The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776–2018

Product Description

The American Presidency examines the constitutional foundation of the executive office and the social, economic, political, and international forces that have reshaped it. Authors Sidney M. Milkis and Michael Nelson broadly examine the influence of each president, focusing on how these leaders have sought to navigate the complex and ever-changing terrain of the executive office and revealing the major developments that launched the modern presidency at the dawn of the twentieth century. By connecting presidential conduct to the defining eras of American history and the larger context of politics and government in the United States, this award-winning book offers vital perspective and insight on the limitations and possibilities of presidential power. The
Eighth Edition examines recent events and developments including the latter part of the Obama presidency, the 2016 election, the first twenty months of the Trump presidency, and updated coverage of issues involving race and the presidency.

Review

“Milkis and Nelson provide the gold standard for a political development approach to the American presidency.” — Jasmine Farrier

“The American Presidency is a comprehensive view of the institutional development of the presidency. It provides a compelling narrative for the constitutional impetuses, debates, and interpretations for the presidency and how they persist and change throughout the 19th and early 20th century as well as apply to the presidential politics since FDR.” — Jeffrey W. Ladewig

“This textbook uses an outstanding political historical approach to understand the constitutional basis of the American presidency, key features of each president’s term/s and tenure, and broad trends in relationships between historical and modern presidents and Congress, and changing domestic and foreign policy issues and topics.” — Michael Petersen

“I would describe the book’s approach as historical and comprehensive; thorough but not intimidating for an undergraduate, introductory course.” — Ted Ritter

“I always recommend this book. The historical approach with its inclusion of the how the presidency has changed as an institution is unique.” — Kenneth R. Stevens

About the Author

Sidney M. Milkis is the White Burkett Miller Professor and the Cavaliers′ Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Politics and a Faculty Associate at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. His books include The President and the Parties (1993), The Politics of Regulatory Change, 2d edition (1996), Political Parties and Constitutional Government (1999), Presidential Greatness (2000), and The New Deal and the Triumph of Liberalism (2002). His articles have appeared in Political Science Quarterly, Studies in American Political Development, The Journal of Policy History, and several edited volumes.

Michael Nelson is Fulmer Professor of Political Science at Rhodes College and a senior fellow at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. A former editor of the Washington Monthly, his most recent books include Trump’s First Year (2018); The Elections of 2016 (2018); The Evolving Presidency: Landmark Documents (2019); The American Presidency: Origins and Development (with Sidney M. Milkis, 2011); and Governing at Home: The White House and Domestic Policymaking (with Russell B. Riley, 2011). Nelson has contributed to numerous journals, including the Journal of Policy History, Journal of Politics, and Political Science Quarterly. He also has written multiple articles on subjects as varied as baseball, Frank Sinatra, and C. S. Lewis. More than fifty of his articles have been anthologized in works of political science, history, and English composition.  His 2014 book, Resilient America: Electing Nixon, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government, won the American Political Science Association’s Richard E. Neustadt Award for best book on the presidency published that year; and his 2006 book with