Midterm elections have forced presidents to adjust course, reshaped their relationship with the party they lead, and heralded the rise or fall of new electoral coalitions. This book presents a fresh perspective on the American presidency by analysing how midterms modify in crucial ways the mandate that a president gained at the time of their election to the White House. Midterms not only provide an important opportunity for voters to evaluate the record of a president so far, but also have consequences for an administration's pursuit of the president's agenda over the two years that follow. Bringing together political scientists and historians, this collection presents a multidisciplinary understanding of the interplay between midterm elections and the American presidency.Patrick Andelic is Senior Lecturer in American History at Northumbria University.

Mark Maclay examines the part the Republican Party played in shaping and eventually curtailing President Johnson's War on Poverty. Republican politicians and presidents consistently influenced how the 'war' was fought, before President Reagan symbolically ended the effort with his social welfare cuts in 1981. Drawing on original archives of Republican politicians across the United States, the author sheds light on the important dynamic that existed between the Republican Party, Congress and the White House throughout those years, and provides a fresh perspective on the GOP and their presidents during a period that witnessed its rise from its nadir in 1964 to becoming the ascendant force in US politics.

Mark Maclay examines the part the Republican Party played in shaping and eventually curtailing President Johnson's War on Poverty. Republican politicians and presidents consistently influenced how the 'war' was fought, before President Reagan symbolically ended the effort with his social welfare cuts in 1981. Drawing on original archives of Republican politicians across the United States, the author sheds light on the important dynamic that existed between the Republican Party, Congress and the White House throughout those years, and provides a fresh perspective on the GOP and their presidents during a period that witnessed its rise from its nadir in 1964 to becoming the ascendant force in US politics.