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The Presidents and the Constitution: A Living History

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The Presidents and the Constitution: A Living History

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Overview

Shines new light on America's brilliant constitutional and presidential history, from George Washington to Barack Obama.

In this sweepingly ambitious volume, the nation’s foremost experts on the American presidency and the U.S. Constitution join together to tell the intertwined stories of how each American president has confronted and shaped the Constitution. Each occupant of the office—the first president to the forty-fourth—has contributed to the story of the Constitution through the decisions he made and the actions he took as the nation’s chief executive.

By examining presidential history through the lens of constitutional conflicts and challenges, The Presidents and the Constitution offers a fresh perspective on how the Constitution has evolved in the hands of individual presidents. It delves into key moments in American history, from Washington’s early battles with Congress to the advent of the national security presidency under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, to reveal the dramatic historical forces that drove these presidents to action. Historians and legal experts, including Richard Ellis, Gary Hart, Stanley Kutler and Kenneth Starr, bring the Constitution to life, and show how the awesome powers of the American presidency have been shapes by the men who were granted them. The book brings to the fore the overarching constitutional themes that span this country’s history and ties together presidencies in a way never before accomplished.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781479839902
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	05/10/2016
Pages:	672
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 2.10(d)

About the Author

Ken Gormley is President and Professor of Law at Duquesne Universityin Pittsburgh. He is the award-winning author of the New York Times best seller The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr, and Archibald Cox: Conscience of a Nation.

Introduction: An Unfinished Presidency Ken Gormley 1

Part I The Founding Era

1 George Washington Richard J. Ellis 17

2 John Adams Louis Fisher 34

3 Thomas Jefferson Cliff Sloan Louis Fisher Moshe Spinowitz 47

4 James Madison Ralph Ketcham 61

5 James Monroe Gary Hart 75

6 John Quincy Adams Jonathan L. Entin 89

Part II The Age of Jackson

7 Andrew Jackson Mark A. Graber 103

8 Martin Van Buren Michael J. Gerhardt 116

9 William Henry Harrison David Marks Shribman 126

10 John Tyler Robert J. Spitzer 136

11 James K. Polk Frank J. Williams 149

Part III The Pre-Civil War Era

12 Zachary Taylor Paul Finkelman 161

13 Millard Fillmore Joseph F. Rishel 173

14 Franklin Pierce Paul Finkelman 181

15 James Buchanan Thomas A. Horrocks 194

Part IV Civil War and Reconstruction

16 Abraham Lincoln William D. Pederson 211

17 Andrew Johnson Michael Les Benedict 227

18 Ulysses S. Grant John F. Marszalek 239

Part V The Gilded Age

19 Rutherford B. Hayes Michael A. Ross 253

20 James A. Garfield Thomas C. Sutton 266

21 Chester A. Arthur Thomas C. Sutton 276

22 Grover Cleveland, First Term Donald Grier Stephenson Jr. 288

23 Benjamin Harrison Allan B. Spetter 297

24 Grover Cleveland, Second Term Donald Grier Stephenson Jr. 308

25 William McKinley Thomas C. Sutton 316

Part VI The Progressive Era

26 Theodore Roosevelt William D. Bader 331

27 William Howard Taft Francine Sanders Romero 343

Part VII World war I and the Great Depression

28 Woodrow Wilson Saladin M. Ambar 357

29 Warren G. Harding James D. Robenalt 371

30 Calvin Coolidge John W. Johnson Dale E. P. Yurs 385

31 Herbert Hoover John Q. Barrett 395

Part VIII The New Deal and World War II

32 Franklin Delano Roosevelt William D. Pederson 409

33 Harry S. Truman James N. Giglio 427

Part IX The Civil Rights Era

34 Dwight D. Eisenhower Richard V. Damms 443

35 John F. Kennedy Barbara A. Perry 459

36 Lyndon B. Johnson John L. Bullion 473

Part X The Watergate Era and Reform

37 Richard M. Nixon Stanley Kutler 491

38 Gerald R. Ford Jeffrey Crouch 507

39 Jimmy Carter Scott Kaufman 521

Part XI New Conservatives, New Democrats, and Polarization

40 Ronald Reagan Kenneth W. Starr 539

41 George H.W. Bush Lori Cox Han 557

42 William Jefferson Clinton Ken Gormley 570

Part XII National Security Era: Post-9/11

43 George W. Bush Benjamin A. Kleinerman 589

44 Barack Obama Michael J. Gerhardt 605

Conclusion: An Evolving American Presidency Ken Gormley 623

Acknowledgements 657

About the Contributors 659

Photo Credits 667

Index 671

From the B&N Reads Blog

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Editorial Reviews

"The collection of presidential essays leaves readers understanding the extent of the evolution that occurs with each new president."

Choice Connect

"Ken Gormley and 44 writers on all our presidents have connected the Constitutional dots brilliantly, demonstrating the immense concentration of power in the chief executive and the different, often contradictory, ways it has been used or misused. The book is a class in Constitutional Law all by itself. In several crucial ways this is what the 2016 race for the White House is aboutwho has precisely what power, who shares it, how is it going to be exercised, and what, if any, are its limits."

Bob Woodward

"In our system of divided powers, presidents shape Constitutional interpretation with their appointments and by the arguments they make. But often, they have looked on helplessly as the Constitution was used to curb their powers and foil their hopes. This remarkable collection of writers captures the drama of this history, president-by-president. A great idea, well and gracefully executed."

Jr. E.J.Dionne

"Gormley and his impressive roster of collaborators have abundantly delivered on the promise of this book's title. The balance between presidential power and presidential accountability is indeed a living history. And good thing, too, as the past generation alone has given us countless examples of how new conflicts and crises create new demands to revise and clarify the practical meaning of constitutional principles. Readers familiar with Gormley's authoritative work on the Clinton impeachment drama will recall how he blended scholarly detachment and fluency with the legal principles at stake with a journalistic gift for making political characters come to life, illuminating their human strengths and frailties, their mix of high and low motives. Here he has replicated that achievement and coaxed his fellow contributors to do the same. Their brisk and readable survey of 44 presidencies puts present-day controversies in context and shows how living history isn't about legal abstractionit is about ambition, conflict, and the consequences and limits of presidential power."

Politico - John Harris

"An indispensable book on a touchy subject. The American Constitution is not abstract art, it is the foundation of all of our laws. We cut ourselves adrift at great risk to the survival of our civilization. Reviewing the constant, ongoing battle between each successive president and the laws that limited his power offers a perspective that we haven't seen. Gomley has connected the dots and the results offer lessons beyond American history. This is a book about human nature and the struggle for power. As we can see, getting to the White House was not the end of that struggle. It was just the beginning."

Doug Wead

"Everything you ever wanted to know about the Supreme Court and the Presidency but were afraid to ask."

Nina Totenberg

"This volume helpfully spans the gamut of presidents and should be of interest to literate lay persons as well as academics looking for a comprehensive text for classroom use."

Journal of American History

"As an author, Gormley is adept at bringing objectivity to controversial subjects, while also highlighting the human motivation behind significant historical events."

Donaldscarinci.com

"An indispensable book on a touchy subject. The American Constitution is not abstract art, it is the foundation of all of our laws. We cut ourselves adrift at great risk to the survival of our civilization. Reviewing the constant, ongoing battle between each successive president and the laws that limited his power offers a perspective that we haven't seen. Gomley has connected the dots and the results offer lessons beyond American history. This is a book about human nature and the struggle for power. As we can see, getting to the White House was not the end of that struggle. It was just the beginning."-Doug Wead,author of The Raising of a President: The Mothers and Fathers of Our Nation's Leaders
“Gormley and his impressive roster of collaborators have abundantly delivered on the promise of this book's title. The balance between presidential power and presidential accountability is indeed a living history. And good thing, too, as the past generation alone has given us countless examples of how new conflicts and crises create new demands to revise and clarify the practical meaning of constitutional principles. Readers familiar with Gormley's authoritative work on the Clinton impeachment drama will recall how he blended scholarly detachment and fluency with the legal principles at stake with a journalistic gift for making political characters come to life, illuminating their human strengths and frailties, their mix of high and low motives. Here he has replicated that achievement and coaxed his fellow contributors to do the same. Their brisk and readable survey of 44 presidencies puts present-day controversies in context and shows how living history isn't about legal abstraction—it is about ambition, conflict, and the consequences and limits of presidential power.”-John Harris,Politico

From the Publisher

04/15/2016
Gormley (president, Duquesne Univ., PA; The Death of American Virtue) has assembled a first-rate group of scholars of the American presidency to make sense of what he refers to as "an unfinished presidency." This chronicle of U.S. leaders from George Washington to Barack Obama reminds readers that we often have an imperfect vision when it comes to comprehending the principles, powers, possibilities, and perils involved in serving as commander in chief. Each president has helped to shape and in turn has been shaped by this distinct, somewhat ill-defined office; in particular, each has helped define constitutional policy, for better or worse; examples given include Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Depression and World War II, and Richard Nixon and Watergate. In the end, the contributors argue that the relationship between the presidency and the Constitution is uneven, demonstrating the glory and gore of political constitutional development. VERDICT This book deserves close scrutiny by any student of the U.S. presidency and political development.—Stephen Kent Shaw, Northwest Nazarene Coll., Nampa, ID

Library Journal

2016-03-01
A fluidly fashioned collection of essays about how the roster of American presidents shaped the executive duties as defined in the Constitution. Editor Gormley (Dean, Duquesne Univ. School of Law; The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr, 2010, etc.) assembles an evenhanded consideration of each president's operating style and effectiveness, from George Washington to Barack Obama. Each executive has had to assume the constitutional duties of the office: serving as the commander in chief of the Army and Navy, appointing ambassadors and judges, granting reprieves and pardons, delivering the State of the Union address to Congress, and vetoing legislation. Yet the Constitution is maddeningly vague on specifics and even, as Gormley notes in his crisp introduction, seems to assume "that the president and Congress will have to duke it out, battling over the parameters of their respective powers," as most evident in the current political climate under President Obama. Precedent has established the strictures of the office, starting with Washington's keen sense of caution in respecting the separation of powers (he only used the veto twice) and in exercising executive restraint; he stepped down after two terms in order to avoid the appearance of a long-reigning monarch. Yet these precedents were exploded during the four terms of Franklin Roosevelt, who expanded emergency executive powers during extraordinary "times of war and hysteria." James Monroe's historic Monroe Doctrine (1823) first set the principles that guided foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere, while the death in office of William Henry Harrison forced the determination of succession from then on. Each scholarly essayist—all of whom provide extensive notes at the conclusion of each chapter—pinpoints a defining presidential moment, from the Emancipation Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln to Watergate and the presidential pardon of Richard Nixon to the navigation of war powers under both of the Bush administrations. A useful, educational tome featuring top-drawer contributors—though female scholars are woefully underrepresented.

Kirkus Reviews

The Presidents and the Constitution: A Living History

The Presidents and the Constitution: A Living History

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