Debating the Presidency: Conflicting Perspectives on the American Executive - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1506344488 ISBN 13: 9781506344485

Publisher: CQ Press, 2017

Synopsis

The study of the presidency—the power of the office, the evolution of the executive as an institution, the men who have served—has generated a great body of research and scholarship. This book encourages students to grapple with the ideas of the literature by presenting conflicting perspectives on some of the most pivotal issues facing the modern presidency.

In the three pro/con pairs that are new to this edition, contributors debate if executive orders undermined democracy, if social media has brought the president closer to the people, and if the vice presidency should be abolished. Ellis and Nelson introduce each pair of essays, giving students context and preparing them to read each argument critically, so they can decide for themselves which side of the debate they find most persuasive.

About this title

Review:

“Among the books I use for this course, Debating the Presidency is the students’ favorite...There is no alternative that I have found to be worth substituting.” (Barry L. Tadlock)

“Richard J. Ellis and Michael Nelson’s edited volume, Debating the Presidency: Conflicting Perspectives on the Presidency, is a tour de force. It mightily enhanced my 2015 course on the executive process. Political science students engaged in spirited arguments over topics as classic as the direct election of the president and as prescient as whether the president has too much power in the selection of judges. Particularly given the plethora of U.S. presidential debates in 2016, such a volume promises to be even more pedagogically powerful in coming years.”   (Henry Sirgo)

“A tried and true teaching tool, provocative topics, and an outstanding group of scholars. Debating the Presidency delivers it all. Discussing critical issues helps people to learn different angles and how to construct winning arguments. This useful supplement is easy to read and useful in the classroom. It contains historical and current events, giving readers a broad range of information about the presidency, American politics, and global affairs.” (Sean Foreman)

About the Author:

Richard J. Ellis is Mark O. Hatfield Professor of Politics at Willamette University. His books include The Development of the American Presidency (2015; 2nd ed.); Debating Reform: Conflicting Perspectives on How to Fix the American Political System (with Michael Nelson, 3nd ed., 2016); Judging the Boy Scouts of America: Gay Rights, Freedom of Association, and the Dale Case (2014); Judging Executive Power: Sixteen Supreme Court Cases That Have Shaped the American Presidency (2009); and Presidential Travel: The Journey from George Washington to George W. Bush (2008). In 2008 he was named the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Oregon Professor of the Year.

About this edition

• Publisher: CQ Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1506344488
• ISBN 13: 9781506344485
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 312
• Editor: Ellis Richard J., Nelson Michael