Everybody makes mistakes, but when an American president blunders, the results can be catastrophic. The Failures of the Presidents takes an in depth look at presidential decision-making processes gone wrong. The book examines the seemingly promising policies and courses of action that turned out to be the worst decisions American presidents have made. From the Whiskey Rebellion and War of 1812 to the Bay of Pigs and Iraq, the stories featured here altered the course of the nation's history, and in some cases changed the history of the world for the worse. What were they thinking In an effort to put an end to Britain and France’s policy of seizing American ships and sailors, Thomas Jefferson calls for an embargo. The Result: 30,000 sailors put out of work; mercantile families bankrupted overnight; a nationwide economic depression; and the New England states, which depended heavily on international commerce, threaten to secede from the Union. To promote the doctrine of popular sovereignty, Franklin Pierce approves the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and permits residents of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether their territories will admit slavery. The Result: Dozens of settlers murdered; Lawrence, Kansas, burned and looted; John Brown elevated to the status of national hero among abolitionists; the country moves closer to civil war.