Acting Presidents 100 Years of Plays about the Presidency

This book seeks to fill a major gap in the literature about fictional representations of presidents by studying more than 40 plays, written since 1900, which have had prominent productions on or off-Broadway or in another major city.

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The Evolving American Presidency Series

The American presidency touches virtually every aspect of American and world politics. And the presidency has become, for better or worse, the vital center of the American and global political systems. The framers of the American government would be dismayed at such a result. As invented at the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention in 1787, the presidency was to have been a part of a government with shared and overlapping powers, embedded within a separation-of-powers system. If there was a vital center, it was the Congress; the presidency was to be a part, but by no means, the centerpiece of that system. Over time, the presidency has evolved and grown in power, expectations, responsibilities, and authority. Wars, crises, depressions, industrialization, all served to add to the power of the presidency. As the United States grew into a world power, presidential power also grew. And as the United States became the world’s leading superpower, the presidency rose in prominence and power, not only in the U.S., but on the world stage. It is the clash between the presidency as invented and the presidency as it has developed that inspired this series. And it is the importance and power of the modern American presidency that makes understanding the office so vital. Like it or not, the American presidency stands at the vortex of power both within the United States and around the globe. This Palgrave series recognizes that the presidency is and has been an evolving institution, going from its original constitutional design as that of Chief Clerk, to today where the president is the center of the American political constellation. This has caused several key dilemmas in our political system, not the least of which is that presidents face high expectations with limited constitutional resources. This causes presidents to find extra-constitutional means of governing. Thus, presidents must find ways to bridge the expectations/power gap while operating within the confines of a separation-of-powers system designed to limit presidential authority. How presidents resolve these challenges and paradoxes is the central issue in modern governance. It is also the central theme of this book series. Michael A. Genovese Loyola Chair of Leadership Loyola Marymount University Palgrave’s The Evolving American Presidency, Series Editor The Second Term of George W. Bush edited by Robert Maranto, Douglas M. Brattebo, and Tom Lansford The Presidency and the Challenge of Democracy edited by Michael A. Genovese and Lori Cox Han Religion and the American Presidency edited by Mark J. Rozell and Gleaves Whitney

10.1057/9780230115316preview - Acting Presidents, Bruce E. Altschuler

Copyright material from www.palgraveconnect.com - licensed to npg - PalgraveConnect - 2015-08-26

Series Foreword

Religion and the Bush Presidency edited by Mark J. Rozell and Gleaves Whitney Test by Fire: The War Presidency of George W.