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The American Presidency
Origins and Development, 1776–2018
Eighth Edition
- Sidney M. Milkis - University of Virginia, USA
- Michael Nelson - Rhodes College, USA
January 2019 | 720 pages | CQ Press
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. The Eighth 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
Chapter 2 Creating the Presidency
Chapter 3 Bringing the Constitutional Presidency to Life: George Washington and John Adams
Chapter 4 The Triumph of Jeffersonianism
Chapter 5 The Age of Jackson
Chapter 6 The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln
Chapter 7 The Reaction against Presidential Power: Andrew Johnson to William McKinley
Chapter 8 Progressive Politics and Executive Power: The Presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson
Chapter 9 The Triumph of Conservative Republicanism
Chapter 10 The Consolidation of the Modern Presidency: Franklin D. Roosevelt to Dwight D. Eisenhower
Chapter 11 Personalizing the Presidency: John F. Kennedy to Jimmy Carter
Chapter 12 A Restoration of Presidential Power? Ronald Reagan and George Bush
Chapter 13 Bill Clinton and the Modern Presidency
Chapter 14 George W. Bush and Unilateral Presidential Power
Chapter 15 Barack Obama and Presidential Leadership in Polarized Times
Chapter 16 The Trump Presidency and Resilience of Constitutional Government
Chapter 17 The Vice Presidency
Appendix
Index
“Milkis and Nelson provide the gold standard for a political development approach to the American presidency.”
University of Louisville
“The American Presidency is a comprehensive view of the institutional development of the presidency. It provides a compelling narrative for the constitutional impetuses, debates, and interpretations for the presidency and how they persist and change throughout the 19th and early 20th century as well as apply to the presidential politics since FDR.”
University of Connecticut
“This textbook uses an outstanding political historical approach to understand the constitutional basis of the American presidency, key features of each president’s term/s and tenure, and broad trends in relationships between historical and modern presidents and Congress, and changing domestic and foreign policy issues and topics.”
Utah State University
“I would describe the book’s approach as historical and comprehensive; thorough but not intimidating for an undergraduate, introductory course.”
Virginia Union University
“I always recommend this book. The historical approach with its inclusion of the how the presidency has changed as an institution is unique.”
Texas Christian University
Sample Materials & Chapters
Chapter 1: The Constitutional Convention
Chapter 2: Creating the Presidency
