An Imperial Presidency?

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes and compares Arthur Jr. Schlesinger's "The Imperial Presidency", Forrest McDonald's "The American Presidency: an Intellectual History" and Arthur Rudalevige's "The New Imperial Power: Renewing Presidential Powers After Watergate". The paper discusses the theme of these three books, the arguments supporting the challenges each of the authors try to address, as well as the evidence used to support the books' thesis. The paper concludes that each author demonstrates that the presidential prerogatives, depending on the historical conditions, experienced modifications that are not in line with the Constitution.

From the Paper:

"The issue of the presidential powers in relation to the Supreme Court and the Congress was of great interest to the drafters of the Constitution from the point of view of the previous historical experience which eventually led to the American Revolution. The fear of a new authoritarian regime such as the one imposed by the British rule on the American colonies made the Founding Fathers consider a different set of rules and norms that would establish a clear delimitation between the three powers in the State: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial powers. In this sense, the President was given limited attributions and they were to be exercised in cooperation and in coordination with the Congress. However, the historical circumstances in time established a deviation from this line of action. More precisely, the president became more and more engaged in the conduct of foreign policy, without always having the consent of the legislative part."

Sample of Sources Used:

• McDonald, Forrest. The American Presidency: An Intellectual History. Lawrance: University Press of Kansas, 1994.
• Rudalevige, Andrew. The New Imperial Presidency: Renewing Presidential Power after Watergate. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005.
• Schlesinger, Arthur Jr. The Imperial Presidency. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1973

More papers on An Imperial Presidency?:

• Essay # 32046 : "The Presidency of Richard Nixon"
• Essay # 30400 : "The Presidency of Richard Nixon."
• Book Review # 110808 : "The American Presidency: An Intellectual History"

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