| "The
Myth of the Modern Presidency is a major contribution to how
we ought to think about the American presidency, especially its constitutional
roots and historical development. It forcefully challenges the reigning
paradigm of the 'modern presidency,' arguing that all the essential
elements of the post-FDR presidency were present in the constitutional
design of the framers and were exhibited in practice well before the
twentieth century. This is a book that presidential and constitutional
scholars will be compelled to confront."—Joseph Bessette, Claremont
McKenna College
The idea that a radical transformation of the Presidency took place
during the FDR administration has become one of the most widely
accepted tenets of contemporary scholarship. According to this view,
the Constitutional Presidency was a product of the Founders' fear
of arbitrary power. Only with the development of a popular extra-Constitutional
Presidency did the powerful "modern Presidency" emerge.
David K. Nichols argues to the contrary that the "modern Presidency"
was not created by FDR. What happened during FDR's administration
was a transformation in the size and scope of the national government,
rather than a transformation of the Presidency in its relations
to the Constitution or the other branches of government. Nichols
demonstrates that the essential elements of the modern Presidency
have been found throughout our history, although often less obvious
in an era where the functions of the national government as a whole
were restricted.
Claiming that we have failed to fully appreciate the character
of the Constitutional Presidency, Nichols shows that the potential
for the modern Presidency was created in the Constitution itself.
He analyzes three essential aspects of the modern Presidency—the
President's role in the budgetary process, the President's role
as chief executive, and the War Powers Act—that are logical
outgrowths of the decisions made at the Constitutional Convention.
Nichols concludes that it is the authors of the American Constitution,
not the English or European philosophers, who provide the most satisfactory
reconciliation of executive power and limited popular government.
It is the authors of the Constitution who created the modern Presidency. |
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