The Presidency Nelson, Michael; Perry, Barbara A
05/2021
eBook
Following the election of Donald Trump, the office of the U.S.
president has come under scrutiny like never before. Featuring
penetrating insights from high-profile presidential scholars, The
...Presidency provides the deep historical and constitutional context
needed to put the Trump era into its proper perspective.Identifying
key points at which the constitutional presidency could have
evolved in different ways from the nation's founding days to the
present, these scholars examine presidential decisions that
determined the direction of the nation and the world.
ContributorsBradley R. DeWees, U.S. Air Force * Richard J.
Ellis, Willamette University * Stefanie Georgakis Abbott,
University of Virginia * Joel K. Goldstein, Saint Louis University
* Jennifer Lawless, University of Virginia * Sidney M. Milkis,
University of Virginia * Sairkrishna Bangalore Prakash, University
of Virginia * Russell L. Riley, University of Virginia * Andrew
Rudalevige, Bowdoin College * Sean Theriault, University of Texas
at Austin
Again and again in the nation's history, presidents of the United
States have faced the dramatic challenge of domestic insurrection
and sought ways to reconcile with the rebels afterward. This book
...is the first comprehensive study of how presidential mass pardons
have helped put such conflicts to rest. Graham G. Dodds examines
when and why presidents have issued mass pardons and amnesties to
deal with domestic rebellion and attempt to reunite the country. He
analyzes how presidents have used both deeds and
words-proclamations of mass pardons and persuasive rhetoric-in
order to foster political reconciliation. The book features
in-depth case studies of the key instances of mass pardons in U.S.
history, beginning with George Washington's and John Adams's
pardoning participants in armed insurrections in Pennsylvania in
the 1790s. In the nineteenth century, James Buchanan, Benjamin
Harrison, and Grover Cleveland issued pardons to Mormon
insurrectionists and polygamists, and Abraham Lincoln and Andrew
Johnson pardoned Confederates both during and after the Civil War.
Most recently, Dodds considers Gerald Ford's clemency and Jimmy
Carter's amnesty of Vietnam War resisters. Beyond exploring these
events, Mass Pardons in America offers new perspectives on
the president's pardon power, unilateral presidential actions, and
presidential rhetoric more broadly. Its implications span fields
including political history, presidential studies, and legal
history.
“Who is James K. Polk?" was a rallying cry of the Whigs during the campaign of 1844. Polk answered that question adequately by winning the election against his Whig opponent, Henry Clay. Today the ...question might be recast—respectfully, not derisively—“Who was James K. Polk?" Few persons could give more than a perfunctory answer, even though when he left office the United States was half again larger than it was when he became president. Polk, unlike his close friend Andrew Jackson, has been the subject of but few books. Stern and serious-minded, intent upon his work, he never caught the public’s imagination as did some of the more magnetic personalities who filled the office of president. His lack of personal charm, however, should not hide from generations of Americans the great benefit he brought their country and his key role in developing the powers of the presidency. This book will be a revelation to readers who might be confounded, even momentarily, by the question “Who was James K. Polk?" It is based on the assumption that the presidential power-role, though expressed in the Constitution and prescribed by law, is not a static role but a dynamic one, shaped and developed by a president’s personal reaction to the crises and circumstances of the times during which he serves. And Polk faced many crises, among them the Mexican War, the Oregon boundary dispute, the tariff question, Texas’s admission to the Union, and the establishment by the United States of a more stable and respected position in the world of nations. Based on the dynamic power-role theory, the book analyzes its theme of how and why James K. Polk, the eleventh president of the United States, responded to the challenges of his times and thereby increased the authority and importance of the presidential role for future incumbents. Charles McCoy became interested in writing this book after two of his friends, both informed historians, pointed out to him that James K. Polk was a neglected figure in American history. Preliminary research showed this to be true, but without reason—for, as the eminent historian George Bancroft said, “viewed from the standpoint of results, Polk’s administration was perhaps the greatest in our national history, certainly one of the greatest." For his own astute appraisal of the Polk administration, McCoy emphasized the use of firsthand sources of information: the Polk Diary; newspapers of the period; the unpublished papers of Polk, Jackson, Trist, Marcy, and Van Buren; and congressional documents and reports.
Today's presidents enter office having campaigned on an ambitious policy agenda, eager to see it enacted, and willing to push so that it is. The central question of presidents' legislative ...leadership, therefore, is not a question of resolve, it is a question of strategy: by what means can presidents build winning coalitions for their agenda? Pushing the Agenda uncovers the answer. It reveals the predictable nature of presidents' policy making opportunities and the systematic strategies White House officials employ to exploit those opportunities. Drawing on an eclectic array of original evidence - spanning presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush and issues ranging from education to energy, and healthcare to taxes - Matthew N. Beckmann finds modern presidents' influence in Congress is real, often substantial, and - to date - largely underestimated.
The Powers of the Union develops and tests a new theory of centralization and bureaucratization in the European Union. Using original data spanning five decades and a multi-method approach, Franchino ...argues that most EU laws rely extensively on national administrations for policy implementation and provide for ample national discretionary authority, while limiting tightly the involvement of the European Commission. However, when Council ministers do not share the same policy objectives, some have the incentive to limit national executive discretion and to rely more on the Commission. Majority voting facilitates this outcome, but the limited policy expertise of supranational bureaucrats and their biased views impede extensive supranational delegation. Finally, the European Parliament systematically attempts to limit national discretion, especially when its views differ from ministerial opinions, and tries to increase the Commission's policy autonomy. The book contributes towards understanding political-bureaucratic relations and evaluates the implications for EU democracy and subsidiarity.
Removal rehashed Andrea Scoseria Katz; Noah A Rosenblum
Harvard law review,
05/2023, Letnik:
136, Številka:
7
Journal Article
Recenzirano
We are grateful to the 'Harvard Law Review Forum' for the chance to respond in these pages to 'The Executive Power of Removal'. In this new piece, Professors Aditya Bamzai and Saikrishna Bangalore ...Prakash aim to persuade readers that the President's power to remove executive officers is exclusive and nondefeasible; textually mandated; and a matter of common assent at the time of the Founding. There are high hurdles to proving this argument, and this piece fails to scale them. There is little evidence for any of these separate contentions, whether we look to the Constitution’s text or the history of the Founding. (see Aditya Bamzai & Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash, 'The Executive Power of Removal', 136 HARV. L. REV. 1756 (2023))
By revisiting Thomas Jefferson's understanding of executive power this book offers a new understanding of the origins of presidential power. Before Jefferson was elected president, he arrived at a ...way to resolve the tension between constitutionalism and executive power. Because his solution would preserve a strict interpretation of the Constitution as well as transform the precedents left by his Federalist predecessors, it provided an alternative to Alexander Hamilton's understanding of executive power. In fact, a more thorough account of Jefferson's political career suggests that Jefferson envisioned an executive that was powerful, or 'energetic', because it would be more explicitly attached to the majority will. Jefferson's Revolution of 1800, often portrayed as a reversal of the strong presidency, was itself premised on energy in the executive and was part of Jefferson's project to enable the Constitution to survive and even flourish in a world governed by necessity.
In an original assessment of all three branches, Jasmine Farrier reveals a new way in which the American federal system is broken. Turning away from the partisan narratives of everyday politics, ...Constitutional Dysfunction on Trial diagnoses the deeper and bipartisan nature of imbalance of power that undermines public deliberation and accountability, especially on war powers. By focusing on the lawsuits brought by Congressional members that challenge presidential unilateralism, Farrier provides a new diagnostic lens on the permanent institutional problems that have undermined the separation of powers system in the last five decades, across a diverse array of partisan and policy landscapes. As each chapter demonstrates, member lawsuits are an outlet for frustrated members of both parties who cannot get their House and Senate colleagues to confront overweening presidential action through normal legislative processes. But these lawsuits often backfire – leaving Congress as an institution even more disadvantaged. Jasmine Farrier argues these suits are more symptoms of constitutional dysfunction than the cure. Constitutional Dysfunction on Trial shows federal judges will not and cannot restore the separation of powers system alone. Fifty years of congressional atrophy cannot be reversed in court.
This volume looks at how American presidents have used the power of the presidency not only to shape America's domestic and foreign policy, but also for personal gain. Through the lens of ...presidential personality, chapters show individual approaches to the office, how the exercise of power is affected by partisan competition, economic and civil unrest, and the evolving perception of constitutional principles.
