This course will examine the origins of the president’s domestic and international powers, how those powers have grown and changed over time, and how they are both enhanced and limited by other actors in the political system. We will begin by focusing on the president’s constitutional powers, and how they evolved out of the compromises among founders who had diverse views about executive authority. We will then trace how the tensions voiced in those original debates are echoed in historical and contemporary debates about presidential power. The course will discuss how presidents are both empowered and constrained by elections, public opinion, Congress, the courts, political parties, and the bureaucracy. We will put particular emphasis on understanding how and why presidential powers have changed over time. Requirements will include a research paper, an oral presentation, a short midterm, and a final exam.

Because this is a “W” class, an additional objective of the class is to help improve your writing skills. You will do this primarily by writing one 5-8 page analytical essay and one 12-15 page research paper that are substantively related to the class. For each paper, you will submit outlines and drafts and go through a peer-review writing process. You will also get the opportunity to edit other students’ papers, and learn how the art of editing relates to the art of writing.  We will also do periodic in-class writing assignments to help you come to think of writing as an important step in the critical thinking process.

Required Books:

Louis Fisher, Presidential War Power (Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press, 2004)

Joe Klein, The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton (New York: Doubleday, 2003)

Nelson W. Polsby and Aaron Wildavsky, Presidential Elections, Eleventh Edition (New York: Chatham House, 2003)

Richard J. Ellis and Michael Nelson, eds. Debating the Presidency: ConflictingPerspectives on the American Executive. (Washington: CQ Press, 2006)

William Strunk, Jr., E.B. White, and Roger Angell, The Elements of Style (New York: Longman, 2000).

Additional readings on online reserve.