Accidental Presidents

“Accidental Presidents” by Jared Cohen serves as a refresher course for American history buffs, taking them on a hop, skip and jump through 180 years of national crises and delighting them with anecdotes usually omitted by academic historians. 

Although not a history professor, Cohen has been fascinated by the question of presidential succession since childhood. The current chief executive officer of Jigsaw, a technology incubator for Google, Cohen was a former advisor on counter-terrorism and the Middle East for Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton.

In “Accidental Presidents,” Cohen returns to the issue of presidential succession and the eight men who became president when their predecessors died in office: John Tyler in 1841 who set the precedent of becoming president rather than simply carrying out the duties of the office; Millard Fillmore in 1850; Andrew Johnson in 1865; Chester Arthur in 1881; Theodore Roosevelt in 1901; Calvin Coolidge in 1923; Harry Truman in 1945; and Lyndon Johnson in 1963. And, yes, in the last chapter, Cohen briefly outlines Gerald Ford’s rise to the presidency although his predecessor did not die in office.

According to Cohen, all of these men faced major hurdles upon becoming president because they had not been included in the day-to-day operations of their successors’ administrations. Now Cohen believes that problem has been solved. Starting in 1988 with George H.W. Bush, modern presidents have made a concerted effort to give their vice presidents a vital role in their administration.

The other issue with presidential succession, however, remains. Cohen points out that who will succeed a president who dies in office is determined neither by Congress nor the American people but by a presidential candidate looking for someone who can help him win the election, not run the country, and for someone who will make himself look better. 

The candidate’s needs and the country’s needs do not coincide; the candidate often offers us a second-rate person as his successor. Cohen concludes forcibly that this selection process needs to be rethought.

Only slightly flawed by long-winded ‘what-ifs,” “Accidental Presidents” is an enjoyable, readable overview of American history.

The review copy of this history was from the Lakes Library in the South Georgia Regional Library System. Liza Newsom is the former executive director of the South Georgia Regional Library System.