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The Constitution and the American Presidency In this unusual and provocative volume, historians examine the presidencies of Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, F. D. R., and Truman, while political scientists assess the contemporary presidency and suggest a range of reforms, from modest to radical, including fundamental alterations to the balance of power between the presidency and the Congress.
Creatures of Politics: Media, Message, and the American Presidency It's a common complaint that a presidential candidate's style matters more than substance and that the issues have been eclipsed by mass-media-fueled obsession with a candidate's every slip, gaffe, and peccadillo. This book explores political communication in American presidential politics, focusing on what political insiders call "message." Message, Michael Lempert and Michael Silverstein argue, is not simply an individual's positions on the issues but the craft used to fashion the creature the public sees as the candidate. Lempert and Silverstein examine some of the revelatory moments in debates, political ads, interviews, speeches, and talk shows to explain how these political creations come to have a life of their own. From the pandering "Flip-Flopper" to the self-reliant "Maverick," the authors demonstrate how these figures are fashioned out of the verbal, gestural, sartorial, behavioral--as well as linguistic--matter that comprises political communication.
Delivering the People's Message : The Changing Politics of the Presidential Mandate Presidents have long invoked electoral mandates to justify the use of executive power. In Delivering the People's Message, Julia R. Azari draws on an original dataset of more than 1,500 presidential communications, as well as primary documents from six presidential libraries, to systematically examine choices made by presidents ranging from Herbert Hoover in 1928 to Barack Obama during his 2008 election. Azari argues that Ronald Reagan's election in 1980 marked a shift from the modern presidency formed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt to what she identifies as a more partisan era for the presidency. This partisan model is a form of governance in which the president appears to require a popular mandate in order to manage unruly and deeply contrary elements within his own party and succeed in the face of staunch resistance from the opposition party. Azari finds that when the presidency enjoys high public esteem and party polarization is low, mandate rhetoric is less frequent and employs broad themes. By contrast, presidents turn to mandate rhetoric when the office loses legitimacy, as in the wake of Watergate and Vietnam and during periods of intense polarization. In the twenty-first century, these two factors have converged. As a result, presidents rely on mandate rhetoric to defend their choices to supporters and critics alike, simultaneously creating unrealistic expectations about the electoral promises they will be able to fulfill.
Emergency Presidential Power: From the Drafting of the Constitution to the War on Terror Can a U.S. president decide to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely without charges or secretly monitor telephone conversations and e-mails without a warrant in the interest of national security? Was the George W. Bush administration justified in authorizing waterboarding? Was President Obama justified in ordering the killing, without trial or hearing, of a U.S. citizen suspected of terrorist activity? Defining the scope and limits of emergency presidential power might seem easy--just turn to Article II of the Constitution. But as Chris Edelson shows, the reality is complicated. In times of crisis, presidents have frequently staked out claims to broad national security power. Ultimately it is up to the Congress, the courts, and the people to decide whether presidents are acting appropriately or have gone too far. Drawing on excerpts from the U.S. Constitution, Supreme Court opinions, Department of Justice memos, and other primary documents, Edelson weighs the various arguments that presidents have used to justify the expansive use of executive power in times of crisis. Emergency Presidential Power uses the historical record to evaluate and analyze presidential actions before and after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The choices of the twenty-first century, Edelson concludes, have pushed the boundaries of emergency presidential power in ways that may provide dangerous precedents for current and future commanders-in-chief. Winner, Crader Family Book Prize in American Values, Department of History and Crader Family Endowment for American Values, Southeast Missouri State University
Essays on the Presidents : Principles and Politics Since he first began writing in the 1950s, Dr. Paul F. Boller Jr. has had a passion for sharing the humorous, intriguing, and little-known or widely misunderstood aspects of the American presidency. Boller has authored many beloved books on American presidents, the first ladies, presidential anecdotes, quotes, campaign strategies, and common myths. This wide variety of topics has been collected for the first time in Essays on the Presidents, along with new essays and forewords. Boller's prose, distinct and inviting, causes the reader to see what is often overlooked in the history of American presidents: their humanity. Boller has searched for those patriotic narratives we have all heard at some point in our lives--whether from our schoolteachers, coworkers, or various trivia books--and corrects the misconceptions many Americans deem as truth in a lighthearted and truly characteristic voice. From Washington's relationship with the Jews to the electioneering and stump-speaking associated with American presidential campaigns, readers will not only see the significant changes in the presidential office since its conception, but also Boller's lifetime of research and his expertise in the field of American history. Personality--of the most interesting presidents and of Boller himself--is an important theme throughout this collection. The in-depth retelling of treasured American stories will captivate readers and keep them exploring for more nuggets of truth. Boller tracks the relationship between Americans and the presidents, uncovering the intricate nature of presidential responsibilities and the remarkable men whose leadership shaped the office into what it is today. Celebrating the commanders-in-chief and the career of the nationally-recognized American historian and TCU Emeritus Professor of political science, Essays on the Presidents serves as a unique perspective on American history that fans of both Boller and the presidents will enjoy.
Inventing the Job of President : Leadership Style from George Washington to Andrew Jackson From George Washington's decision to buy time for the new nation by signing the less-than-ideal Jay Treaty with Great Britain in 1795 to George W. Bush's order of a military intervention in Iraq in 2003, the matter of who is president of the United States is of the utmost importance. In this book, Fred Greenstein examines the leadership styles of the earliest presidents, men who served at a time when it was by no means certain that the American experiment in free government would succeed. In his groundbreaking book The Presidential Difference, Greenstein evaluated the personal strengths and weaknesses of the modern presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Here, he takes us back to the very founding of the republic to apply the same yardsticks to the first seven presidents from Washington to Andrew Jackson, giving his no-nonsense assessment of the qualities that did and did not serve them well in office. For each president, Greenstein provides a concise history of his life and presidency, and evaluates him in the areas of public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. Washington, for example, used his organizational prowess--honed as a military commander and plantation owner--to lead an orderly administration. In contrast, John Adams was erudite but emotionally volatile, and his presidency was an organizational disaster. Inventing the Job of President explains how these early presidents and their successors shaped the American presidency we know today and helped the new republic prosper despite profound challenges at home and abroad.
Presidential Leadership Dilemma : Between the Constitution and a Political Party Examines how the president balances the competing demands of leading his political party and leading the nation.
Presidential Power : Forging the Presidency for the Twenty-first Century A collection of essays that reevaluates Richard Neustadt's place in presidential studies and shows that, while Neustadt's classic work remains a beacon for the study of the presidency, it no longer offers a reliable roadmap embodying the consensus among contemporary scholars.
Take up Your Pen : Unilateral Presidential Directives in American Politics Executive orders and proclamations afford presidents an independent means of controlling a wide range of activities in the federal government--yet they are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. In fact, the controversial edicts known as universal presidential directives seem to violate the separation of powers by enabling the commander-in-chief to bypass Congress and enact his own policy preferences. As Clinton White House counsel Paul Begala remarked on the numerous executive orders signed by the president during his second term: "Stroke of the pen. Law of the land. Kinda cool." Although public awareness of unilateral presidential directives has been growing over the last decade--sparked in part by Barack Obama's use of executive orders and presidential memoranda to reverse many of his predecessor's policies as well as by the number of unilateral directives George W. Bush promulgated for the "War on Terror"--Graham G. Dodds reminds us that not only has every single president issued executive orders, such orders have figured in many of the most significant episodes in American political history. In Take Up Your Pen, Dodds offers one of the first historical treatments of this executive prerogative and explores the source of this authority; how executive orders were legitimized, accepted, and routinized; and what impact presidential directives have had on our understanding of the presidency, American politics, and political development. By tracing the rise of a more activist central government--first advanced in the Progressive Era by Theodore Roosevelt--Dodds illustrates the growing use of these directives throughout a succession of presidencies. More important, Take Up Your Pen questions how unilateral presidential directives fit the conception of democracy and the needs of American citizens.
Winning While Losing : Civil Rights, the Conservative Movement and the Presidency from Nixon to Obama During the four decades separating the death of Martin Luther King and the election of Barack Obama, the meaning of civil rights became increasingly complex. Civil rights leaders made great strides in breaking down once-impermeable racial barriers, but they also suffered many political setbacks in their attempts to remedy centuries of discrimination. Complicating matters, the conservative turn in American political life transformed the national conversation about race and civil rights in surprising ways. This pioneering collection of essays explores the paradoxical nature of civil rights politics in the years following the 1960s civil rights movement by chronicling the ways in which presidential politics both advanced and constrained the quest for racial equality in the United States.
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The American Story: Conversations with Master Historians Co-founder of The Carlyle Group and patriotic philanthropist David M. Rubenstein takes readers on a sweeping journey across the grand arc of the American story through revealing conversations with our greatest historians. In these lively dialogues, the biggest names in American history explore the subjects they've come to so intimately know and understand. -- David McCullough on John Adams -- Jon Meacham on Thomas Jefferson -- Ron Chernow on Alexander Hamilton -- Walter Isaacson on Benjamin Franklin -- Doris Kearns Goodwin on Abraham Lincoln -- A. Scott Berg on Charles Lindbergh -- Taylor Branch on Martin Luther King -- Robert Caro on Lyndon B. Johnson -- Bob Woodward on Richard Nixon --And many others, including a special conversation with Chief Justice John Roberts Through his popular program The David Rubenstein Show, David Rubenstein has established himself as one of our most thoughtful interviewers. Now, in The American Story, David captures the brilliance of our most esteemed historians, as well as the souls of their subjects. The book features introductions by Rubenstein as well a foreword by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead our national library. Richly illustrated with archival images from the Library of Congress, the book is destined to become a classic for serious readers of American history. Through these captivating exchanges, these bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors offer fresh insight on pivotal moments from the Founding Era to the late 20th century.
Baptism by Fire : Eight Presidents Who Took Office in Times of Crisis This history reveals how past Presidents of the United States have dealt with challenges that were there from day one. It includes how George Washington guided a fragile and fledgling nation, how Thomas Jefferson faced a bitter, bipartisan schism, and how John Kennedy took office at the height of the Cold War.
Failures of the Presidents : From the Whiskey Rebellion and War of 1812 to the Bay of Pigs and War in Iraq / Thomas J. Craughwell with M. William Phelps. Everybody makes mistakes, but when an American President blunders the result can be catastrophic. This in depth look at presidential decision making processes gone wrong reveals the policies and courses of action that seemed promising at the time, but 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.
Hard Bargain : How FDR Twisted Churchill's Arm, Evaded the Law, and Changed the Role of the American Presidency With Hard Bargain, Robert Shogan offers an account of one of World War II's most dramatic chapters--the story of how Franklin D. Roosevelt secretly brokered a deal to provide the destroyers Winston Churchill needed to save Britain from destruction. At the center of the momentous events of 1940 are two extraordinary leaders: Churchill, the forthright pragmatist, and Roosevelt, the suave politician. As Hitler's war machine threatened to starve England into submission, these two men initiated a complex negotiation that would shatter all precedents for conducting foreign policy. FDR yearned to enter the war, but was handcuffed by domestic politics. Churchill had to plead for American intervention at a time when the United States was intensely isolationist. Drawing on archives on both sides of the Atlantic, Shogan masterfully recreates the President's maneuvers as FDR stepped around the Constitution in order to clinch the deal, a move that has had repercussions from Korea to the Persian Gulf.
Leadership in Turbulent Times NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "After five decades of magisterial output, Doris Kearns Goodwin leads the league of presidential historians. Insight is her imprint."--USA TODAY "A book like Leadership should help us raise our expectations of our national leaders, our country and ourselves."--The Washington Post "We can only hope that a few of Goodwin's many readers will find in her subjects' examples a margin of inspiration and a resolve to steer the country to a better place."--The New York Times Book Review In this culmination of five decades of acclaimed studies in presidential history, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin offers an illuminating exploration of the early development, growth, and exercise of leadership. Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the leader make the times or do the times make the leader? In Leadership, Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely--Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)--to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope. Leadership tells the story of how they all collided with dramatic reversals that disrupted their lives and threatened to shatter forever their ambitions. Nonetheless, they all emerged fitted to confront the contours and dilemmas of their times. No common pattern describes the trajectory of leadership. Although set apart in background, abilities, and temperament, these men shared a fierce ambition and a deep-seated resilience that enabled them to surmount uncommon hardships. At their best, all four were guided by a sense of moral purpose. At moments of great challenge, they were able to summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others. This seminal work provides an accessible and essential road map for aspiring and established leaders in every field. In today's polarized world, these stories of authentic leadership in times of apprehension and fracture take on a singular urgency.
Lincoln's Way : How Six Great Presidents Created American Power The debate is as old as the American Republic and as current as this morning's headlines. Should a president employ the powers of the federal government to advance our national development and increase the influence and power of the United States around the world? Over the course of American history, why have some presidents succeeded brilliantly in applying their power and influence while others have failed miserably? In Lincoln's Way, historian Richard Striner tells the story of America's rise to global power and the presidential leaders who envisioned it and made it happen. From Abraham Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt within the Republican Party, the legacy was passed along to FDR--the Democratic Roosevelt--who bequeathed it to Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. Six presidents--three from each party--helped America fulfill its great potential.
Mr. President : How and Why the Founders Created a Chief Executive The little-known story of the dramatic political maneuverings and personalities behind the creation of the office of the president, with ramifications that continue to this day. On June 1, 1787, when the Federal Convention first talked of establishing a new executive branch, James Wilson moved that "the Executive consist of a single person." To us this might sound obvious, but not so at the time. Americans had just won their independence from an autocratic monarch, and they feared that a single leader might commandeer power or oppress citizens. Should the framers even flirt with one-man rule? For the first and only time that summer, there was silence. Not one of the loquacious delegates dared speak up. Eventually Benjamin Franklin rose, then others. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Mason joined the debate, and for three months their deliberations continued. By early September the framers had made up their minds. A chief executive, the "president," would be appointed by Congress to serve for seven years. He could not be reelected, and his powers were tightly constrained. He could neither negotiate treaties nor appoint Supreme Court justices and ambassadors. The Senate would do all that. Suddenly, less than two weeks before the convention adjourned, all this changed. How? And who made it happen? Enter Gouverneur Morris, the flamboyant, peg-legged hero of this saga, who pushed through his agenda with amazing political savvy and not a little bluster and deceit. For the first time, by focusing closely on the give-and-take of the convention's dynamics, Ray Raphael reveals how politics and personalities cobbled together a lasting, but flawed, institution. 
The Powers of the Presidency Providing both a historical and contemporary perspective on presidential powers, The Powers of the Presidency guides readers through the presidency as a constitutional office, covering how it was shaped by design at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and by later constitutional amendments, Supreme Court decisions, and custom and precedent. It discusses the various roles of the chief executive, including chief of state, chief administrator, legislative leader, chief diplomat, commander in chief, and chief economist.
The Presidency A to Z The Presidency A to Z is an invaluable tool for understanding the presidency, both historically and today and for appraising how it and the executive branch have responded to the challenges facing the nation. It provides readers with quick information and in-depth background on the presidency through a comprehensive encyclopedia of over 300 easy-to-read entries.
What Limits Should be Placed on Presidential Powers? Collection of essays with differing opinions on whether and what limits should be place on the powers of the U.S. President.
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Documents Decoded: Presidential Campaigns Combining primary sources with expert commentary, this timely book probes critical moments in U.S. presidential elections in the last 20th- and early 21st-centuries, empowering readers to better understand and analyze the electoral process. * Primary sources such as speeches, advertisements, candidate platforms, press coverage, internal campaign documents, and more are presented side by side with accessibly written, expert commentary * A contextualizing introductory essay explains the logic behind the selection of documents and pinpoints narratives that can be traced through the collection * Novel stories about many behind-the-scenes events will engage reader interest * Photos, quotes, artwork, slogans, commercial stills, and other illustrative campaign media help bring history alive
Documents Decoded: Presidential Power This volume uses essential and illuminating primary documents as a portal for understanding the evolution and present parameters of presidential power, the relationship between America's three branches of government, and why wartime often leads presidents to claim expansive powers and authority. * Covers topics such as Operation Pastorius, the Watergate scandal, the Iran-Contra affair, and drone strikes to show how each presented tests of presidential power * Utilizes events and developments throughout U.S. history--from the nation's founding to the contemporary era--to demonstrate how these singular, focusing events are often reflections of broader political, economic, and social forces
My Fellow Americans: The Most Important Speeches of America's Presidents, From George Washington to George W. Bush The history of the United States lives in the words of its presidents-words that heal, inspire and sometimes divide a nation and the world. My Fellow Americans brings to life two centuries of American history, as you read and hear the presidential speeches that defined our nation's most dramatic moments. My Fellow Americans presents, more than 40 of the greatest speeches from American presidents. Former White House chief speechwriter Michael Waldman introduces them, telling their dramatic stories and explaining their impact. In original essays, Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton describe the talks that influenced them the most. Included are captivating photographs, illustrations and handwritten manuscripts, including: -Never-before-seen handwritten speech notes used by President Clinton -The speech, announcing an attack on Cuba, that President Kennedy did not have to give during the Cuban missile crisis -An actual photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg And much more... The accompanying audio CDs let you hear these great speeches as they happened-some recordings are more than 100 years old-and reenact speeches from before the dawn of recorded audio. We hear the voices of every president since Benjamin Harrison. Experience some of our greatest moments, such as "The Only Thing We Have to Fear, Is Fear Itself," "Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You" and "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall." Hear Lyndon Johnson adopt "We Shall Overcome" for all Americans; John F. Kennedy proclaim "Ich Bin Ein Berliner" at the Berlin Wall; and a fascinating account by a man who saw and heard President Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address. My Fellow Americans presents a fascinating journey through American history that can be shared with your family and friends, whether you're reliving the event, or hearing it together for the first time.
The Presidency in Times of Crisis and Disaster: Primary Documents in Context This resource uses primary documents and contextualizing essays to illuminate how America's presidents have responded to major tests of their leadership and approached their role and responsibilities in times of national crisis. Presidents hold the attention of the public like no other political actor. In addition, because of their unique role in the constitutional system, presidents often take immediate, unilateral action in the face of national emergencies. Exploring key events, crises, and disasters through the lens of presidential responsiveness, this text reveals not only the larger historical context but also the authority of presidents in meeting the "felt necessities of the time," deepening readers' understanding of those touchstone events. Comprehensive in temporal and topical scope, the book covers crises and disasters from the presidency of George Washington through Donald Trump's first two years in office. Important events covered include natural disasters, wars, assassinations, terrorist attacks, mass shootings, economic crises, riots, tragedies, and political scandals. Each event is explored through a primary document that reveals key dimensions of the presidential response to the crisis or disaster in question and contextual headnotes and essays that provide additional insights into the political, economic, and cultural contexts in which that event occurred and to which the president responded. Provides readers with an understanding of the dynamics that shaped presidential responses to crises and disasters in American history Allows readers to hear directly from presidents during times of national crisis, uncertainty, and mourning through primary documents Provides important information about the circumstances and settings in which the presidents made their statements to the American people (and the wider world) in contextual headnotes for each primary source Contextualizes the extent and limits of presidential authority and influence in times of national crisis, scandal, disaster, or tragedy in introductory essays from the author
Presidential Documents : The Speeches, Proclamations, and Policies that Have Shaped the Nation from Washington to Clinton This is the most comprehensive single-volume edition of presidential documents available. In this lively, authoritative and up-to-the moment collection, historians Fred L. Israel and J. F. Watts present over 200 famous and lesser-known key speeches, proclamations, letters and other decisive papers and provide a brief political and historical commentary on each selection. Either printed in full or excerpted in a clear, readily accessible format, these history-making documents include the most memorable moments in the Presidency, from George Washington's first Inaugural Address to Bill Clinton's comments after the end of his impeachment proceedings.
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