The Post-Imperial Presidency

During the Nixon administration, a key phrase identified with Arthur Schlesinger emerged: namely, the "imperial presidency." The whole postwar trend was perceived as moving in this direction. But with the Ford and Carter administrations, strong countertrends were set in motion: trends which enhanced the power of the judiciary in the case of the impeachment of Nixon, and legislative authority in the cases of the Ford and Carter administrations. As a result, it is now time for a fundamental reevaluation of the nature of the presidency, which is precisely what this volume represents.