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Idealizing and Localizing the Presidency

The President’s Place in State History Textbooks

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The New Politics of the Textbook

Part of the book series: Constructing Knowledge ((CKCS,volume 2))

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Abstract

For better or worse the president is the visible face of the United States of America and history is marked with many powerful presidential moments (e.g., Adler, 2005; Cronin, 1974, 2004; FitzGerald, 1979; Hoekstra, 1982; Kinder & Fiske, 1986; Loewen, 1995; Sanchez, 1996; Stern, 1996; Skowronek, 1993). Some of the most memorable include Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address, the inaugural addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan demanding Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!” But history also presents us with presidential moments many would rather forget.

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Roberts, S.L., Butler, B.M. (2012). Idealizing and Localizing the Presidency. In: Hickman, H., Porfilio, B.J. (eds) The New Politics of the Textbook. Constructing Knowledge, vol 2. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-930-5_16

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