"The American Presidency"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Forrest McDonald's work, "The American Presidency: An Intellectual History." The paper discusses the content of the books and suggests that the historical review and analysis of the presidencies is thorough and detailed, and is an eye-opener for readers who are not intimately familiar with American history from the point of view of the Constitution and the presidency.

From the Paper:

"Chapter 7 of McDonald's book takes readers through the intricate, bombastic and sometimes infamous moments of the Philadelphia convention during which the Constitution was hammered together by men from various parts of the colonies, all of them with their own agendas. Pages and pages of his book detail all the various proposals for how to keep the executive branch in check. They are too many and too involved to mention all of them in this paper, but interestingly, there were some delegates that wanted to create an executive who would be chosen "for life" (McDonald 168). Meanwhile McDonald uses very descriptive narrative to give readers a sense of what the dynamics were at the Philadelphia convention. Phrases like "rancor and confusion" (McDonald, 169) and "grumbling and expressions of disapproval" (McDonald, 178) and "minor tinkering" (178) offers more than a vague clue as to the tension in the room during various debates."

Sample of Sources Used:

• McDonald, Forrest. (1994). The American Presidency: An Intellectual History. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

More papers on "The American Presidency":

• Book Review # 110808 : "The American Presidency: An Intellectual History"
• Book Review # 110908 : "The American Presidency"
• Comparison Essay # 57371 : "The American Presidency"

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