My Fellow Americans Presidential Addresses that Shaped History

The presidency, in Theodore Roosevelt's famous words, is a "Bully Pulpit." Humes, a former White House speechwriter, here gives us a unique perspective on presidential speech writing. No other book has examined the major presidential addresses--their construction and their impact--as history, and no one has studied the presidency from this vantage point. This is a vital study of American political history seen through the prism of selected presidential addresses. It reveals how presidents used major addresses to give a theme for their administration, to introduce history-making legislation or programs, or to rally a majority of the nation behind their policies.