Richard Wilson 
American Political Leaders, Third Edition 

Praise for previous editions:

‘…accessible…this book is an excellent addition to collections serving general readers, high schools, and undergraduates.’-American Reference Books Annual

‘This readable volume is recommended for high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries…’-Booklist

‘…[an] outstanding reference tool…Biographical dictionaries abound, in political science as in other fields…[but] Wilson’s work is more accessible, benefitting from his straightforward approach and simpler organization…Highly recommended.’-Choice

‘Recommended.’-Library Media Connection

‘…an authoritative and readable guide…serves as a helpful resource for high school, college, and public libraries…’-Christian Library Journal

American Political Leaders, Third Edition contains 286 biographical profiles of men and women in the United States who have demonstrated their political leadership primarily by being elected, nominated, or appointed to significant political offices in the United States or by having attained some special prominence associated with political leadership. This reference work provides students and general readers with a concise, readable guide to present and past leaders in U.S. politics.

Included in this book are presidents, vice presidents, major party candidates for president, significant third-party candidates, important Supreme Court justices, Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives, senators, representatives, cabinet officers, significant agency heads, and diplomats. Since much of U.S. political leadership involves the representation of successive waves of new groups within the U.S. political system, special care has been taken to include the contributions of women, Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Americans who represented earlier waves of immigrants to the United States.

Profiles include:

• John Adams: president, vice president, diplomat, Revolutionary leader, author


• Amy Coney Barrett: justice of the Supreme Court


• Pete Buttigieg: secretary of transportation; candidate for president


• Andrew Cuomo: governor of New York


• Jefferson Davis: secretary of war, senator, representative, president of the Confederate States of America


• Kamala Harris: senator; vice president


• John Lewis: civil rights activist; representative


• Gavin Newsom: governor of California


• Barack Obama: senator, president


• Sonia Sotomayor: associate justice of the Supreme Court


• Elizabeth Warren: senator; candidate for president