Table of Contents
Introduction: How to Judge a President, or the Presidency If Human Life Mattered
Section One: Presidents' Roles in Genocide
Nixon and Cambodia
Reagan and Central America
Jackson and the Trail of Tears
Section Two: Turning a Blind Eye to Genocide
Franklin Roosevelt and the Holocaust
Nixon and Genocide in Bangladesh
Clinton and Rwandan Genocide
Polk, Fillmore, Buchanan and Genocide Against California Indians
Ford and East Timor
Jefferson and the Haitian Revolution
Nixon's Betrayal of the Kurds
The Worst American Presidents on Slavery
Section Three: Presidents’ Roles in Wartime Atrocities
McKinley and the US Conquest of the Philippines
Franklin Roosevelt and Truman Target German and Japanese Civilians
Truman Drops the A-Bomb
Polk Provokes the US-Mexico War
Obama Orders Drone Assassinations
Nixon's Pardon in the My Lai Massacre
Section Four: Mass Deaths Because of a President's Incompetence or Ideological Blindness
Deregulation From Reagan to GW Bush
Truman and the Cold War
Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, and the US-Vietnam War
GW Bush and the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
James Buchanan and the Civil War
Reagan and Bush Sr.'s War on Drugs
James Madison and the War of 1812
Teddy Roosevelt and the Panama Canal
GW Bush and Hurricane Katrina
Bill Clinton and the Branch Davidians
Section Five: Presidents' Roles in Other American Wars of Aggression
Indian Wars Were Really American Invasions
The Many Other US Invasions of Latin America
US Government Use of Biological and Chemical Warfare and Presidents' Roles
The Post Cold War Invasions of Somalia and the Gulf War
Section Six: Ignoring Terrorism in America
Andrew Johnson and White Supremacist Terrorists in Reconstruction
Cuban-American Terrorists: Organized by Kennedy, Pardoned by Bush Sr.
Right Wing Terrorism From Reagan to GW Bush
Fillmore and Know Nothing Anti-Catholic Terrorism
Section Seven: Homegrown Repression
Nixon and Operation Condor
Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, and the Phoenix Program
GW Bush and Torture Deaths
Franklin Roosevelt and Japanese-American and Aleut Internment
US Repression in Colonies: Guam, Hawaii, Micronesia, Puerto Rico, and Samoa
Woodrow Wilson Crushing Dissent in World War I
Section Eight: The Good Records of Presidents
Jefferson Ended the US International Slave Trade, Avoided Wars with Britain and France
Van Buren Avoided Wars with Britain and Mexico, Delayed California Indian Genocide
Lincoln, the Civil War, and Emancipation of Both Black and American Indian Slaves
Grant's Reconstruction and Peace Policy with American Indians
Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, the Good Neighbor Policy, and World War II
Lyndon Johnson and Nixon on Civil Rights and the War on Poverty
Carter and Human Rights
Bush Sr.'s Rescue of the Kurds of Iraq
GW Bush and AIDS in Africa
Obama's Wars, the Great Recession, and Healthcare
The Best American Presidents on Arms Control
Section Nine: What If? Who Would Have Been Far Better at Saving Lives as President?
John Quincy Adams or Henry Clay Avoid the Trail of Tears
Willie Mangum Avoids the US-Mexico War and California Indian Genocide
Hannibal Hamlin and a Successful Reconstruction
Benjamin Wade and a Successful Reconstruction (Maybe)
William Jennings Bryan Avoids the US-Filipino War and American Empire
Henry Wallace Avoids the Cold War
Adlai Stevenson Ends the Cold War
Robert Kennedy Ends the US-Vietnam War and Avoids Cambodian Genocide
Al Gore Avoids the Iraq War and Most Hurricane Katrina Deaths
Section Ten: What If? Who Would Have Been Far Worse in Presidential Body Counts?
Jackson as President in 1824
McClellan’s Failed Civil War and Reconstruction
Custer's Many Wars
McKinley Survives Assassination
The American Liberty League's Irenee Dupont and Gerald McGuire
MacArthur Starts a Nuclear War
Reagan as President in 1976
Ross Perot in 1992
Cheney's Many Wars
McCain and Palin's Many Wars
Hillary Clinton’s Many Wars
Romney Tries to Return to War in Iraq and Torture
Section Eleven: Why Weren't These Included?
John Adams' Alien and Sedition Acts
The Lie of “Genocide Against Whites” in Haiti, Algeria, Kenya, and Zimbabwe
Some Atrocities Overseas Before 1890, 1917, or 1941
Sherman's March Through Georgia
Indian Boarding Schools
COINTELPRO
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Sterilization of American Indian Women
Animal Rights and “Eco Terrorism”
Sanctions Against Iraq
Bosnia: War or Genocide?
Alleged Conspiracies: The Long List of Nonsense Many Believe With Dubious or No Proof
Bill Clinton's Clemency for Puerto Rican Nationalist Terrorists
The Patriot Act
The Congo Wars
Darfur Genocide
Conclusions:
Adding Up the Numbers: Best vs Worst Presidents and Historians' Rankings
What Can and Should Be Done? The Presidency If Lives Matter More Than Ideology
Appendix: The Best and Worst Ex Presidents
Other Works