Chapter

In this chapter we dealt with our most monarchic branch of national government—the presidency. In this effort, we first examined the historical precedents for the U.S. presidency by looking at the colonial-Crown relationship and the early state governors of the revolutionary era. These were basically viewed as models not to follow, and so the men who gathered at the Constitutional Convention created a chief executive all their own. In general, a strong model version of the presidency was crafted after the deliberative efforts of people like James Wilson.  The Convention produced compromises like the Electoral College as a device for indirect but legislatively independent selection of the president.

The historical development of the presidency, in particular juxtaposed with its policy making partner/rival the Congress, has seen a steady if slow rise of executive power, largely through the interpretation of inherent powers as well as those deriving from its constitutional prerogatives, especially in wartime. As the presidency has grown in governmental stature and responsibilities, the Cabinet has both expanded in size but lost power to the centralizing tendencies of the White House Staff created along with the Executive Office of the President (EOP) during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration. The twentieth century, in particular the administrations of the two Roosevelts and Wilson, created the modern presidency  where the president is the chief executive, chief legislator, chief trade negotiator, chief diplomat, chief of party, nation, and perhaps most of all, the commander-in-chief. Executive management styles have varied over time, with Republican presidents following a more hierarchical style relative to Democratic presidents. However, the presidency is and will remain the most visible office of our national government both at home and abroad, especially in the uncertain world presented to us by the War on Terror.

Modern presidents find themselves in a demanding role that requires them to administer the bureaucracy, represent American interests abroad, and at times serve as a policy advocate. One of the president’s more important powers is the ability to set the agenda for national conversations. President John F. Kennedy’s use of his agenda setting power eventually led to creation of surgeon general’s warnings on cigarettes. President George W. Bush used his agenda setting power to focus attention on national educational reform.

Throughout the twentieth century the tools at a president’s disposal have changed from radio addresses to televised press conferences to internet websites. Visit the White House website (http://www.whitehouse.gov/) for President Obama and familiarize yourself with the issues the president presents there. Are many of these issues now part of the national conversation? Has the internet become as influential a tool for presidential agenda setting as televised press conferences?  

Presidential Biographies

This website provides short bios of all 43 (counted as 44) presidents.

Presidential Libraries

This site provides links to all of the presidential libraries (covering all former presidents from Hoover to Clinton).

Presidential Documents

At this site you will find access to presidential speeches, biographies, and letters. Unfortunately, the archive does not include the current occupant of the White House, thus it indexes at the second Bush presidency.

The White House Site

The official website for the White House contains links for various executive branch departments, agencies, bureaus, etc., as well as policy agendas, accomplishments, and personal information regarding the First Family.

George W. Bush Library

This is the official website for the George W. Bush Presidential Library where his administration’s activities will be stored for posterity and eventually analysis by future generations. The library will be located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.

Bill Clinton Library

This is President Clinton’s official website for his presidential library where his administration’s papers are kept for posterity and future analysis. It is located in Little Rock, AR, and has extensive archives including text-based as well as video/audio based.

George Bush Library

This is the official site of the George H.W. Bush Library at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, where his administration’s activities are stored for posterity.

Ronald Reagan Foundation and Library

This is the official website for the Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation in Sima Valley, CA. The website has numerous video/audio sources containing Reagan’s major speeches during his political career, including his presidency. There is also an access point to purchase the president’s movies from his acting days and a number of video clips from the Reagan Foundation’s speaker series covering public policy topics. Actor Gary Sinise leads a virtual tour of the Reagan Museum and Reagan’s presidential diary can be accessed from this site.

Jimmy Carter Library

This is the official website for the Carter Presidential Library located in Atlanta, GA. It contains a virtual tour of the Carter Museum and a number of reference sources for teachers and students.

Richard Nixon Library and Foundation

This is the website for the Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation in Yorba Linda, CA. It contains a number of videos detailing the myriad events in foreign and domestic affairs that encompassed the Nixon administration. There are a number of video clips with excerpts of Nixon’s major speeches during his political career, most of the content emanates specifically from his presidency though.

Lyndon B. Johnson Library

This is the official site of the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library located in Austin, TX.

John F. Kennedy Library

This is the official site for the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, MA. This site opens with a riveting audio address by President Kennedy accompanied by graphics.

FDR Library

This is the official website for the FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY. It contains digitized collections of the FDR presidencies documents including speeches, schedules, films, reports, etc., and all can be accessed and researched.

Herbert Hoover Library

This is the official website for the Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, IA. It contains the documents of the Hoover administration as well as various memorabilia. It has a video tour hosted by Hoover’s granddaughter.

American Presidency Project

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/index.php

President of the United States

This site provides election results and information on past presidents and candidates for the presidency. Audio and visual materials, speeches, and transcripts are also accessible.

Center for the Study of the Presidency and the Congress

The Center for the Study of the Presidency (CSP) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization founded in 1965. The site provides a plethora of information on past successes and failures of the Presidency and the ramifications for the future. Presidential leadership and institutional aspects are presented as well.

Presidents’ Short Biographies

This site provides access to short biographies of all the presidents.

CSPAN American Presidents Life Portraits

This site is held by CSPAN and contains clips from its series on the “American Presidents Life Portraits,” that provides biographical videos of all American presidents from Washington to Clinton. The videos are good starting points for introductions to the pasts of our chief executives.

American Experience Presidents 

This PBS program contains films covering the modern presidency from FDR to George H.W. Bush. It details their administration’s interactions with the major issues, events, and personalities of their respective times in office.

Miller Center for the American President

This is the site for the University of Virginia’s Miller Center for the American President containing scholarly essays on each of our presidents, as well as a photo gallery, and access to the Scripps Library of Presidential speeches. These speeches exist in textual and for later presidents in audio and video formats. This site is an excellent resource for research, classroom presentation, and general information.