Author: Christophe May
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 246
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Book Description
Since the mid-1970s American presidents have, with growing frequency, claimed that they have the power to ignore any law they believe is unconstitutional. Beginning with a review of the English constitutional backdrop against which the U.S. Constitution was framed, this book demonstrates that the Founders did not intend to confer on the president a power equivalent to the royal prerogative of suspending the laws, which was stripped from the English Crown in 1689. The author examines each of the nearly 150 instances in which presidents from George Washington to Jimmy Carter have objected to the validity of a law, in order to determine whether or not the president then ignored the law in question. This examination of the historical record reveals that prior to the mid-1970s the White House only rarely failed to honor a law that it believed to be unconstitutional.
Author: Chris Edelson
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Pres
ISBN: 0299295338
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 376
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Book Description
Can a U.S. president decide to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely without charges or secretly monitor telephone conversations and e-mails without a warrant in the interest of national security? Was the George W. Bush administration justified in authorizing waterboarding? Was President Obama justified in ordering the killing, without trial or hearing, of a U.S. citizen suspected of terrorist activity? Defining the scope and limits of emergency presidential power might seem easy—just turn to Article II of the Constitution. But as Chris Edelson shows, the reality is complicated. In times of crisis, presidents have frequently staked out claims to broad national security power. Ultimately it is up to the Congress, the courts, and the people to decide whether presidents are acting appropriately or have gone too far. Drawing on excerpts from the U.S. Constitution, Supreme Court opinions, Department of Justice memos, and other primary documents, Edelson weighs the various arguments that presidents have used to justify the expansive use of executive power in times of crisis. Emergency Presidential Power uses the historical record to evaluate and analyze presidential actions before and after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The choices of the twenty-first century, Edelson concludes, have pushed the boundaries of emergency presidential power in ways that may provide dangerous precedents for current and future commanders-in-chief. Winner, Crader Family Book Prize in American Values, Department of History and Crader Family Endowment for American Values, Southeast Missouri State University
Author: Bruce Buchanan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415536545
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 186
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Book Description
Annotation Many analysts now believe that the growth of presidential war power relative to Congress is irreversible. This book contests that view. Buchanan focuses on diagnosing the origins of the problem and devising practical ways to work toward restoration of the constitutional balance of power between Congress and the president.
Author: Michael Genovese
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 080476297X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 217
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Book Description
In the aftermath of the tragic September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States, the Bush administration acted boldly and often unilaterally to thwart terrorism at home and abroad. At the time, the President's actions were legitimized by claims that the President had broad constitutional powers in the areas of war and foreign policy. These claims were bolstered in a series of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel memos claiming that the President's actions in this area were "nonreviewable" by other branches. The subject of widespread debate and outrage, the legal rationales offered seemed to violate the concept of checks and balances built into the United States Constitution. This work examines the evolution of claims of independent executive power by exploring the roots and development of executive prerogative in America. The author traces the concept back to its British use and the theories that animated prerogative in England, as well as whether prerogative was "Americanized" by the founders. He further explores where one might find constitutional or legal support for prerogative, how the concept and practice of prerogative has evolved over time, the extent to which the Bush presidency mirrors or departs from previous examples of presidential prerogative, and finally, whether "necessity" is a legitimate reason to adopt prerogative. Balanced, well-written, and authored by one of the most highly regarded presidency scholars in the United States, this work is the first to deeply explore the roots and evolution of prerogative and its application in the age of terrorism. It is ideal for use in courses on the American presidency, presidential power, and constitutional law.
Author: John P. Burke
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429972903
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321
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Book Description
Presidential power is perhaps one of the most central issues in the study of the American presidency. Since Richard E. Neustadt's classic study, first published in 1960, there has not been a book that thoroughly examines the issue of presidential power. Presidential Power: Theories and Dilemmas by noted scholar John P. Burke provides an updated and comprehensive look at the issues, constraints, and exercise of presidential power. This book considers the enduring question of how presidents can effectively exercise power within our system of shared powers by examining major tools and theories of presidential power, including Neustadt's theory of persuasion and bargaining as power, constitutional and inherent powers, Samuel Kernell's theory of going public, models of historical time, and the notion of internal time. Using illustrative examples from historical and contemporary presidencies, Burke helps students and scholars better understand how presidents can manage the public's expectations, navigate presidential-congressional relations, and exercise influence in order to achieve their policy goals.
Author: Raymond Tatalovich
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801873225
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 292
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Book Description
This is the first book to survey the intellectual history of presidential scholarship from the Founding to the late 20th century. Reviewing the work of over sixty thinkers, including Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, Richard Neustadt, James McGregor Burns, and Theodore Lowi, the authors identify six central questions, the answers to which can help form a theory of presidential power: • Does presidential power derive from the prerogatives of office or from incumbency?• Does presidential influence depend upon force of personality, rhetorical leadership, or partisanship?• Does presidential leadership depend upon historical context or is regime-building manifested through political, institutional, and constitutional developments?• Does presidential leadership vary between domestic and foreign affairs?• Does the president actively or passively engage the legislative process and promote a policy agenda?• Does the organization of the executive branch service presidential leadership? Arguing that three paradigms have dominated the history of presidential scholarship—Hamiltonianism, Jeffersonianism, and Progressivism—the authors conclude that today's understanding of the presidency is characterized by a "new realism and old idealism." This book will appeal to students and scholars as well as to general readers with an interest in the American presidency.
Author: Raymond Tatalovich
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317455177
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 340
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Book Description
This history of presidential studies surveys the views of leading thinkers and scholars about the constitutional powers of the highest office in the land from the founding to the present.
Author: Robert J. Spitzer
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 143842082X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 206
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Book Description
This is the first modern study of the veto. In addition to tracing the genesis and historical evolution from Ancient Rome, through the ultimate inclusion in the Constitution, it also explores the veto's consequences for modern presidents. In doing so, Spitzer promotes a key argument about the relation between the veto power and the Presidency — namely, that the rise of the veto power, beginning with the first Chief Executive, is symptomatic of the rise of the strong modern Presidency, and has in fact been a major tool of Presidency-building. A special and revealing irony of the veto power is seen in the finding that, despite its monarchical roots and anti-majoritarian nature, the veto has become a key vehicle for presidents to appeal directly to, and on behalf of, the people. Thus, the veto's utility for presidents arises not only as a power to use against Congress, but also as a symbolic, plebiscitary tool.
Author: Peter W. Rodman
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307390527
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 370
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Book Description
An official in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and both Bush administrations, Peter W. Rodman draws on his firsthand knowledge of the Oval Office to explore the foreign-policy leadership of every president from Nixon to George W. Bush. This riveting and informative book about the inner workings of our government is rich with anecdotes and fly-on-the-wall portraits of presidents and their closest advisors. It is essential reading for historians, political junkies, and for anyone in charge of managing a large organization.
Author: W. Taylor Reveley
Publisher: Charlottesville : University Press of Virginia
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 428
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Book Description
Discussing what war powers involve and which branch of government should control them, Reverly grapples with the full historical, political and legal complexities of this matter. He identifies the issues that must be considered, given the division of power between the President and Congress and analyzes the four main factors that shape this division -- the text of the Constitution, the purposes of its framers and ratifiers, evolving beliefs about what the Constitution requires and the various divisions of power that have existed between the President and Congress over the past two centuries. Also makes recommendations to achieve a coherent, consistent and workable war-powers policy, without endangering national security or violating the Constitution.
