Reassessing the Presidency : The Rise of the Executive State and the Decline of Freedom

by John V. Denson (Editor)

This remarkable volume is the first full-scale revision of the official history of the U.S. executive state. It traces the progression of power exercised by American presidents from the early American Republican up to the eventual reality of the power-hungry Caesars which later appear as president in American history. Contributors examine the usual judgments of the historical profession to show the ugly side of supposed presidential greatness. The mission inherent in this undertaking is to determine how the presidency degenerated into the office of American Caesar. Did the character of the man who held the office corrupt it, or did the power of the office, as it evolved, corrupt the man? Or was it a combination of the two? Was there too much latent power in the original creation of the office as the Anti-Federalists claimed? Or was the power externally created and added to the position by corrupt or misguided men? Contributors include George Bittlingmayer, John V. Denson, Marshall L. DeRosa, Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Lowell Gallaway, Richard M. Gamble, David Gordon, Paul Gottfried, Randall G. Holcombe, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, Michael Levin, Yuri N. Maltsev, William Marina, Joseph Salerno, Barry Simpson, Joseph Stromberg, H. Arthur Scott Trask, Richard Vedder, and Clyde Wilson.

Genres: History, Politics, American History, American

826 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2001

Reviews

[Ben Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is in my library. A very good read with a comprehensive index that I used to do more research on the history of the United States. A hard to read book as it goes against much of what I was taught in high school and college. When I am discussing history with friends they find it difficult to believe what I say. Especially when it comes to the Civil War.

[Zachary Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

An indispensable collection of revisionist essays on the history of the American presidency shedding some light on the true stories of the "glorious leaders" that have helped transform America from a land of freedom to a realm of executive tyranny.