Presidency Topic 1.1

• Presidential Styles 1945-74


  Descriptions of the personalities, media relations, public relations, organisational abilities, and relations with Congress of US presidents from 1945-1974
• Harry Truman 1945-53 (democrat)


  • Personality: not charismatic, not very confident, could be overwhelmed by the importance of the job, made mistakes under pressure
  • Media: saw working with the media as important, however he didn't explain enough e.g. Korean War
  • Public: didn't instantly appeal and didn't try to connect or explain strategies (Korean war), speeches were wooden and sometimes made mistakes
  • Organisational ability: worked well with the White House administration but didn't always choose the right people
  • Congress etc.: worked less well with congress, despite the fact that there was a republican majority after 1946 (in congress), they blocked many of his reforms, he had fewer contacts and was less able to network and charm
• Dwight Eisenhower 1953-61 (republican)


  • Personality: deliberately cultivated optimistic, friendly manner
  • Media: saw working with the media as important; but often minimised the problem (e.g. USSR being first into space)
  • Public: good public manner; accessible, used clear imagery in his speeches e.g domino theory
  • Organisational Ability: exceptional organisation; set up regular briefings and long-term planning sessions, had everyone concerned in to debate a decision
  • Congress etc.: worked well with congress, good at political bargaining and persuasion
• John Kennedy 1961-63 (democrat)


  • Personality: from a political family, understood the importance of charm; worked hard on speech-making style and self-presentation
  • Media: saw working with the media as important (learned names, had personal chats); used the television well
  • Public: good public manner, accessible, attractive
  • Organisational ability: poor, advisors competed for attention, Robert Kennedy and Theodore Sorensen did much of the work and reported, abandoned Eisenhower's regular meetings for meetings when needed, didn't always consult the right people e.g. Bay of Pigs, less long-term planning
  • Congress etc.: worked very well with congress, good at political bargaining and persuasion, family connections were a big help
• Lyndon Johnson 1963-69 (democrat)


  • Personality: had been in politics a while, understood the importance of winning people over, could change his style and opinions to get what he wanted
  • Media: not a natural with the media, but was careful to keep them informed
  • Public: patchy; could give good speeches but could also give stiff, awkward ones, better with smaller groups
  • Organisational ability: Kennedy's organisation did not suit him, but he kept it, his own organisation was good
  • Congress etc.: worked very well with congress, had a political background, really understood how to use connections and persuade, good at creative thinking to make things happen
• Richard Nixon 1969-74 (republican)


  • Personality: clever, capable; but he was suspicious and hated people disagreeing with him, could also make spur-of-the-moment decisions then backtrack
  • Media: distrusted the media; was very bad at managing it (Watergate)
  • Public: Not good with people, worked at it but often seemed awkward and insincere
  • Organisational ability: reinstated the system of regular meetings and briefings with the White House staff, but he was not good at taking advice
  • Congress etc.: awkward with congress due to his suspicious nature; did find it easy to manage congress but found it hard to make personal connections and persuade
• Decline in government confidence 1968-80
• Social factors contributing to decline in government confidence

  • Student protests e.g. Washington DC and Howard Uni
  • Race Riots and black protests
  • Assassinations of Bobby Kennedy 1968 and Martin Luther King
• The assassinations were signs of hope, people looked to them to get their voices heard, this meant that they were not getting enough from their presidents
• Media factors contributing to decline in government confidence

  • Uncovering government deception
  • Reporting the war
• The Tet Offensive 1968 and the My Lai Massacre were all televised internationally, and there was a loss of faith of the government
• Watergate 1972-74 was a shock to the public and made the public weary of putting faith in their government
• Gallup poll, 1968


  According to a Gallup poll conducted in 1968, 42% of Americans had a great deal or quite a lot of faith in the presidency. This was down from a high of 77% in 1964, and it reflected a decline in government confidence that was taking place at the time.