The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 85, July 1981 - April, 1982 Page: 229

Book Reviews

second administration helped, but McKinley himself built Republican
electoral strength, based on party policies and campaign tactics. Mc-
Kinley expanded executive power by taking several political trips that
increased the visibility of the presidency and gave direction to political
debates. New White House press services fostered closer relationships
with journalists, and George B. Cortelyou evolved into press secretary
and chief of staff.
It is in foreign affairs, however, that Gould bestows his highest
marks on McKinley. How many American presidents have initiated a
war with overwhelming public and congressional support, and then
ended it successfully with the general public still approving and en-
listments high? Moreover, McKinley masterminded the peace-treaty
terms and their subsequent adoption by a divided Senate. Gould sees
McKinley's treaty approval process as evidence of political skills not
surpassed until Franklin D. Roosevelt. Wilson should have taken note.
Structurally, Gould's book has some drawbacks. It never does define
the characteristics of a modern president. Gould simply asserts at vari-
ous places that a particular McKinley initiative qualifies as belonging
to the modern presidency. He does not bring these points together to
make a reasoned case. Nevertheless, the concept of studying McKinley
as a modern president is useful analytically.
The editors of this American presidency series assert that these titles
are for the general public, with provision by individual authors for
scholarly contribution. Better yet, textbook writers of American his-
tory should read Gould's monograph. Surely Gould finally ends the
canards that Bryan represented the people and McKinley the trusts,
that McKinley drifted endlessly with the tides of public opinion, and
that he found his place on Marcus A. Hanna's lap as a spineless, ma-
nipulated dummy. The scholarship of the last twenty-five years, which
Gould reflects and improves, deserves wider acceptance. Well-
researched, amply footnoted, with a good bibliography and index, but
unfortunately having no maps, this volume deserves a place in under-
graduate and graduate libraries.
Shippensburg State College JOHN OFFNER
The Peace Chiefs of the Cheyennes. By Stan Hoig. (Norman: Univer-
sity of Oklahoma Press, 1980. Pp. xiv + 2o6. Foreword, preface,
illustrations, map, bibliography, index. $14.95.)
The Cheyennes have long been stereotyped as a tribe of warriors

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