Tough Towns or The American Presidency

Tough Towns: True Tales from the Gritty Streets of the Old West

Author: Robert Barr Smith

The only people tougher than the bank and train robbers of the Old West were the citizens who banded together to create law and order on the streets of their towns. Shoemakers and storekeepers, bank men and local lawmen, barbers and liverymen—they all fought to defend their homes and to defend their lives against the outlaws who threatened them.
Tough towns faced down famous gangs like the Daltons and the James-Youngers, drove off Mexican bandits, killed Pretty Boy Floyd’s chief lieutenant, and helped put an end to the nineteenth-century rash of bank robbing in the West. Ordinary-people-turned-heroes joined their neighbors and fought—and sometimes died—because they wouldn't run away or turn a blind eye to crime. Their stories, told by historian and writer Robert Barr Smith, are a fascinating part of the legend of the Old West.

KLIATT

There is no doubt that the level of violence in the towns and nascent cities of the Old Southwest was high, although certainly not as high as in today's cities. Most folks were law-abiding, then as now, and whenever a colorful crime did take place, the story became enshrined in the town's history for decades to come. The difference is that the criminals tended to come from outside the community, and locals seldom feared to help bring them to justice. Exactly how tough were some of these towns? Well, mobs breaking into the local jail to expedite the execution of miscreants were common enough, and jailkeeps seldom put up much of a fight to protect them. Many ordinary citizens enthusiastically joined an ad hoc posse, quickly abandoning store counter or anvil to help run down the wrongdoers. Multiple posses were frequent in these towns: following a hot trail in successive waves, or fanning out in groups to block likely escape routes. Captive robbers were not always returned safely to the sheriff, instead meeting their final justice under a convenient tree. This was especially likely if someone popular had been killed in the gunplay, but the haste with which two killers were hanged simultaneously from the same short length of rope was later judged to be a little extreme. Afterwards, volunteers often indulged in gristly souvenir taking. Even the task of propping up the deceased for his final camera pose drew many volunteers, one of them going so far as to lend his hat to a well-worn corpus. Smith's examples make for lively reading, but offer thoughtful insights as well. One is struck by how many criminals were brought to justice (of one kind or another) because someone knew them, orrecognized them from a simple written description. Western communities were small, and posted notices probably brought in more miscreants than all of the posses that ever pounded down a trail.

Interesting book: Real 13th Step or Dietary Supplements and Functional Foods

The American Presidency

Author: Alan Brinkley

The most up-to-date, incisive, and accessible reference on the American
presidency, with essays by the nation's leading historians.

An indispensable resource for the curious reader and the serious
historian alike, The American Presidency showcases some of the most provocative interpretive history being written today. This rich narrative history
sheds light on the hubris, struggles, and brilliance of our nation's leaders.
Coupling vivid writing with unparalleled scholarship, these insightful
essays from well-known historians cover every presidency from the first
through the forty-third.

Mary T. Gerrity - KLIATT

Through a series of essays, historians from around the US present an overview of the American presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush. The editors state in the introduction that the essays are not a collection of presidential biographies but rather the focus is on how the presidents "perceived and used the office and how the office has changed as a result." As a reference source, the essays provide a panoramic view of American political history from the beginnings of the US Constitution with its brief description of the duties of the executive branch to the present day's growth and development of power as well as constraints and layers of federal bureaucracy. The changing and expanding economic, social, and political culture of the US over the years also has affected the ability of those who have held the office. These aspects play an important role in the development of each essay as the 43 presidents have dealt with the myriad of forces that impinge on the presidential office. The essays are fascinating reading, providing an appreciation of the trials and triumphs of executives, popular and unpopular, noted or obscure, as well as icons who lived in the White House. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2004, Houghton Mifflin, 572p. illus. bibliog. index., Ages 15 to adult.

Table of Contents:

	Contributors	vii
	Introduction	ix
	George Washington	1
	John Adams	20
	Thomas Jefferson	33
	James Madison	48
	James Monroe	59
	John Quincy Adams	73
	Andrew Jackson	82
	Martin Van Buren	103
	William Henry Harrison	115
	John Tyler	121
	James K. Polk	129
	Zachary Taylor	139
	Millard Fillmore	145
	Franklin Pierce	152
	James Buchanan	163
	Abraham Lincoln	173
	Andrew Johnson	189
	Ulysses S. Grant	200
	Rutherford B. Hayes	215
	James A. Garfield	224
	Chester Arthur	233
	Grover Cleveland	240
	Benjamin Harrison	250
	William McKinley	257
	Theodore Roosevelt	268
	William Howard Taft	285
	Woodrow Wilson	297
	Warren G. Harding	314
	Calvin Coolidge	323
	Herbert Hoover	332
	Franklin D. Roosevelt	344
	Harry S. Truman	365
	Dwight D. Eisenhower	381
	John F. Kennedy	397
	Lyndon B. Johnson	409
	Richard Nixon	425
	Gerald Ford	443
	Jimmy Carter	455
	Ronald Reagan	467
	George H. W. Bush	487
	Bill Clinton	499
	George W. Bush	530
	Acknowledgments	545
	For Further Reading	547
	Illustration Credits	554
	Index	555