Presidential
Constitutionalism in Perilous Times
by Scott M. Matheson Jr.
(Author)
From the Constitution’s
adoption, presidents, Congress, judges, scholars, the press, and the public
have debated the appropriate scope of presidential power during a crisis,
especially when presidents see bending or breaking the rules as necessary to
protect the country from serious, even irreparable, harm.
Presidential
Constitutionalism in Perilous Times examines this quandary, from Abraham
Lincoln’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War, Woodrow
Wilson’s enforcement of the Espionage Act of 1917 during World War I, Franklin
D. Roosevelt’s evacuation and internment of West Coast Japanese during World
War II, Harry S. Truman’s seizure of the steel mills during the Korean War to
George W. Bush’s torture, surveillance, and detention programs following the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Presidents have exercised
extraordinary power to protect the nation in ways that raised serious
constitutional concerns about individual liberties and separation of powers. By
looking at these examples through different constitutional perspectives, Scott
Matheson achieves a deeper understanding of wartime presidential power in
general and of President Bush’s assertions of executive power in particular.
America can function more effectively as a constitutional democracy in an
unsafe world, he argues, if our leaders embrace an approach to presidential
power that he calls executive constitutionalism.
