The Presidents and the Constitution

How forty-four presidents have shaped power and the law: “Everything you ever wanted to know about the Supreme Court and the Presidency but were afraid to ask.” —Nina Totenberg, NPR legal affairs correspondent

In this sweepingly ambitious volume, the nation’s foremost experts on the American presidency and the U.S. Constitution join together to tell the intertwined stories of how each American president has confronted and shaped the Constitution. From the first president to the forty-fourth, each occupant of the office has contributed to the story of the Constitution through the decisions he made and the actions he took as the nation’s chief executive.

By examining presidential history through the lens of constitutional conflicts and challenges, The Presidents and the Constitution offers a fresh perspective on how the Constitution has evolved in the hands of individual presidents. It delves into key moments in American history, from Washington’s early battles with Congress to the advent of the national security presidency under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, to reveal the dramatic historical forces that drove these presidents to action. Historians and legal experts, including Richard Ellis, Gary Hart, Stanley Kutler, and Kenneth Starr, bring the Constitution to life, and show how the awesome powers of the American presidency have been shaped by the men who were granted them. The book brings to the fore the overarching constitutional themes that span this country’s history—and ties together presidencies in a way never before accomplished.

“An evenhanded consideration of each president’s operating style and effectiveness . . . top-drawer contributors.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Ken Gormley and forty-four writers on all our presidents have connected the Constitutional dots brilliantly, demonstrating the immense concentration of power in the chief executive and the different, often contradictory, ways it has been used or misused. The book is a class in Constitutional Law all by itself.” —Bob Woodward