The Imperial Presidency

A “brilliant” examination of the growth of presidential power from George Washington to George W. Bush, by a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian (Newsweek). Over the course of two centuries, the power of the president of the United States has grown exponentially. From George Washington to Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon to George W. Bush, presidential power has both served and harmed the US Constitution. But is the current role of the POTUS what the Founding Fathers intended: a strong leader with an equally strong system of accountability? In The Imperial Presidency, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. explores the growth of the executive branch’s power and influence on the US government. Hailed by the Christian Science Monitor as “brilliant [and] provocative,” this is a book that explores the history of what happened when the constitutional balance was upset in favor of presidential power, and questions how Americans should allow that balance to shape the future.