An American Presidency Institutional Foundations of Executive Politics

For courses in the American Presidency

An overview of the American presidency that focuses on institutional context
An American Presidency: Institutional Foundations of Executive Politics provides a thorough, engaging overview of the most important political office in the world’s most powerful country. In addition to providing detailed coverage of executive politics, author William Howell uses the presidency as a point of departure for broader thinking about political power and democracy. Designed to inform, to enlighten, and to stimulate debate, An American Presidency gives students the knowledge they need to think critically about the American presidency — and about our political system as a whole.

An American Presidency: Institutional Foundations of Executive Politics is also available via REVEL™, an interactive learning environment designed for the way today's students read, think, and learn.

William Howell – The Harris School, The University of Chicago

William Howell is an Associate Professor at the Harris School of The University of Chicago. Professor Howell has written widely on separation-of-powers issues and American political institutions, especially the presidency. Howell is the co-author (with Jon Pevehouse) of While Dangers Gather: Congressional Checks on Presidential War Powers (Princeton University Press, 2007); author of Power without Persuasion: The Politics of Direct Presidential Action (Princeton University Press, 2003); co-author (with Paul Peterson) of The Education Gap: Vouchers and Urban Schools (Brookings Institution Press, 2002); and editor of Besieged: School Boards and the Future of Education Politics (Brookings Institution Press, 2005). His research also has appeared in numerous professional journals and edited volumes. His current research examines the impact of war on presidential policymaking.

Introduction: Thinking Institutionally about an American Presidency
1. Constitutional Origins
2. An Institutional Presidency
3. Power and the Institutional Presidency
4. The Nomination of Presidents
5. General Elections
6. Transitions of Governance
7. Negotiating with Congress
8. Unilateral Powers
9. Political Control of the Bureaucracy
10. Presidential Relations with the Federal Judiciary
11. Public Opinion and the Media
12. Domestic Policy
13. Foreign Policy
14. Economic Policy
15. Wartime Policymaking at Home