POS 5119 Law and the Presidency: an Historical Perspective
This seminar takes an historical look at the American Presidency in relation to the American Constitution and the American system of law. After an introduction on the perils and challenges of the Presidency today, it looks back at the sources of the framers146 ideas of executive power 150 in the writings of statecrafters and philosophers like Machiavelli and Locke, and in the experiences the framers had of prerogative power in England and the colonies. It then focuses on the creation of the Presidency in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and moves on to consider the contributions of several of our Presidents 150 Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, TR, Wilson, FDR, Truman, Nixon, and Reagan. Emphasis on presidential personality, war powers, presidential elections. Satisfies perspective requirement for Legal Studies and Criminal Law concentrators and minors.