The racial attitudes of American Presidents

Description:

"George Sinkler has written a fascinating study of the individual racial attitudes of the ten presidents from 1860 to 1908, and how their views influenced their role in the White House. Basing his work on the personal letters, memoirs and papers of these men, Dr. Sinkler compares what they said with what they did, what they felt with how they acted. The author believes that all of the presidents in this study were extremely race conscious. As politicians, the presidents avoided moves which would bring them public condemnation. The personal ideas of the presidents did not influence their actions as much as did the views of the majority of Americans, and few of them "were willing to exploit the full potentialities of the Presidential office in the interest of racial statesmanship." The presidents never doubted that Blacks were American citizens who would ultimately enjoy full citizenship; however, they were not so generous with Orientals. And when it came to the question of integration of racial minorities into American life the presidents felt the Indian would achieve this before other groups. There is endless information in this book which forces the reader to reevaluate his thoughts about this period of American history and the role of the presidents"--Book jacket.

subjects: Presidents,  Racial attitudes

Places: United States