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Executive Authority in America and the Analytical Shortcomings of the Modern Presidency Construct

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Abstract:

The concept of the "modern presidency" is the dominant analytical construct in contemporary presidential scholarship. The conventional wisdom describes the "modern presidency" as an institution with more political authority and autonomy than its "traditional" nineteenth century predecessor. This paper questions the utility of this bifurcated paradigm by examining how three lesser-known "pre-modern" presidents (John Tyler, James Polk, Rutherford Hayes) created new forms of executive authority and increased their institutional autonomy. We begin with a consideration of Terry Moe's (1985) suggestion that modern presidents are distinguished by their incentive to "politicize" and "centralize." We contend, on the contrary, that this is not a distinctly modern phenomenon: presidents throughout American history have "politicized" and "centralized." This behavior is not due to Moe's "politics of structural choice," but to the ambiguous definition of executive power in the Constitution. We also build upon Harvey Mansfield's theory of executive power in Taming the Prince (1993), demonstrating that an ambivalent, yet pervasive, institutional incentive encourages presidents to pursue authority not explicitly granted to them. In our case studies, we demonstrate that the tendency for presidents to actively claim authority and seek out reliable resources for the exercise of power is neither distinctly modern nor particularly extraordinary. Rather, it is a common tendency that finds its roots in the peculiar, ambiguous form of executive power in America. We intend our paper to be a first step towards the development of a historically informed and theory-driven research agenda that transcends the "modern-traditional" frame of analysis.

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presid (243), execut (102), power (99), tyler (96), hay (91), author (82), polk (70), polit (64), modern (54), presidenti (49), control (45), parti (43), institut (42), new (41), offic (41), congress (36), cabinet (33), independ (31), press (29), constitut (28), john (27),

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Keywords: modern, presidency, American political development, executive, power, nineteenth century, Moe, Tyler, Hayes, Polk, bureaucracy, administrative
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Name: American Political Science Association
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MLA Citation:

Galvin, Daniel. and Shogan, Colleen. "Executive Authority in America and the Analytical Shortcomings of the Modern Presidency Construct" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston Marriott Copley Place, Sheraton Boston & Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, Aug 28, 2002 <Not Available>. 2009-05-26 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p65801_index.html>

APA Citation:

Galvin, D. and Shogan, C. , 2002-08-28 "Executive Authority in America and the Analytical Shortcomings of the Modern Presidency Construct" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston Marriott Copley Place, Sheraton Boston & Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts Online <.PDF>. 2009-05-26 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p65801_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The concept of the "modern presidency" is the dominant analytical construct in contemporary presidential scholarship. The conventional wisdom describes the "modern presidency" as an institution with more political authority and autonomy than its "traditional" nineteenth century predecessor. This paper questions the utility of this bifurcated paradigm by examining how three lesser-known "pre-modern" presidents (John Tyler, James Polk, Rutherford Hayes) created new forms of executive authority and increased their institutional autonomy. We begin with a consideration of Terry Moe's (1985) suggestion that modern presidents are distinguished by their incentive to "politicize" and "centralize." We contend, on the contrary, that this is not a distinctly modern phenomenon: presidents throughout American history have "politicized" and "centralized." This behavior is not due to Moe's "politics of structural choice," but to the ambiguous definition of executive power in the Constitution. We also build upon Harvey Mansfield's theory of executive power in Taming the Prince (1993), demonstrating that an ambivalent, yet pervasive, institutional incentive encourages presidents to pursue authority not explicitly granted to them. In our case studies, we demonstrate that the tendency for presidents to actively claim authority and seek out reliable resources for the exercise of power is neither distinctly modern nor particularly extraordinary. Rather, it is a common tendency that finds its roots in the peculiar, ambiguous form of executive power in America. We intend our paper to be a first step towards the development of a historically informed and theory-driven research agenda that transcends the "modern-traditional" frame of analysis.

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Document Type: .pdf
Page count: 35
Word count: 10641
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Executive Authority in America and the Analytical Shortcomings of the Modern Presidency Construct by Daniel Galvin Yale University Colleen Shogan George Mason University August 30 2002 Prepared for delivery at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association August 29 -- September 1 2002. Copyright by the American Political Science Association. Please do not cite this version without permission. Comments would be warmly welcomed to daniel.galvin@yale.edu and cshogan@gmu.edu. 2 The concept of the ``modern presidency'' is the
Robert. 1963. And Tyler Too: a Biography of John & Julia Gardiner Tyler. New York : McGraw­Hill. Sellers Charles. 1966. James K. Polk: Continentalist 1843­1846. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press. Shores Venila Lovina. 1919. ``The Hayes­Conkling Controversy.'' Smith College Studies in History. 4 4: 215­77. Skowronek Stephen. 1997. The Politics Presidents Make. Cambridge MA: Belknap Press. Tulis Jeffrey. 1987. The Rhetorical Presidency. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Tyler Lyon Gardiner. 1970 [c1884­86]. The Letters and Times of the Tylers. New


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