''Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, And Liberty'' is a non-fiction book authored by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
socio-political commentator
Ivan Eland
Ivan Eland (; born February 23, 1958) is an American defense analyst and writer. He is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace and Liberty at the Independent Institute. Eland's writings generally propose libertarian and non-intervent ...
. Published in 2009 by the
Independent Institute
The Independent Institute is an American libertarian think tank based in Oakland, California. Founded in 1986 by David J. Theroux, the institute focuses on political, social, economic, legal, environmental, and foreign policy issues. It has more ...
,
[ the book reviews the ]history of the United States
The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of Settlement of the Americas, the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Native American cultures in the United States, Numerous indigenous cultures formed ...
with a particular emphasis on that of the presidents
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
who have led the nation. Taking issue with previous accounts in which historians have ranked the officials, the author applies his libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
approach in terms of using different criteria to judge each president.[
]LewRockwell.com
Llewellyn Harrison Rockwell Jr. (born July 1, 1944) is an American author, editor, and political consultant. A libertarian and a self-professed anarcho-capitalist, he founded and is the chairman of the Mises Institute, a non-profit dedicated to ...
published a supportive review of the book.[ The official website of the ]U.S. Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, ''laissez-faire'' capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party was conceived in August 1971 at ...
praised ''Recarving Rushmore'' as well in a blog post about the book, with Eland's writing lauded as being "direct and fair".
A revised version of the book came out in 2014.[
The title alludes to the famous American monument ]Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota ...
, also known as the ''Shrine of Democracy''.
Background and contents
Eland has served as a senior fellow at the Independent Institute
The Independent Institute is an American libertarian think tank based in Oakland, California. Founded in 1986 by David J. Theroux, the institute focuses on political, social, economic, legal, environmental, and foreign policy issues. It has more ...
. In terms of public service, he has spent fifteen years working for the U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
on foreign affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...
, particularly focusing on national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
issues.[ As a ]libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
commentator, his writings have appeared within multiple publications.
Starting with George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, Eland expresses his willingness to criticize individuals who have otherwise received high praise from historians. He condemns Washington's conduct during the Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...
in particular, for example. The author describes the first president's actions as inherently reckless. Later serving leaders who attract particular scorn and who receive low rankings in Eland's analysis include Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
, Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, and Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
. In contrast to other, conservative-based takes on history, Eland additionally considers Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
to have been a better president than Carter's immediate successor, Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
,[ and he goes so far as to label Carter as the best modern president in U.S. history.][
In some cases, the author agrees with past criticisms of particular presidents undertaken by more conventional historians. For instance, Eland condemns ]Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
for the leader's lack of a response to the "shameful murder" of indigenous American tribes during the California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
. The author additionally blames Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...
for pushing policies that benefited slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and ultimately lead to the American civil war
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
in Eland's opinion.[
Using the tripartite model of evaluating leaders based on promoting ]peace
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
, advancing the U.S. economy
The United States is a highly developed mixed-market economy and has the world's largest nominal GDP and net wealth. It has the second-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) behind China. It has the world's seventh-highest per capita GDP ...
, and proliferating liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
, the author ultimately concludes that John Tyler
John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...
was the greatest American president. Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
and Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (Uni ...
take the second and third ranks on the list, respectively. Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
, in Eland's opinion, was the worst president in U.S. history. In sum, Eland writes that Wilson "made the world safe for war, autocracy, and colonialism".[
In terms of the previous president (when the book was initially published, in 2009), the author expresses a dim view of ]George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. He asserts that the leader implemented "aggressive foreign policies" that "undermined the republic at home".
Reception
LewRockwell.com
Llewellyn Harrison Rockwell Jr. (born July 1, 1944) is an American author, editor, and political consultant. A libertarian and a self-professed anarcho-capitalist, he founded and is the chairman of the Mises Institute, a non-profit dedicated to ...
published a supportive review by Brion McClanahan of the Abbeville Institute
Donald Livingston is a former Professor of Philosophy at Emory University and a David Hume scholar. In 2003 he founded the Abbeville Institute, which is devoted to the study of Southern culture and political ideas.
Early life and education
Livin ...
. Although finding fault with Eland's approach at times, with McClanahan remarking that Constitutional
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
"restraint sometimes means doing nothing even if doing nothing is politically incorrect or out of step with modern libertarian ideology", McClanahan considered Eland's willingness to slaughter "several sacred cows in the process" of making broader arguments laudable in contrast to "establishment groupthink". McClanahan also stated that Eland's "breezy writing and short chapters allow for a quick and punchy read."
The official website of the U.S. Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, ''laissez-faire'' capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party was conceived in August 1971 at ...
published a supportive blog post about the book in February 2009, with Eland's writing praised as being "direct and fair".[
]
See also
*2009 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2009.
Events
*April 21 – UNESCO launches the World Digital Library.
*May 1 – Carol Ann Duffy is appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, the first woman ...
*Historical rankings of presidents of the United States
In political studies, surveys have been conducted in order to construct historical rankings of the success of the presidents of the United States. Ranking systems are usually based on surveys of academic historians and political scientists or p ...
*Libertarianism
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
*Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota ...
*'' The Leaders We Deserved''
References
External links
Ivan Eland: The Independent Institute
{{John Tyler, state=collapsed
2009 non-fiction books
21st-century history books
American history books
American political books
English-language books
Books about politics of the United States
History books about the United States
United States presidential history