There have been many serious abuses of presidential power in recent decades, including Watergate, the Iran-Contra scandal, and the Lewinsky affair, subsequently Americans have demonstrated renewed interest in discussing the relationship between character and political leadership. Through an investigation of the life and career of George Washington, often considered the exemplary moral president, the chapters offer a balanced scholarly contribution to this analysis.

Fishman, Pederson, Rozell, and their contributors examine the legacy of Washingtons presidency. Leading political scientists and historians describe and evaluate the impact of Washington's leadership on the institution of the presidency and on those who have since occupied the Oval Office. In the contemporary era of almost endless speculation about the role of character in presidential leadership, an analysis of Washington's character and the model he established is especially germane.

The chapters provide diverse interpretations of the value of understanding Washington's leadership and the character of the modern presidency. Some of the scholars conclude that Washington indeed laid the foundation for good character and strong leadership in the presidency. Others take a more critical approach and see Washington, like many of his successors, as a fallible human being who possessed both character strengths and weaknesses. The lasting value of this analysis for political scientists, historians, and other students of the American presidency is that it demonstrates the continued vibrant debate over Washington's authentic legacy to the office.

In this volume Rozell and Peterson bring together a collection of new essays exploring the unparalleled impact of Franklin D. Roosevelt on the modern presidency. Of all the modern presidents, FDR looms largest. Indeed, most scholars date the origins of the modern presidency to FDR, and many assert that no one since has achieved his level of greatness in office.

The essays are organized into two broad sections: The first examines FDR's impact on the creation and development of the administrative presidency and the legacy of the New Deal; the second looks at FDR's legacy to presidential leadership and the exercise of presidential powers. An important volume for scholars and other researchers of the FDR era and the modern American presidency.

This essay collection is a retrospective analysis of the Washington administration's importance to the understanding of the modern presidency. Contemporary presidential scholarship gives little attention to the enormous impact that Washington's actions had on establishing the presidency. Most contemporary literature starts with 1933 and, although FDR's impact on the development of the modern institution of the presidency is undeniable, Washington's actions in office also established standards for practices that continue to this day.

This analysis of the Washington presidency begins with an examination of Washington's leadership and its relevance to the modern presidency. The second group of essays looks at different aspects of presidential powers and the precedents established by the Washington administration. The third section examines Washington's press coverage, looking at the origins of Washington's image and the various myths in the press as well as the president's difficult relations with his contemporary press. A thoughtful and important corrective that will be of interest to scholars, students, and researchers involved with the American presidency and its history.

Written by both historians and political scientists, this new essay collection explores the sources, style, and quality of Lincoln's leadership. Challenging several popular schools of thought, the contributors show that both Lincoln's character and American democratic culture influenced his leadership style. They present him as a principled leader who sought realistic solutions in extenuating circumstances. Building on the democratic principles of the nation's framers, his vision of equality was consistent with the views of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. The portrait that emerges is of an active-flexible president whose culture permitted a magnanimous and prudential political style. Lincoln's leadership encouraged the development of responsible democratic rule.

The volume places Lincoln's leadership in a historical context and within the political perspective of the influences on him and his impact on others. It also examines his leadership style in terms of the factors organization theorists consider essential for effectiveness. The initial chapters focus on the impact others had on Lincoln and how he transformed their ideas into his own political vision. The work then turns to Lincoln's political style during the Civil War and how he influenced others. The final chapter puts Lincoln's political style in the perspective of world leaders of his age. This volume will be of interest to both historians and political scientists.

Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed ten justices to the U.S. Supreme Court - more than any president except Washington - and during his presidency from 1933 to 1945, the Court gained more visibility, underwent greater change, and made more landmark decisions than it had in its previous 150 years of existence. FDR challenged, confronted, and ultimately transformed the Supreme Court from a conservative, anti-interventionist institution opposed to government involvement in the economy to a liberal, activist Court that expanded government powers, protected civil liberties, and promoted civil rights. This collection of ten essays examines FDR's influence on the Supreme Court and the Court's growing influence on American life during his presidency. Subjects include the court-packing fight of 1937, the impact of the New Deal on the Court, key FDR appointments (Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter, and William O. Douglas), and the Roosevelt Court's enduring legacy.

Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt are widely considered the two greatest presidents of the past two centuries. How did these two very different men rise to power, run their administrations, and achieve greatness? How did they set their policies, rally public opinion, and transform the nation? Were they ultimately more different or alike? This anthology compares these two presidents and presidencies, examining their legacies, leadership styles, and places in history.

Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed 10 justices to the U.S. Supreme Court -- more than any president except Washington -- and during Roosevelt's presidency the Supreme Court gained more visibility, underwent greater change, and made more landmark decisions than it had in its previous 150 years of existence. This collection examines FDR's influence on the Court and the Court's growing influence on American life during his presidency.

No event shaped the twentieth century more than World War II, and no leader shaped the conduct of the war and the formation of the modern world more than President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In this anthology, leading scholars examine Roosevelt's role in the international arena, focusing on his diplomacy with Europe, Russia, the Baltic States, Canada, and the Caribbean; his relations with American Jews in the face of the Holocaust; his military appointments; and the operation of the Civilian War Services Division.

Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt are widely considered the two greatest presidents of the past two centuries. How did these two very different men rise to power, run their administrations, and achieve greatness? How did they set their policies, rally public opinion, and transform the nation? Were they ultimately more different or alike? This anthology compares these two presidents and presidencies, examining their legacies, leadership styles, and places in history.

No event shaped the twentieth century more than World War II, and no leader shaped the conduct of the war and the formation of the modern world more than President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In this anthology, leading scholars examine Roosevelt's role in the international arena, focusing on his diplomacy with Europe, Russia, the Baltic States, Canada, and the Caribbean; his relations with American Jews in the face of the Holocaust; his military appointments; and the operation of the Civilian War Services Division.

FDR's presidency remains one of the most significant in our nation's history. Although lacking a grand scheme or single plan, Roosevelt's New Deal changed the federal government's role to a degree unmatched in American history. This anthology examines the reactions to these sweeping changes of particular groups within Congress and beyond, and also considers facets of the New Deal era from a contemporary perspective. In addition the book provides an appendix of congressional "mavericks, " and a substantial glossary of the many individuals mentioned in the text.

FDR's presidency remains one of the most significant in our nation's history. Although lacking a grand scheme or single plan, Roosevelt's New Deal changed the federal government's role to a degree unmatched in American history. This anthology examines the reactions to these sweeping changes of particular groups within Congress and beyond, and also considers facets of the New Deal era from a contemporary perspective. In addition the book provides an appendix of congressional "mavericks, " and a substantial glossary of the many individuals mentioned in the text.

Coming on the heels of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, Lincoln's Enduring Legacy offers highly readable and accessible perspectives on Lincoln at 200 in terms of his impact on great leaders and thinkers and his place in American history. The book explores how Lincoln's words and deeds have influenced the pursuit of justice and freedom and the practice of democracy in the century and a half since he governed. Lincoln, as an abolitionist, the architect of Reconstruction, an avowed Unionist, a wordsmith and rhetorician, his age's foremost prophet for democracy, and America's greatest president remains an iconic image in American memory.

This book is an exploration not only of the lessons that Abraham Lincoln, America's sixteenth president, drew from the founders of the United States, especially, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but also how others abroad have interpreted and incorporated his legacy. Because Lincoln occupied the presidency during democracy's first great civil war, he set a precedent for other leaders at home and abroad. "Liberal" leaders tend to identify with his roles as the Great Emancipator and magnanimous Great Reconciler, who eschewed "ethnic cleansing" in favour of restoring the Union as soon as possible after secession.