About the Book

Authors Sidney Milkis and Michael Nelson look at each presidency broadly, focusing on how individual presidents have sought to navigate the complex and ever-changing terrain of the executive office and revealing the major developments that launched a 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 perspective and insight on the limitations and possibilities of presidential power.

In this Seventh Edition, marking the 25th anniversary of The American Presidency's publication, the authors add new scholarship to every chapter, re-examine the end of George W. Bush's tenure, assess President Obama's first term in office, and explore Obama's second term.

Table of Contents:
Preface Chapter 1: The Constitutional Convention Antecedents The Constitutional Convention Chapter 2: Creating the Presidency The Making of the Presidency: An Overview Number of the Executive Selection and Succession Term of Office Removal Institutional Separation from Congress Enumerated Powers The Vice Presidency Ratifying the Constitution Chapter 3: Bringing the Constitutional Presidency to Life: George Washington and John Adams The Election of George Washington Making the Presidency Safe for Democracy Forming the Executive and Judicial Branches Presidential “Supremacy” and the Conduct of the Executive Branch Presidential Nonpartisanship and the Beginning of Party Conflict Washington’s Retirement and the Jay Treaty: The Constitutional Crisis of 1796 The 1796 Election The Embattled Presidency of John Adams The Alien and Sedition Acts Chapter 4: The Triumph of Jeffersonianism The “Revolution” of 1800 Jefferson’s War with the Judiciary The Democratic-Republican Program and the Adjustment to Power The Limits of “Popular” Leadership The Twelfth Amendment Jefferson’s Mixed Legacy The Presidency of James Madison and the Rise of the House of Representatives The Presidencies of James Monroe and John Quincy Adams Chapter 5: The Age of Jackson Jacksonian Democracy The Rise of the Party Convention Jackson’s Struggle with Congress The Aftermath of the Bank Veto The Decline of the Cabinet The Limits of the Jacksonian Presidency Martin Van Buren and the Panic of 1837 The Jacksonian Presidency Sustained John Tyler and the Problem of Presidential Succession The Presidency of James K. Polk The Slavery Controversy and the Twilight of the Jacksonian Presidency Chapter 6: The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln Lincoln and the Slavery Controversy The Election of 1860 Lincoln and Secession Lincoln’s Wartime Measures The Emancipation Proclamation The Election of 1864 Lincoln’s Legacy Chapter 7: The Reaction against Presidential Power: Andrew Johnson to William McKinley Reconstruction and the Assault on Executive Authority The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Ulysses S. Grant and the Abdication of Executive Power The Fight to Restore Presidential Power Congressional Government and the Prelude to a More Active Presidency Chapter 8: Progressive Politics and Executive Power: The Presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson Theodore Roosevelt and the Expansion of Executive Power The Troubled Presidency of William Howard Taft Progressive Politics and the Elections of 1912 Woodrow Wilson’s Theory of Executive Leadership Wilson and Party Reform The Art of Popular Leadership Wilson’s Relations with Congress Wilson as World Leader Chapter 9: The Triumph of Conservative Republicanism The Harding Era The “Silent” Politics of Calvin Coolidge Herbert C. Hoover and the Great Depression The Twentieth Amendment Chapter 10: The Consolidation of the Modern Presidency: Franklin D. Roosevelt to Dwight D. Eisenhower Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Modern Presidency The Modern Presidency Sustained: Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower Chapter 11: Personalizing the Presidency: John F. Kennedy to Jimmy Carter John F. Kennedy and the Rise of the “Personal Presidency” Lyndon B. Johnson and Presidential Government The Twenty-Fifth Amendment The Presidency of Richard Nixon Gerald R. Ford and the Post-Watergate Era A President Named Jimmy Chapter 12: A Restoration of Presidential Power? Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush The Reagan Revolution A Reagan Court? The Bush Presidency Chapter 13: Bill Clinton and the Modern Presidency The Election of 1992 The First Year of the Clinton Presidency The 1994 Elections and the Restoration of Divided Government The Comeback President Balanced Budgets, Impeachment Politics, and the Limits of the Third Way Chapter 14: George W. Bush and Unilateral Presidential Power The 2000 Election Bush v. Gore The Early Months of the Bush Presidency September 11 and the War on Terrorism An Expanded Presidency Bush and the Republican Party Courts and Parties Chapter 15: Managing Alone: Barack Obama and the Dilemma of Modern Presidential Leadership The 2008 Elections The New Foundation and Partisan Rancor We Can’t Wait: Obama and the Administrative Presidency Obama’s Reelection and the Perils of Managing Alone Obama, Partisanship, and the War on Terrorism Barack Obama, the Modern Presidency, and American Democracy Chapter 16: The Vice Presidency The Founding Period The Vice Presidency in the Nineteenth Century Theodore Roosevelt to Harry S. Truman The Modern Vice Presidency Conclusion Appendix Constitution of the United States U.S. Presidents and Vice Presidents Summary of Presidential Elections, 1789-2012 Index