2013, ISBN: 9780199967797

[SC: 42.36], [PU: New York: Oxford University Press, 2013], Jacket, near fine dust-jacket, cover price $34.95, fresh attractive blue hardcover, appears unused. GERHARDT, MICHAEL J. The fo… Mehr…

[SC: 42.36], [PU: New York: Oxford University Press, 2013], Jacket, near fine dust-jacket, cover price $34.95, fresh attractive blue hardcover, appears unused. GERHARDT, MICHAEL J. The forgotten presidents: their untold constitutional legacy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013, 4th printing number line ending in 4, xxi, 313pp., . Their names linger in memory mainly as punch lines, synonyms for obscurity: Millard Fillmore, Chester Arthur, Calvin Coolidge. They conjure up not the White House so much as a decaying middle school somewhere in New Jersey. But many forgotten presidents, writes Michael J. Gerhardt, were not weak or ineffective. They boldly fought battles over constitutional principles that resonate today. Constitutional law scholar Michael Gerhardt tells the story of The Forgotten Presidents. He surveys thirteen administrations in chronological order, from Martin Van Buren to Franklin Pierce to Jimmy Carter, distinguishing political failures from their constitutional impact. Again and again, he writes, they defied popular opinion to take strong stands. Martin Van Buren reacted to an economic depression by withdrawing federal funds from state banks in an attempt to establish the controversial independent treasury system.^, His objective was to shrink the federal role in the economy, but also to consolidate his power to act independently as president. Prosperity did not return, and he left office under the shadow of failure. Grover Cleveland radically changed his approach in his second (non-consecutive) term. Previously he had held back from interference with lawmakers; on his return to office, he aggressively used presidential power to bend Congress to his will. Now seen as an asterisk, Cleveland consolidated presidential authority over appointments, removals, vetoes, foreign affairs, legislation, and more. Jimmy Carter, too, proves surprisingly significant. In two debt-ceiling crises and battles over the Panama Canal treaty, affirmative action, and the First Amendment, he demonstrated how the presidency's inherent capacity for efficiency and energy gives it an advantage in battles with Congress, regardless of popularity.^, Incisive, myth-shattering, and compellingly written, this book shows how even obscure presidents championed the White House's prerogatives and altered the way we interpret the Constitution. - CONTENTS: Martin Van Buren -- William Henry Harrison -- John Tyler -- Zachary Taylor -- Millard Fillmore -- Franklin Pierce -- Chester Arthur -- Grover Cleveland (1) -- Benjamin Harrison -- Grover Cleveland (2) -- William Howard Taft -- Calvin Coolidge -- Jimmy Carter. ISBN 9780199967797<

2013, ISBN: 9780199967797

[SC: 35.8], [PU: New York: Oxford University Press, 2013], Jacket, near fine dust-jacket, cover price $34.95, fresh attractive blue hardcover, appears unused. GERHARDT, MICHAEL J. The for… Mehr…

[SC: 35.8], [PU: New York: Oxford University Press, 2013], Jacket, near fine dust-jacket, cover price $34.95, fresh attractive blue hardcover, appears unused. GERHARDT, MICHAEL J. The forgotten presidents: their untold constitutional legacy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013, 4th printing number line ending in 4, xxi, 313pp., . Their names linger in memory mainly as punch lines, synonyms for obscurity: Millard Fillmore, Chester Arthur, Calvin Coolidge. They conjure up not the White House so much as a decaying middle school somewhere in New Jersey. But many forgotten presidents, writes Michael J. Gerhardt, were not weak or ineffective. They boldly fought battles over constitutional principles that resonate today. Constitutional law scholar Michael Gerhardt tells the story of The Forgotten Presidents. He surveys thirteen administrations in chronological order, from Martin Van Buren to Franklin Pierce to Jimmy Carter, distinguishing political failures from their constitutional impact. Again and again, he writes, they defied popular opinion to take strong stands. Martin Van Buren reacted to an economic depression by withdrawing federal funds from state banks in an attempt to establish the controversial independent treasury system.^, His objective was to shrink the federal role in the economy, but also to consolidate his power to act independently as president. Prosperity did not return, and he left office under the shadow of failure. Grover Cleveland radically changed his approach in his second (non-consecutive) term. Previously he had held back from interference with lawmakers; on his return to office, he aggressively used presidential power to bend Congress to his will. Now seen as an asterisk, Cleveland consolidated presidential authority over appointments, removals, vetoes, foreign affairs, legislation, and more. Jimmy Carter, too, proves surprisingly significant. In two debt-ceiling crises and battles over the Panama Canal treaty, affirmative action, and the First Amendment, he demonstrated how the presidency's inherent capacity for efficiency and energy gives it an advantage in battles with Congress, regardless of popularity.^, Incisive, myth-shattering, and compellingly written, this book shows how even obscure presidents championed the White House's prerogatives and altered the way we interpret the Constitution. - CONTENTS: Martin Van Buren -- William Henry Harrison -- John Tyler -- Zachary Taylor -- Millard Fillmore -- Franklin Pierce -- Chester Arthur -- Grover Cleveland (1) -- Benjamin Harrison -- Grover Cleveland (2) -- William Howard Taft -- Calvin Coolidge -- Jimmy Carter. ISBN 9780199967797<

ISBN: 9780199967797

In The Constitutional Legacy of Forgotten Presidents, eminent constitutional scholar Michael Gerhardt covers the presidencies of thirteen "forgotten" presidents and shows why their presid… Mehr…

In The Constitutional Legacy of Forgotten Presidents, eminent constitutional scholar Michael Gerhardt covers the presidencies of thirteen "forgotten" presidents and shows why their presidencies were far more consequential than most believe. Through engaging chapters on Martin Van Buren, Chester Arthur, William Howard Taft, and Jimmy Carter (among others), Gerhardt explains how forgotten presidencies have ushered in some most important constitutional changes in American history. From the early nineteenth century onward, the lesser presidents played an important role in shaping major developments such as the growth of federal power at the expense of the states and the expansion of executive authority vis- -vis Congress. Gerhardt claims that the problem with forgotten presidents, such as Millard Fillmore and Franklin Pierce, was not that they were weak, ineffective, or indecisive but rather that they had remarkably strong constitutional convictions that provoked stronger, often overwhelming political opposition. These presidents are forgotten because they sacrificed their political fortunes for the sake of defending constitutional commitments that often placed them on the losing side of history. By revealing these often-untold presidential legacies, Gerhardt debunks some of the most widely-believed myths about the American presidency. Most importantly, perhaps, is his assertion that Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson, two of the most famous American presidents of the nineteenth century, were not the only strong presidents in their era. Gerhardt's analysis also points to another startling conclusion about the American presidency: that the presidency's gradual pull is institutional and not the product of individual great men's wills. A powerfully insightful study, The Constitutional Legacy of Forgotten Presidents will reshape our understanding of American political and legal history. Media >, [PU: Oxford University Press]<