This course examines the growth of presidential power in the 20th century. It focuses on the interaction of the personal, institutional and context factors that create great, average or failed American Presidents. The class explores presidential leadership, particularly how contemporary Presidents employ the "bully pulpit" to win public support for their policies (and reelection) in the era of television and the Internet. Ths year's class will closely follow and analyze the 2006 off-year congressional elections and the impact of President Bush's job approval ratings, terrorism and the war in Iraq on the election outcome..

Course Objectives

Professor Bob Swansbrough designed this sophomore-level course on the American Presidency to achieve six major objectives:

1. To provide students with knowledge about the historical evolution and changing role of the President in the American political system. The class lectures and readings will address the Founders' fear of the concentration of power, efforts to check executive tyranny, the 20th century expansion of presidential power. The current legal and congressional debate over whether President Bush exceeded his constitutional authority by having the NSA conduct surveillance over the communications of U.S. citizens represents the on-going struggle over the limits of presidential war powers.

2. To familiarize students with the dynamics of presidential elections by examining Election 2000. Learners will assess the importance of political rhetoric--which President Teddy Roosevelt labeled the bully pulpit-- by assessing George Orwell's 1945 essay "Politics and the English Language."

3. To enhance students' active learning, critical thinking skills and knowledge of domestic and foreign policy issues. The course will include class discussions, essay examinations and participation on the party teams.

4. To strengthen students' written and oral communication skills. The students' oral skills will develop through class discussions, face-to face meetings within their party teams and team oral presentations to the class. Each student will write a 5-7 page (typed, double-spaced) analysis of whether President George W. Bush's authorization of NSA domestic spending was constitution. The papers must reflect Judge Anna Taylor's August 2006 judicial decision (ACLU v NSA), testimony by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other primary sources. Democrats should argue that President bush exceeded his constitutional authority and Republicans should defend his actions as falling under the president's war making powers. Due Tuesday, November 28 after Thanksgiving Break.

5. To acquaint students with the modern technological tools they will encounter in today's governmental offices and private workplaces. Students will appraise the contemporary political usage of the Internet to determine how the Web has reinforced or changed traditional strategies and mechanisms to influence voters.

6. To underscore for students the importance of collaborative learning and teamwork in the 21st century. Students will communicate out-of-class by posting their comments and responses to other students' ideas about assigned team speeches on Blackboard's web-based asynchronous threaded Discussion Forums. Each team will develop its own rules and organization for participation in the collaborative assignments. Team members will evaluate the quality of each student learner's on-line and face-to-face participation throughout the class for a significant portion of the course grade.

"In America, anybody can be President. That's one of the risks you take." Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965)

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Last updated on September 1, 2006.