign Affairs "A whole book devoted exclusively to the misconduct of American presidents and their responses to charges of misconduct is without precedent." ―from the introduction to the 1974 edition by C. Vann Woodward, Pulitzer Prize–winning Yale historian
The historic 1974 report for the House Committee on the Judiciary, updated for today by leading presidential historians
In May 1974, as President Richard Nixon faced impeachment following the Watergate scandal, the House Judiciary Committee commissioned a historical account of the misdeeds of past presidents. The account, compiled by leading presidential historians of the day, reached back to George Washington's administration and was designed to provide a benchmark against which Nixon's misdeeds could be measured.
What the report found was that, with the exception of William Henry Harrison (who served less than a month), every American president has been accused of James Buchanan was charged with rigging the election of 1856; Ulysses S. Grant was reprimanded for not firing his corrupt staffer, Orville Babcock, in the "Whiskey Ring" bribery scandal; and Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration faced repeated charges of malfeasance in the Works Progress Administration.
Now, as another president and his subordinates face an array of charges on a wide range of legal and constitutional offenses, a group of presidential historians has come together under the leadership of James M. Banner, Jr.―one of the historians who contributed to the original report―to bring the 1974 account up to date through Barack Obama's presidency. Based on current scholarship, this new material covers such well-known episodes as Nixon's Watergate crisis, Reagan's Iran-Contra scandal, Clinton's impeachment, and George W. Bush's connection to the exposure of intelligence secrets. But oft-forgotten events also take the Carter's troubles with advisor Bert Lance, Reagan's savings and loan crisis, George H.W. Bush's nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, and Obama's Solyndra loan controversy.
The only comprehensive study of American presidents' misconduct and the ways in which chief executives and members of their official families have responded to the charges brought against them, this new edition is designed to serve the same purpose as the original 1974 to provide the historical context and metric against which the actions of the current administration may be assessed.
The historic 1974 report for the House Committee on the Judiciary, updated for today by leading presidential historians
In May 1974, as President Richard Nixon faced impeachment following the Watergate scandal, the House Judiciary Committee commissioned a historical account of the misdeeds of past presidents. The account, compiled by leading presidential historians of the day, reached back to George Washington's administration and was designed to provide a benchmark against which Nixon's misdeeds could be measured.
What the report found was that, with the exception of William Henry Harrison (who served less than a month), every American president has been accused of James Buchanan was charged with rigging the election of 1856; Ulysses S. Grant was reprimanded for not firing his corrupt staffer, Orville Babcock, in the "Whiskey Ring" bribery scandal; and Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration faced repeated charges of malfeasance in the Works Progress Administration.
Now, as another president and his subordinates face an array of charges on a wide range of legal and constitutional offenses, a group of presidential historians has come together under the leadership of James M. Banner, Jr.―one of the historians who contributed to the original report―to bring the 1974 account up to date through Barack Obama's presidency. Based on current scholarship, this new material covers such well-known episodes as Nixon's Watergate crisis, Reagan's Iran-Contra scandal, Clinton's impeachment, and George W. Bush's connection to the exposure of intelligence secrets. But oft-forgotten events also take the Carter's troubles with advisor Bert Lance, Reagan's savings and loan crisis, George H.W. Bush's nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, and Obama's Solyndra loan controversy.
The only comprehensive study of American presidents' misconduct and the ways in which chief executives and members of their official families have responded to the charges brought against them, this new edition is designed to serve the same purpose as the original 1974 to provide the historical context and metric against which the actions of the current administration may be assessed.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published July 2, 2019
43 people are currently reading
1721 people want to read
About the author
James M. Banner Jr.
16 books12 followersA 1957 graduate from Yale University, James M. Banner, Jr. earned his Ph.D. degree in 1968 at Columbia University under Richard Hofstadter and Eric L. McKitrick. Banner taught at Princeton University from 1966 until 1980, when he resigned to found the American Association for the Advancement of the Humanities.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 6, 2019
My wife and I recently visited the city of Portland, Oregon on vacation. Our primary goal in going there was to visit Powell's City of Books. I guess only addicted readers could appreciate centering a vacation on visiting a book store but now that I've been there I have to say that that place isn't to be believed and is quite overwhelming. Anyway, while I was meandering around the store, actually I was lost, I finally found myself in the history section and section is too diminutive a term for what is located there. As I pondered the titles I came across this book, Presidential Misconduct. Now you have to admit that in our present national nightmare that is an eye catching title. I picked it up and discovered what it really was. Apparently back in 1974 the House Judiciary Committee was taking up the matter of Richard Nixon's impeachment. The committee thought it would be a good idea if there was some historical perspective in which to place Nixon's conduct so they engaged the services of three historians to compile a history of misdeed that occurred during all the prior presidential administrations. These three historians then engaged the assistance of more historians and set about assembling the necessary history. The result was a collection of essays on each presidential administration from Washington up to Lyndon Johnson recounting every scandal and Congressional investigation of substance conducted during each presidency. The report was submitted to the House Committee but was never used because of Nixon's resignation, however, the report was published in book form some time later. The editor of this book was one of the original historians hired for the project and he has decided that in light of the present House inquiries regarding the conduct of Donald Trump the book needed to be updated. This edition of the book now contains essays on Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama. What the editor takes pains to inform the reader is that the historians have intentionally refrained from the usual analysis and interpretations you would normally expect in a history of this type. What is contained in this book are just the facts. In my reading of this book what was really missing was the signature of Sgt. Joe Friday at the bottom of each essay. (For those too young he was an early TV police detective whose signature line was "We just want the facts ma'am".)
Knowing all of this I would have to say that this is probably a book that would appeal only to political junkies. I don't think I fall into that category and I have to admit that I did nod off more than a few times. However, on the whole I did find it interesting and informative on a few levels. First, regarding the administrations that I have lived through, the scandals and investigations that I recall are now much more clear and understandable. I have a better understanding of what the issues were and what was going on and the motivations behind the actions. I have also had occasion to re-think my opinions of some presidents in both positive and negative ways. The actions of these administrations have also introduced me to the evolution of present day news coverage, political morality and ethics, and corruption. Things that occur routinely today would have ended a career and resulted in a prison sentence before WWII. The scale of corruption has also changed drastically as most early incidents were penny ante stuff while today the graft is always measured in millions of dollars. The book does delineate a history and evolution of misconduct in our government but it appears that the creation of the federal civil service ended virtually all the small time hustling that plagued 19th century administrations.
What I did find heartening was that almost all of these scandals and investigations rarely involved the president directly but that wasn't always the case. I was not surprised to read that the first president to be suspected of direct involvement in underhanded dealings was Thomas Jefferson, who I personally consider our first sleazy president. The vast majority of presidential criticism is for bad management for hiring bad apples and then retaining them or even promoting them once revealed to be corrupt or shady. I was personally disappointed to read this about Harry Truman and this now causes me to reconsider my opinion of him. I was further surprised to read about Franklin Roosevelt's administration and how corruption free it was. I would have suspected the length of his administration coupled with the necessary build up of government to deal with the Depression and then WWII would have presented boundless opportunities for corruption and graft but this didn't happen. The book covers a lot of territory and does it in a clear and concise manner. The book is hardly a page turner but in our present political climate it does serve a purpose as it does magnify the errors of our president, his family, his staff, and his appointees. I wonder what Sen. Joe McCarthy would think of Donald Trump? It's the times and they are changing and this book may have you wondering if that should affect our values and our faith in the rule of law.
Knowing all of this I would have to say that this is probably a book that would appeal only to political junkies. I don't think I fall into that category and I have to admit that I did nod off more than a few times. However, on the whole I did find it interesting and informative on a few levels. First, regarding the administrations that I have lived through, the scandals and investigations that I recall are now much more clear and understandable. I have a better understanding of what the issues were and what was going on and the motivations behind the actions. I have also had occasion to re-think my opinions of some presidents in both positive and negative ways. The actions of these administrations have also introduced me to the evolution of present day news coverage, political morality and ethics, and corruption. Things that occur routinely today would have ended a career and resulted in a prison sentence before WWII. The scale of corruption has also changed drastically as most early incidents were penny ante stuff while today the graft is always measured in millions of dollars. The book does delineate a history and evolution of misconduct in our government but it appears that the creation of the federal civil service ended virtually all the small time hustling that plagued 19th century administrations.
What I did find heartening was that almost all of these scandals and investigations rarely involved the president directly but that wasn't always the case. I was not surprised to read that the first president to be suspected of direct involvement in underhanded dealings was Thomas Jefferson, who I personally consider our first sleazy president. The vast majority of presidential criticism is for bad management for hiring bad apples and then retaining them or even promoting them once revealed to be corrupt or shady. I was personally disappointed to read this about Harry Truman and this now causes me to reconsider my opinion of him. I was further surprised to read about Franklin Roosevelt's administration and how corruption free it was. I would have suspected the length of his administration coupled with the necessary build up of government to deal with the Depression and then WWII would have presented boundless opportunities for corruption and graft but this didn't happen. The book covers a lot of territory and does it in a clear and concise manner. The book is hardly a page turner but in our present political climate it does serve a purpose as it does magnify the errors of our president, his family, his staff, and his appointees. I wonder what Sen. Joe McCarthy would think of Donald Trump? It's the times and they are changing and this book may have you wondering if that should affect our values and our faith in the rule of law.
June 22, 2020
This book was tedious at times, and I skimmed a lot of it, but informative and eye opening. I have a couple of key takeaways:
- George Washington was opposed to political parties because he thought they would "gradually incline the minds of men to seek security… in the absolute power of an individual", leading to despotism.
He wasn’t wrong. We see examples of presidents and/or those around them abusing power throughout our history. Some, mostly cabinet members, for incredible personal gain.
- Something shifted with Nixon. He was a real bastard. Not the first, but I think he changed the office and possibly his party. Nixon did many illegal things throughout his presidency, even starting before he took the oath of office. He subverted LBJ’s peace talks in Vietnam and ultimately caused the war to last years longer than it should have and also destabilize Cambodia (opening the door for the Khmer Rouge genocide).
The break-ins of the Watergate hotel ultimately caused his presidency to end, but his real downfall was the fervent belief that the president is above the law and can do whatever they want without reproach. Fortunately his Congress disagreed and kept him in check.
Presidents are NOT above the law, otherwise they would be something else -- a king or sometimes benelovent dictator. The foundation of our federal government was built on checks and balances to avoid this exact problem.
- Reagan’s "small government" approach ended up creating a lot of corruption in his cabinet and the lack of government oversight let businesses run wild. I grew up as a Republican and revered Reagan. I knew vaguely about the Iran-Contra situation, but I had no idea how bad that really was (we ultimately funded the people who became the Taliban and further destabilized that region) or how damaging his laissez faire approach ended up being.
- George Washington was opposed to political parties because he thought they would "gradually incline the minds of men to seek security… in the absolute power of an individual", leading to despotism.
He wasn’t wrong. We see examples of presidents and/or those around them abusing power throughout our history. Some, mostly cabinet members, for incredible personal gain.
- Something shifted with Nixon. He was a real bastard. Not the first, but I think he changed the office and possibly his party. Nixon did many illegal things throughout his presidency, even starting before he took the oath of office. He subverted LBJ’s peace talks in Vietnam and ultimately caused the war to last years longer than it should have and also destabilize Cambodia (opening the door for the Khmer Rouge genocide).
The break-ins of the Watergate hotel ultimately caused his presidency to end, but his real downfall was the fervent belief that the president is above the law and can do whatever they want without reproach. Fortunately his Congress disagreed and kept him in check.
Presidents are NOT above the law, otherwise they would be something else -- a king or sometimes benelovent dictator. The foundation of our federal government was built on checks and balances to avoid this exact problem.
- Reagan’s "small government" approach ended up creating a lot of corruption in his cabinet and the lack of government oversight let businesses run wild. I grew up as a Republican and revered Reagan. I knew vaguely about the Iran-Contra situation, but I had no idea how bad that really was (we ultimately funded the people who became the Taliban and further destabilized that region) or how damaging his laissez faire approach ended up being.
March 7, 2020
Obviously more of an anti-Trump book about his presidency. This is not an account or an investigation of past presidential misconduct. Rather, it is a mentioning of each President's scandals while in office. It is interesting that many of the Democrats have some scandals left out.
Not worth the read.
Not worth the read.
April 1, 2020
Presidential Misconduct is a sweeping, comprehensive compendium of how misconduct in the Executive Branch began and evolved over the course of American history. A dense, yet very interesting and unbiased study (primarily suitable for political junkies or those curious about assessing our current political climate) that covers accusations of President’s and their administrations and subsequent actions taken against them.
This book was particularly poignant because, as recently experienced in the Trump administration, it was inspired by impeachment proceedings of Nixon in the 70s. The amended version includes the comprehensive analysis and exploration of Watergate and the rest of Nixon’s time as president up through the Obama administration.
We all know the timeless tales of Nixon, Jackson, Jefferson, and Clinton, but what struck me as surprising was how many executives were not involved in scandals that plagued their administration. Often times corruption and scandal rested more in an unwillingness to fire or reprimand officials charged for fear of political consequences or just downright poor choices and appointments by presidents. Certain presidents, such as FDR, with all the potential for deep scandal in the 30s & 40s, came to be surprisingly “clean” administrations. Others, not so much.
While compared to many notorious developing countries, the USA has had, in terms of destructive corruption, surprisingly minimal corruption. This is certainly not to say that cronyism, flagrant abuse of power and disregard for the law have not plagued America since its birth. In an ever-evolving world and ever-changing political climate, one can only hope for more historians who seek to present unbiased, multifaceted contextual studies through which one can discern corruption irrespective to the partisan lenses so tirelessly worn in nearly all consumable media.
This book was particularly poignant because, as recently experienced in the Trump administration, it was inspired by impeachment proceedings of Nixon in the 70s. The amended version includes the comprehensive analysis and exploration of Watergate and the rest of Nixon’s time as president up through the Obama administration.
We all know the timeless tales of Nixon, Jackson, Jefferson, and Clinton, but what struck me as surprising was how many executives were not involved in scandals that plagued their administration. Often times corruption and scandal rested more in an unwillingness to fire or reprimand officials charged for fear of political consequences or just downright poor choices and appointments by presidents. Certain presidents, such as FDR, with all the potential for deep scandal in the 30s & 40s, came to be surprisingly “clean” administrations. Others, not so much.
While compared to many notorious developing countries, the USA has had, in terms of destructive corruption, surprisingly minimal corruption. This is certainly not to say that cronyism, flagrant abuse of power and disregard for the law have not plagued America since its birth. In an ever-evolving world and ever-changing political climate, one can only hope for more historians who seek to present unbiased, multifaceted contextual studies through which one can discern corruption irrespective to the partisan lenses so tirelessly worn in nearly all consumable media.
August 4, 2019
Very good and not what you might think. Who knew that the Post Office was such a source of corruption back in the day? I don't think that this is a book that you will read cover to cover but
it is a book to be picked up now and then for a couple of presidential scandals.
it is a book to be picked up now and then for a couple of presidential scandals.
July 28, 2019
Misleading title. It's narrowly focused on how past presidents responded to official inquiries into potential misdeeds. So, it's not 200+ years of bastards behaving badly.
February 17, 2020
A great study of the history of presidential misconduct - scandals, investigations, corruption allegations, impeachment proceedings, and so on - from Washington to Obama. The first edition of this study, ending with LBJ, was prepared in 1970s during the Watergate proceedings, and the current edition was updated with entries from Nixon to Obama. A concise, focused historical overview of the functioning of the U.S. government traces the deterioration of ethical standards, partly "natural" (as the country became more democratic and inclusive, in comparison with the Founders' times) and partly preventable and regrettable (moments of widely recognized exceptional corruption, such as James Buchanan's pre-Civil War administration, Ulysses Grant's Reconstruction administration, Warren Harding's post-World War I administration, and Nixon's administration, the echoes of which are being heard even today. And the most disturbing conclusion, after reading this study, is that the current corruption inherent in the Trump administration surpasses anything that may have happened in the past, both in terms of scope and in terms of depth and potential damage to the Constitution, to the statecraft, to the future of USA and the world.
January 20, 2021
I found this book to be terribly biased and dishonest. Of particular note were the Clinton and Obama presidencies, even with the numerous scandals and whatnot (and some not even mentioned) and given a pass. It was appalling to see so many issues with FDR ignored since many of his actions were tantamount to blackmail.
As another has said, not worth the read.
As another has said, not worth the read.
January 21, 2026
This is not what I thought it would be. I expected a look at some serious presidential scandals with in depth analysis. Instead we get a look at all of the Presidents with mostly minor or never hear before scandals discussed.
The most repeated line from the book was that the scandal being discussed did not touch the president or that there were no major incidents.
Meh
The most repeated line from the book was that the scandal being discussed did not touch the president or that there were no major incidents.
Meh
August 15, 2019
Very good, I enjoyed it. Who knew that the Postal Service was such a source of corruption in the past?This is probably not a book to be read cover to cover but taken down to read about a few presidents at a time.
January 10, 2025
Yes, I can praise this dull book. As the title says, it focuses on Presidential Misconduct, or more exactly episodes when presidents were accused of miscondcut. At times, foes generated false accusations. Some chapters are so detailed, they invite skimming. Nixon comes out the worst.
December 9, 2019
Wasn't able to get very far in this book. May pick it up again later.
February 14, 2021
Turns out most presidents were pretty honest dudes. Their friends, and occasionally their wives, not so much. I can't wait for the post-Trump update to this book.
April 27, 2021
Although none of this is good news, it is very informative and, as the saying goes, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Read
February 12, 2022An amazing historical account regarding alleged or real misconduct committed by American Presidents, beginning from Washinton to Obama. I must-read for political junkies.
June 13, 2020
It's rather dry reading, but there's a reason: no sensationalism. Presented essentially as testimony for (or against) the first 43 men to occupy the White House, this collection of accounts — presented chronologically, from Washington to Obama — is an outstanding resource for perspective on the U.S. presidency. And that's something we desperately need in the age of Trump. Misdeeds (and poor decisions) can be traced within the vicinity of every American president (save poor William Henry Harrison). But how harmful were they in historical context? To say the very least, we will need Volume II after Trump leaves office.
September 5, 2020
3.25/5.0
June 23, 2021
Is Ronnie just a tool or is he more like the Phil Hartman in his snl bit? I lean more towards Phil as the truth.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews