The Evolving Presidency

Book excerpt: In the Fifth Edition of The Evolving Presidency, more than 50 documents—speeches, debates, letters and Supreme Court decisions—show readers the ways that presidents have shaped U.S. history through both word and deed. Editor Michael Nelson carefully crafts a headnote for each selection to place it in historical context and convey the document’s significance during its own time as well as its lasting effects on the office of the presidency. This edition offers eight all-new selections including James Madison’s Notes of the Federal Convention, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order on Japanese-American Internment, and Barack Obama’s 2015 State of the Union Address.