The Presidency in the Constitutional Order: An Historical Examination

This classic collection of studies, first published in 1980, contributes to the revival of interest in the powers and duties of the American presidency. Unlike many previous books on the constitution and the president, the contributors to this volume are political scientists�not law professors. Accordingly, they display political scientists� concern with structures as well as power, with conflict between the branches of government as well as their functional separation, and with politi�cal prescription as well as legal analysis. Underly�ing the entire volume is a persistent attention to the nature of executive power and its particular manifestation in the American system.Part One introduces the foundations that underlie contemporary issues, including the famous James Madison-Alexander Hamilton debate over the powers of the presidency. Contemporary political and scholarly controversies, which are the subjects of Part Two, include the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the legislative veto, executive privilege and secrecy, the character of the presidency, presidential selection, and the nature of executive power.The essays in The Presi�dency in the Constitutional Order represent some of the most cogent thought available about the highest elected office in America, and the themes of the volume continue to be timely and provocative.Joseph M. Bessette is Alice Tweed Tuohy Professor of Government and Ethics at Claremont McKenna College. He is author of The Mild Voice of Reason: Deliberative Democracy & American National Government .Jeffrey Tulis teaches government at the University of Texas at Austin, is the co-editor of Johns Hopkins Series in Constitutional Thought, and is author of The Rhetorical Presidency.