The American Presidency

The American Presidency examines the constitutional foundation of the executive office and the social, economic, political, and international forces that have reshaped it. Authors Sidney M. Milkis and Michael Nelson broadly examine the influence of each president, focusing on how these leaders have sought to navigate the complex and ever-changing terrain of the executive office and revealing the major developments that launched the modern presidency at the dawn of the twentieth century. By connecting presidential conduct to the defining eras of American history and the larger context of politics and government in the United States, this award-winning book offers vital perspective and insight on the limitations and possibilities of presidential power. TheEighth Edition examines recent events and developments including the latter part of the Obama presidency, the 2016 election, the first twenty months of the Trump presidency, and updated coverage of issues involving race and the presidency.

The American Presidency examines the constitutional foundation of the executive office and the social, economic, political, and international forces that have reshaped it. Authors Sidney M. Milkis and Michael Nelson broadly examine the influence of each president, focusing on how these leaders have sought to navigate the complex and ever-changing terrain of the executive office and revealing the major developments that launched the modern presidency at the dawn of the twentieth century. By connecting presidential conduct to the defining eras of American history and the larger context of politics and government in the United States, this award-winning book offers vital perspective and insight on the limitations and possibilities of presidential power. TheEighth Edition examines recent events and developments including the latter part of the Obama presidency, the 2016 election, the first twenty months of the Trump presidency, and updated coverage of issues involving race and the presidency.

Preface
Chapter 1 The Constitutional Convention
Antecedents
The Constitutional Convention
Chapter 2 Creating the Presidency
The Making of the Presidency: An Overview
Number of the Executive
Selection and Succession
Term of Office
Removal
Institutional Separation from Congress
Enumerated Powers
The Vice Presidency
Ratifying the Constitution
Chapter 3 Bringing the Constitutional Presidency to Life: George Washington and John Adams
The Election of George Washington
Making the Presidency Safe for Democracy
Forming the Executive and Judicial Branches
Presidential “Supremacy” and the Conduct of the Executive Branch
Presidential Nonpartisanship and the Beginning of Party Conflict
Washington’s Retirement and the Jay Treaty: The Constitutional Crisis of 1796
The 1796 Election
The Embattled Presidency of John Adams
The Alien and Sedition Acts
Chapter 4 The Triumph of Jeffersonianism
The “Revolution” of 1800
Jefferson’s War with the Judiciary
The Democratic-Republican Program and the Adjustment to Power
The Limits of “Popular” Leadership
The Twelfth Amendment
Jefferson’s Mixed Legacy
The Presidency of James Madison and the Rise of the House of Representatives
The Presidency of James Monroe
Chapter 5 The Age of Jackson
Jacksonian Democracy
The Rise of the Party Convention
Jackson’s Struggle with Congress
The Aftermath of the Bank Veto
The Decline of the Cabinet
The Limits of the Jacksonian Presidency
Martin Van Buren and the Panic of 1837
The Jacksonian Presidency Sustained
John Tyler and the Problem of Presidential Succession
The Presidency of James K. Polk
The Slavery Controversy and the Twilight of the Jacksonian Presidency
Chapter 6 The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln and the Slavery Controversy
The Election of 1860
Lincoln and Secession
Lincoln’s Wartime Measures
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Election of 1864
Lincoln’s Legacy
Chapter 7 The Reaction against Presidential Power: Andrew Johnson to William McKinley
Reconstruction and the Assault on Executive Authority
The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Ulysses S. Grant and the Abdication of Executive Power
The Fight to Restore Presidential Power
Congressional Government and the Prelude to a More Active Presidency
Chapter 8 Progressive Politics and Executive Power: The Presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson
Theodore Roosevelt and the Expansion of Executive Power
The Troubled Presidency of William Howard Taft
Progressive Politics and the Elections of 1912
Woodrow Wilson’s Theory of Executive Leadership
Wilson and Party Reform
The Art of Popular Leadership
Wilson’s Relations with Congress
Wilson as World Leader
Chapter 9 The Triumph of Conservative Republicanism
The Harding Era
The “Silent” Politics of Calvin Coolidge
Herbert C. Hoover and the Great Depression
The Twentieth Amendment
Chapter 10 The Consolidation of the Modern Presidency: Franklin D. Roosevelt to Dwight D. Eisenhower
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Modern Presidency
The Modern Presidency Sustained: Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower
Chapter 11 Personalizing the Presidency: John F. Kennedy to Jimmy Carter
John F. Kennedy and the Rise of the “Personal Presidency”
Lyndon B. Johnson and Presidential Government
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment
The Presidency of Richard Nixon
Gerald R. Ford and the Post-Watergate Era
A President Named Jimmy
Chapter 12 A Restoration of Presidential Power? Ronald Reagan and George Bush
The Reagan Revolution
A Reagan Court?
The Bush Presidency
Chapter 13 Bill Clinton and the Modern Presidency
The Election of 1992
The First Year of the Clinton Presidency
The 1994 Elections and the Restoration of Divided Government
The Comeback President
Balanced Budgets, Impeachment Politics, and the Limits of the Third Way
Chapter 14 George W. Bush and Unilateral Presidential Power
The 2000 Election
Bush v. Gore
The Early Months of the Bush Presidency
September 11 and the War on Terrorism
An Expanded Presidency
Bush and the Republican Party
Courts and Parties
Partisanship and Unilateralism at the Twilight of the Bush Presidency
Chapter 15 Barack Obama and Presidential Leadership in Polarized Times
The 2008 Elections
The New Foundation and Partisan Rancor
We Can’t Wait: Obama and the Administrative Presidency
Obama’s Reelection and the Perils of Partisanship
Obama, Partisanship, and the War on Terrorism
Barack Obama’s Fragile Legacy
Chapter 16 The Trump Presidency and Resilience of Constitutional Government
Taking Office
Forming the Administration
Trump’s Administrative Presidency
The Courts
Trump and Congress
The Rhetorical Presidency
Foreign Policy
Conclusion
Chapter 17 The Vice Presidency
The Founding Period
The Vice Presidency in the Nineteenth Century
Theodore Roosevelt to Harry S. Truman
The Modern Vice Presidency
Conclusion
Appendix
Constitution of the United States
U.S. Presidents and Vice Presidents
Summary of Presidential Elections, 1789–2016
Index