Contains course descriptions and materials.

Synopsis:

This course examines the creation and development of the American presidency and the behavior of several of its key occupants. It also examines the legal foundations of presidential power from the standpoint of history, law and philosophy. Students should understand, however, that the primary concern of the course is developmental – i.e., to place today’s issues in their appropriate historical context. This course is not a current events class; we don’t critique or judge the “presidential news.” Instead, we build skills necessary to understand today’s political drama by learning how that drama developed through time and what constituted its basic nature.

The course begins with presidential creation, paying particular attention to both how and why the presidency came to be created by the founding generation in 1787. Next, the course explores the maturation of the 1787 institution into the progressive and modern era of American governance. Particular attention is paid to historical presidencies of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (Lincoln is covered later). Once the modern presidency has been firmly developed, the course examines more rudimentary aspects about the functioning of the institution. These include: (a) the development and procedure of selection and removal (electoral college and campaigning); (b) things that make presidents resourceful (e.g., popularity); (c) strategies and conditions for controlling other institutions; and (d) the decision making environment. Finally, the course will conclude with an examination of how presidential power has been legally constituted through time and where it is trending. Particular attention is given to the subject of war and emergency powers. Also, specific attention is given to Richard Nixon and Watergate and what role Congress, the courts and “law” play in checking presidential powers and transgressions. We will conclude this course by considering whether the presidency has become too powerful and whether liberal legal culture is right or wrong in trying to constrain Article II power.

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