''The Imperial Presidency'' is a nonfiction book by historian

Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr. (; born Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger; October 15, 1917 – February 28, 2007) was an American historian, social critic, and public intellectual. The son of the influential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and a s ...

It was published in 1973 by

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

and reissued in 2004. The book details the history of the

presidency of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

from its conception by the Founding Fathers through the latter half of the 20th century, primarily in the aspects of

war powers Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution, sometimes referred to as the War Powers Clause, vests in the Congress the power to declare war, in the following wording: :'' he Congress shall have Power ...To declare War, grant Lett ...

. Schlesinger's book popularized the term ''

imperial presidency Imperial presidency is a term applied to the modern presidency of the United States. It became popular in the 1960s and served as the title of a 1973 book by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., who wrote ''The Imperial Presidency'' to addres ...

'' to describe excesses of executive power. ''The Imperial Presidency'' has been described as "the most prominent school of thought on executive war powers" and "a lens through which to understand and critique the executive branch in the post-9/11 world".

Background

Schlesinger began writing ''The Imperial Presidency'' in March, 1973, shortly after

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's reelection as president and the escalation of the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

. Schlesinger had intended the book to examine how war-making power had been extended unofficially by the office of the president; in his journal, he reflected that "Watergate came along to provide the climax and, I trust, denouement." The rapidly written book was published by

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

. Schlesinger, who had been a vocal advocate for a strong, activist executive being essential to democracy, acknowledges in ''The Imperial Presidency'' that expansions of presidential power had led to dangerous abuse of the office. The reissue in 2004 included a new introduction in which Schlesigner excoriated

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

as an imperial president, calling the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

"the needless war".

Synopsis

''The Imperial Presidency'' examines changes in the extent of executive power, particularly in the context of war, from the establishment of the United States through the presidency of Richard Nixon. It discusses how the applications of the Constitutional authority to declare war given to Congress and the Constitutional authority to conduct foreign policy and act as commander-in-chief given to the president have evolved since the government's inception, creating a dangerous imbalance in the

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

. The book argues that throughout US history, the office of the president gradually appropriated authority exceeding that which was granted to the presidency by the Constitution, resulting in a concurrent erosion in congressional authority. ''The Imperial Presidency'' identifies a pattern of presidents during critical points in history setting policies and taking actions that were arguably the province of Congress, to be followed by a return to "normalcy" when the crisis had passed. Schlesinger presents

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

's deployment of troops to the disputed area between Texas and Mexico, leading to the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, as the first example of a president exploiting the ambiguity of war-making powers in the Constitution. Another example he gives is

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and his executive orders and actions during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, such as the suspension of habeas corpus. The book argues that the pattern of expansion and reversion was disrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The state of world affairs in its wake engendered a condition of "perpetual crisis", a condition that presidents relied upon to justify extending executive privilege largely unabated. Most of ''The Imperial Presidency'' addresses events after World War II. Schlesinger writes: The book criticizes Nixon extensively, but concludes that the Nixon administration was "not an aberration but a culmination" of the trend toward an imperial presidency. As Congress permitted its authority to be diminished in deference to the presidents, it encouraged the presidents to extend their imperial powers in the domestic sphere as well. The final third of the book presents prescriptions for potential reforms of the presidency.

Reception

A review in ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' by

Stuart Rochester Stuart I. Rochester (November 24, 1945 – July 29, 2009) was the chief historian for the United States Office of the Secretary of Defense and author and co-author of several books, including a notable account on American prisoners of war in Southe ...

called the book "brilliant, timely", noting that it clearly illustrates Schlesinger's personal conviction of the need for a strong presidency. Historian Laura Kalman wrote that the book "fares less well as scholarship than activism, history than polemic", but calls it a "beautifully written page-turner". She also observes that Schlesinger's preferences for specific presidents colors his evaluations of their policies and actions. Reviewer Richard J. Walton admired Schlesinger's examination of the justification for presidents exceeding the letter of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, but wrote that the haste with which the book was written was obvious and that some of the language, particularly in regards to Nixon, could be considered overly polemic.

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (June 14, 1934 – November 7, 2018) was an American journalist, editor of the ''New York Times Book Review'', critic, and novelist, based in New York City. He served as senior Daily Book Reviewer from 1969 to 1995. Bi ...

observed that ''The Imperial Presidency'' read like two overlapping books: one that presents a compelling history of the relationship between the executive and legislative branches of the government, and one that prescribes approaches for dealing with the Watergate crisis. Lehmann-Haupt concludes, "what he has ended up with is hybrid — not completely history and not quite a polemic."

Harry McPherson Harry Cummings McPherson Jr. (August 22, 1929 – February 16, 2012) served as counsel and special counsel to President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson from 1965 to 1969 and was Johnson's chief speechwriter from 1966 to 1969. McPherson's ...

wrote that despite occasional bias, ''The Imperial Presidency'' is "an invaluable guide to those who wish to see, in the maelstrom of recent events, the outlines of a legitimate Presidency". In ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',

Garry Wills Garry Wills (born May 22, 1934) is an American author, journalist, political philosopher, and historian, specializing in American history, politics, and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Genera ...

argued that ''The Imperial Presidency'' was unable to deal with the problem that Nixon, like previous presidents, was fulfilling the demands of the general populace, and that systematic changes would not prevent a president from catering to the public. An article in ''

Presidential Studies Quarterly ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed political science journal dedicated to the scholarly study of the presidency of the United States. It was established in 1971 as ''Center House Bulletin'', obtaining its current name i ...

'', 25 years later, noted that ''The Imperial Presidency'' "has provided political discourse with a common vocabulary and a common understanding" and called it "a classic in the field".

Background

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading