The theory of the unitary executive is one of the most controversial and significant constitutional doctrines of the past several decades. It holds that the U.S. president alone embodies all executive power and therefore has unlimited ability to direct the many people and institutions within the federal government's vast executive branch. It thus justifies the president's prerogative to organize the executive branch and to direct its activities, to tell executive personnel what to do and to fire them if desired, to control the flow of information, and to issue signing statements that make judgments about constitutionality and determine the extent to which laws will be implemented. In some versions, it also endorses implied or inherent powers and permits the president to completely control foreign policy and military action. Proponents say this conception of the presidential office is faithful to the Constitution, facilitates the sort of energetic executive that Alexander Hamilton argued for, and enhances administrative efficacy and political accountability for governance. Critics say this arrangement is constitutionally inaccurate, is belied by historical practice and legal precedents, and is dangerously close to the monarchical power that provoked the American Revolution - and can be especially threatening in the era of Donald Trump. This book examines how controversies about unitary executive power have played out from the founding era to the present day with a focus on recent presidents, it explores arguments both for and against the unitary executive theory, and it looks ahead to future implications for American politics.

The theory of the unitary executive is one of the most controversial and significant constitutional doctrines of the past several decades. It holds that the U.S. president alone embodies all executive power and therefore has unlimited ability to direct the many people and institutions within the federal government's vast executive branch. It thus justifies the president's prerogative to organize the executive branch and to direct its activities, to tell executive personnel what to do and to fire them if desired, to control the flow of information, and to issue signing statements that make judgments about constitutionality and determine the extent to which laws will be implemented. In some versions, it also endorses implied or inherent powers and permits the president to completely control foreign policy and military action. Proponents say this conception of the presidential office is faithful to the Constitution, facilitates the sort of energetic executive that Alexander Hamilton argued for, and enhances administrative efficacy and political accountability for governance. Critics say this arrangement is constitutionally inaccurate, is belied by historical practice and legal precedents, and is dangerously close to the monarchical power that provoked the American Revolution - and can be especially threatening in the era of Donald Trump. This book examines how controversies about unitary executive power have played out from the founding era to the present day with a focus on recent presidents, it explores arguments both for and against the unitary executive theory, and it looks ahead to future implications for American politics.

Again and again in the nation's history, presidents of the United States have faced the dramatic challenge of domestic insurrection and sought ways to reconcile with the rebels afterward. This book is the first comprehensive study of how presidential mass pardons have helped put such conflicts to rest. Graham G. Dodds examines when and why presidents have issued mass pardons and amnesties to deal with domestic rebellion and attempt to reunite the country. He analyzes how presidents have used both deeds and words-proclamations of mass pardons and persuasive rhetoric-in order to foster political reconciliation. The book features in-depth case studies of the key instances of mass pardons in U.S. history, beginning with George Washington's and John Adams's pardoning participants in armed insurrections in Pennsylvania in the 1790s. In the nineteenth century, James Buchanan, Benjamin Harrison, and Grover Cleveland issued pardons to Mormon insurrectionists and polygamists, and Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson pardoned Confederates both during and after the Civil War. Most recently, Dodds considers Gerald Ford's clemency and Jimmy Carter's amnesty of Vietnam War resisters. Beyond exploring these events, Mass Pardons in America offers new perspectives on the president's pardon power, unilateral presidential actions, and presidential rhetoric more broadly. Its implications span fields including political history, presidential studies, and legal history.

Again and again in the nation's history, presidents of the United States have faced the dramatic challenge of domestic insurrection and sought ways to reconcile with the rebels afterward. This book is the first comprehensive study of how presidential mass pardons have helped put such conflicts to rest. Graham G. Dodds examines when and why presidents have issued mass pardons and amnesties to deal with domestic rebellion and attempt to reunite the country. He analyzes how presidents have used both deeds and words-proclamations of mass pardons and persuasive rhetoric-in order to foster political reconciliation. The book features in-depth case studies of the key instances of mass pardons in U.S. history, beginning with George Washington's and John Adams's pardoning participants in armed insurrections in Pennsylvania in the 1790s. In the nineteenth century, James Buchanan, Benjamin Harrison, and Grover Cleveland issued pardons to Mormon insurrectionists and polygamists, and Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson pardoned Confederates both during and after the Civil War. Most recently, Dodds considers Gerald Ford's clemency and Jimmy Carter's amnesty of Vietnam War resisters. Beyond exploring these events, Mass Pardons in America offers new perspectives on the president's pardon power, unilateral presidential actions, and presidential rhetoric more broadly. Its implications span fields including political history, presidential studies, and legal history.

There are approximately 10,000 Readers in the Church of England, many serving in parishes, taking services and preaching as well as doing pastoral work, while others engage in a variety of other roles. In recent years many dioceses have put a strong emphasis on accredited lay ministry alongside the ministry of clergy. 2016 is the 150th anniversary of Reader Ministry in the Church of England, and there will be celebrations around this. Instruments of Christ's Love, written by two experienced teachers working with Readers and supporting Reader ministry, offers a fresh look at Reader ministry and thus a resource for Readers to consider their own specific ministry as well as for those exploring Reader ministry as a possible vocation.

This title offers an introduction to leadership in the church from a practical and theological point of view. This book explores Church leadership in the context of the 21st century and to ask how it must change and adapt while being true to its roots; it brings together insights from theology, history, and the social sciences in a way that will show that it has much to learn from contemporary leadership studies while also being different in important ways. Many leadership studies either ignore the need for leadership to be properly ecclesiologically grounded and hence risk simply uncritically importing secular models, or put forward a simplistic biblical view of leadership which fails to make creative use of what can be learned from secular studies. To ignore the present context of the Church, as some studies do, is to fail to see how previous explorations of Church leadership are based upon assumptions or presuppositions which are no longer valid thus perpetuating anachronistic models of leadership and the Church that hinder its ability to move forward. The book will attempt to redress these imbalances.

This title offers an introduction to leadership in the church from a practical and theological point of view. This book explores Church leadership in the context of the 21st century and to ask how it must change and adapt while being true to its roots; it brings together insights from theology, history, and the social sciences in a way that will show that it has much to learn from contemporary leadership studies while also being different in important ways. Many leadership studies either ignore the need for leadership to be properly ecclesiologically grounded and hence risk simply uncritically importing secular models, or put forward a simplistic biblical view of leadership which fails to make creative use of what can be learned from secular studies. To ignore the present context of the Church, as some studies do, is to fail to see how previous explorations of Church leadership are based upon assumptions or presuppositions which are no longer valid thus perpetuating anachronistic models of leadership and the Church that hinder its ability to move forward. The book will attempt to redress these imbalances.