The lost soul of the American presidency : the decline into demagoguery and the prospects for renewal

The American presidency is not what it once was. Nor, Stephen F. Knott contends, what it was meant to be. Taking on an issue as timely as Donald Trump's latest tweet and old as the American republic, the distinguished presidential scholar documents the devolution of the American presidency from the neutral, unifying office envisioned by the framers of the Constitution into the demagogic, partisan entity of our day. The presidency of popular consent, or the majoritarian presidency that we have today, far predates its current incarnation. The executive office as James Madison, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton conceived it would be a source of national pride and unity, a check on the tyranny of the majority, and a neutral guarantor of the nation's laws. The Lost Soul of the American Presidency shows how Thomas Jefferson's "Revolution of 1800" remade the presidency, paving the way for Andrew Jackson to elevate "majority rule" into an unofficial constitutional principle--and contributing to the disenfranchisement, and worse, of African Americans and Native Americans. In Woodrow Wilson, Knott finds a worthy successor to Jefferson and Jackson. More than any of his predecessors, Wilson altered the nation's expectations of what a president could be expected to achieve, putting in place the political machinery to support a "presidential government." As difficult as it might be to recover the lost soul of the American presidency, Knott reminds us of presidents who resisted pandering to public opinion and appealed to our better angels--George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, and William Howard Taft, among others--whose presidencies suggest an alternative and offer hope for the future of the nation's highest office. "The American presidency is not what it once was. Elections have become a popularity contest and the president has become the ostensible mouthpiece of the American people. Stephen F. Knott contends that the presidency of popular consent, or the majoritarian presidency, was not intended by Madison, Washington, Hamilton, or almost all the key framers, but more importantly, he argues that this presidency led to precisely what Madison and Hamilton feared most: the rise of demagogic presidencies. The Lost Soul of the American Presidency traces the history of this decline in the nation's executive office that has culminated in the election of Donald Trump. Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson re-founded the office and opened the door to this demagoguery, and their task was completed by a series of twentieth-century presidents, including Woodrow Wilson and Richard Nixon. The price of this demagogic presidency has been paid by minorities of all sorts -- racial, religious, political, and economic. The nation was thus deprived of the president's intended role as unifying head of state, and his constitutional role as neutral enforcer of the laws of the land. But we also have examples of presidents who resisted pandering to public opinion and appealed to the better angels of our nature, notably John Quincy Adams and Abraham Lincoln, who represent the 'lost soul' of presidential leadership that we can still recover"-- Provided by publisher "The American presidency is not what it once was. Elections have become a popularity contest and the president has become the ostensible mouthpiece of the American people. Stephen F. Knott contends that the presidency of popular consent, or the majoritarian presidency, was not intended by Madison, Washington, Hamilton, or almost all the key framers, but more importantly, he argues that this presidency led to precisely what Madison and Hamilton feared most: the rise of demagogic presidencies. The Lost Soul of the American Presidency traces the history of this decline in the nation's executive office that has culminated in the election of Donald Trump. Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson re-founded the office and opened the door to this demagoguery, and their task was completed by a series of twentieth-century presidents, including Woodrow Wilson and Richard Nixon. The price of this demagogic presidency has been paid by minorities of all sorts -- racial, religious, political, and economic. The nation was thus deprived of the president's intended role as unifying head of state, and his constitutional role as neutral enforcer of the laws of the land. But we also have examples of presidents who resisted pandering to public opinion and appealed to the better angels of our nature, notably John Quincy Adams and Abraham Lincoln, who represent the 'lost soul' of presidential leadership that we can still recover"-- Résumé de l'éditeur Half Title 2 Title Page 3 Copyright Page 4 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: The Long, Declining Road 11 1 The Founders’ Presidency: Washington, Hamilton, and an Office of Sober Expectations 18 2 The Presidency of Popular Consent: Thomas Jefferson and the “Revolution of 1800” 53 3 Andrew Jackson: “The Majority Is to Govern” 83 4 Abraham Lincoln and the “Mobocratic Spirit” 112 5 Woodrow Wilson: “To Be as Big a Man as He Can” 149 6 FDR and Harry Truman: “Give ’Em Hell” 184 7 Ike and Jack: A Study in Contrasting Presidencies 211 8 The Road to Degradation 243 9 The Apotheosis of the Popular Presidency: Donald J. Trump 283 10 The Prospects for Renewal 299 Notes 314 Index 356 Back Cover 386