THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT
Program 8: "Compromise Choices"

With the rise of political parties came the dawn of political compromise: nominees who were selected not necessarily because they were the best or most obvious candidates for the presidency, but because they were less offensive to some voters than those who might have been the most apparent choices.  Their primary qualification for the office often seemed not to be their positive qualities but their relative lack of negative ones.  Two of the men profiled in this hour found the presidency beyond their powers, while two proved themselves worthy of having been called to the highest office in the land.

A word about this show from the producers.

For lesson plans developed for this program, go to Lessons on the Series .
For discussion questions on the featured presidents in this program, go to Issues to Ponder.

When Franklin Pierce's name was raised at the 1852 Democratic convention, which was deadlocked over the issue of slavery, few people outside of his native New Hampshire had even heard of him.  His obscurity gave him a great advantage: Pierce had few enemies.  As president at a uniquely difficult time in American history, he was out of his depth—indecisive and unable to create the consensus necessary for compromise.  Pierce's support of the Kansas-Nebraska Act led to the armed conflict that earned the territory the name "Bleeding Kansas" and took the nation several steps closer to civil war.  He was denied a second term.

Brief Biography                       Campaign and Election Information

Franklin Pierce (1853–57):  The Dark Horse President

Richard Nixon's presidency, already troubled, was shaken when his vice president, Spiro T. Agnew, was forced to resign for having accepted bribes while he was governor of Maryland.  Nixon chose Michigan Republican Congressman Gerald Ford for his stability and long legislative experience.  When the president resigned following the Watergate revelations, Ford moved into the Oval Office.  Ford exerted a calming influence, but his pardon of Nixon made him suspect in the eyes of many.  Moreover, an economic recession left him vulnerable to the challenge of Georgia's Jimmy Carter, who defeated him in 1976.  Nonetheless, Ford left behind a legacy of decency and steadiness that the country deeply needed after the "long national nightmare" of the Nixon investigation.

Brief Biography                        Campaign and Election Information

It took 36 ballots for the Republican convention of 1880 to compromise on James Garfield, who had actually attended to make a speech nominating a friend.  The two decades after the Civil War had seen an increase in government corruption and cronyism, and a decline in the powers of the presidency.  As president, Garfield challenged both.  He made appointments based on merit, not favors owed, and it cost him his life.  Less than four months after he took office, he was assassinated by a disappointed office-seeker.

Brief Biography                        Campaign and Election Information

If ever a presidency was born in a smoke-filled room it was Harding's.  The Ohio Republican was chosen by party bosses who, says Richard Neustadt, wanted a candidate who "was easily dealt with and . . . appeared to the country as a statesman."  Tall, handsome, and dignified-appearing, Harding was in reality weak-willed, insecure, and eager to please.  He stocked the administration with unscrupulous party hacks and opened the doors to deal making, graft, bribery, and profiteering.  Harding knew that his administration was in trouble, at the time of his death two years into his term.  It was only after his death that scandals such as Teapot Dome became public knowledge.

Brief Biography                        Campaign and Election Information

James A. Garfield (1881):  Awaiting Destiny

Warren G. Harding (1921–23):  "I Never Should Have Been Here"

Gerald R. Ford (1974–77):  Healing the Nation