The American Leadership Tradition: Moral Vision from Washington to Clinton

In the first modern systematic examination of the bond between morals and politics, Marvin Olasky examines the lives and careers of thirteen noted American leaders, including the great, the good, and the deeply flawed, from George Washington, Henry Clay, and Booker T. Washington to Woodrow Wilson, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton. Olasky looks closely at the connections between religion, sexual practices, and political decisions, examining the repeated connections between private character and public action. He explains how so-called "compartmentalization" proved to be as impossible for Lincoln as for Woodrow Wilson.