It’s the day after the presidential election, and something I’ve learned over my decades of studying history is that the best way to learn about the future is to study the past. I’ve always loved reading political history books to see how past leaders handled challenges and crises and how we continue to draw inspiration from their strength. This has especially been true in my study of presidents and first ladies through my Booking It Through History: First Ladies project as it amazes me time after time how much history repeats itself. Check out some of my favorite political history nonfiction books and some that are on my TBR list.
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Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
This book about the genius of Abraham Lincoln and his disparate cabinet is the gold standard in political history books. Only someone with President Lincoln’s gift to bring together former enemies could make a group like this work to save our country. Any book by Goodwin is good, but this is my favorite.
Bonus pick: The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President
Goodwin wrote a kids’ book this year to inspire another generation of leaders!
Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic by Lindsay M. Chervinsky
This is my current read, and Chervinsky does such a good job at explaining a Founding Father who often comes up short (literally!) against the esteemed Virginians in the American mind. Without his precedent-setting leadership, though, our country would have looked very different.
Bonus Pick: First Family: Abigail and John Adams by Joseph J. Ellis
John Adams’ most savvy political advisor was his wife, Abigail, and this book details their personal and political life over the decades, based on their thousands of letters. She was such a force of nature!
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
This book is a must-read on how our country’s political processes were created by this man who wrote like he was “running out of time.” He was involved in all of the political machinations of the new country and wrote the vast majority of The Federalist Papers that helped ensure the US Constitution’s approval. All of Chernow’s impressive biographies would be a great study of political history.
Bonus pick: The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
Read the actual writings of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay as they made their case for the US Constitution. I haven’t read them since college, but it may be time for a reread!
A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland by Troy Senik
I just read this for my Booking It Through History: First Ladies post about Frances Cleveland, and it couldn’t have been more prescient. President Cleveland was the first president reelected to serve non-consecutive terms, a feat not replicated until yesterday’s election results. If you’re looking for a good way to study this unprecedented moment in history, this book is excellent.
Bonus Pick: Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
Just four years after Cleveland’s comeback, Theodore Roosevelt became president and ushered in a new era of politics, realigning his party and pushing it forward into a new century. Plus he was also a president who ran more than twice, losing his comeback in 1912. This is on my TBR list for my month focusing on Edith Roosevelt and is known as the most comprehensive work on the Roosevelt White House.
The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss
Talk about a page-turner in political history! This book reads like a thriller as you go through the days leading up to the consequential vote on women’s suffrage in Tennessee. It’s a nail-biter even though you know the outcome!
Bonus Pick: Parlor Politics : In Which the Ladies of Washington Help Build a City and a Government by Catherine Allgor
Before women had the vote, their only way to influence politics was through their husbands. For the women of Washington, this turned into a political game with people like Dolley Madison and Louisa Catherine Adams excelling at blending entertainment and politics. I loved reading about how this helped their husbands politically even though sometimes (I’m looking at you, John Quincy Adams!) they weren’t appreciated for their skill.
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
I read this classic in college, and I remember it being accurate even over a century after it was written. It would make a great basis for any study of American political history.
Bonus pick: Tocqueville in America by George Wilson Pierson
This book about the time of Tocqueville’s travels throughout America would make a great companion piece with the classic. Using newspapers and other primary sources, the author traces Tocqueville’s path and puts it in context with the Jacksonian politics of the day. It’s on my TBR list to read!
Political history is fascinating and can tell you so much about our current politics. What’s your favorite political history book or author?
