POL S 355 A: The American Presidency

Political Science 355: The American Presidency 

Scott Lemieux

Gowen 114

Email: slemieux@uw.edu

Office hours: W 11:20-12:20 or online by appointment

Zoom Meeting Room: https://washington.zoom.us/j/3054322933

TA:  Becca Peach 

Email: rlpeach@uw.edu 

Becca's office hours: M 9-11 by Zoom

Becca's Zoom meeting link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/94532687627

Course description: This course will examine the development of the American presidency. We will start by examining the formal powers of the presidency and then examine how the power of the president has changed over time (even as the formal powers of the office remain largely unchanged). We will examine such issues as the presidential nomination and election process, how leadership patterns recur throughout history, how the presidency has influenced civil rights, how the president works with other branches, and the foreign policy powers of the presidency. 

Teaching in uncertain times: general requirements and class policies. Lectures will generally be in person, unless university policy temporarily suspends in-person classes. Please be considerate of your peers and do not come to class if you have COVID or any other viral infection. Lecture slides will be posted before each midterm. The one exception is the two lectures of Week 2 (Oct. 2 and 4), which will be posted as asynchronous lectures under the "Panopto Recordings" tab. 

Other Class Policies:

• Online interactions should follow the UW’s "netiquette" guidelines. Always treat your peers and instructors respectfully in online as well as in-person interactions.
• Please notify your instructors in advance if you need an extension for submitting an exam. If you have an illness or family emergency that makes completing an exam on time impossible, please notify the instructors as soon as possible.
• Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty. will result in a grade of “0” for the given exam/assignment, and students will also be subject to the UW’s disciplinary procedures. All material submitted online may be subject to Turnitin or other plagiarism detection software. The use of ChatGBT is an act of academic dishonesty and will be subject to the same sanctions. 
• Please inform an instructor if you have a disability that will require accommodation.  You will be provided with any accommodation mandated by the Americans With Disabilities Act, state and local regulations, and university policy. 
• Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Links to an external site.Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Links to an external site.Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/)
• Grade appeals process: 

1. If you would like to appeal your grade, please wait 24 hours after receiving your assignment. After 24 hours have elapsed, submit a typed and printed appeal and that explains why you deserve a better grade and the graded assignment to the TA. Please note that your entire assignment will be regraded.
2. Once the TA has reviewed your appeal, he or she will set up a virtual "appointment" to discuss your appeal.
3. If you are still unsatisfied with your grade, the TA will take your assignment and appeal to the professor. Please note that the professor will not review your appeal until the TA has made an assessment of your appeal.
4. Note that if you request a re-grade by the professor your grade may be lowered, raised, or left unchanged once you have submitted your grade appeal.
5. All grade appeals must be submitted within one week of the graded assignment being handed back.

Course books

 The books for the course are available for purchase at the University Bookstore and all major online booksellers:

Stephen Skowronek, Presidential Leadership in Political Time: Reprise and Reappraisal, 3^nd ed.

Rebecca Thorpe, The American Warfare State: The Domestic Politics of Military Spending

Exams, assignments and grading:

There will be three non-cumulative virtual "take-home" exams. Each will constitute 33.3% of the grade. See the class schedule for when these exams will be posted and when they must be completed. The due date is the only deadline -- you are not required to complete the exam in one particular time window within the exam period. 

 Class schedule

Readings marked with an asterisk (*) will be available under the “Files” tab on the course Canvas page. The other readings are either from the assigned textbooks or available via hyperlink. Make sure to check back every week: some readings may be subject to change based on current events, etc. 

Classes are in-person (subject to changes in university policy) unless otherwise noted.

9/27 Class Introduction

 The Constitutional and Institutional Presidency

Posted as asynchronous Panopto lectures, no later than 10/4. 

U.S. Constitution, Article II (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 69-71 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.  

Keith Whittington, "A Formidable Weapon of Faction? The Law and Politics of Impeachment." (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Jamelle Bouie, "Andrew Johnson's Violent Language (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site." 

10/9-16 Presidents, Elections, and the Politics of Race 

Jesse Wegman, "Joe Biden Won the Most Votes. It Doesn't Matter."Links to an external site.

Seymour Spilerman, “The Case for the Electoral College."Links to an external site.

Barbara Norrander, "The Imperfect Primary: Oddities, Biases, and Strengths of U.S. Presidential Nomination Politics"*

Megan Ming Francis, “Black Lives Matter From Wilson to Trump: Social Movements in APD,” from Callen and Rocco, eds., American Political Development and the Trump Presidency.*

Sides et. al., Identity Crisis, Ch. 1,4,8,9.*  

10/18-23 Presidential Leadership, Communication and Reputation 

Edwards, On Deaf Ears, Ch. 1-3*

Ezra Klein, “The Unpersuaded,” The New Yorker 

Siena College, US Presidents Study Historical Rankings.

Richard Neustadt, "Presidential Power and the Modern Presidency"*

10/25 First midterm distributed. Class cancelled. The exam must be submitted through the link on the course Canvas page by Monday, October 30 at 12 PM. 

10/30-11-8 Presidential Leadership and the Presidency in "Political Time"

 Skowronek, Presidential Leadership in Political Time Ch 1-3; 6-7.

Julia Azari, "Scrambled Cycle: Realignment, Political Time, and the Trump Presidency,” from Callen and Rocco, eds., American Political Development and the Trump Presidency.* 

Scott Lemieux, “Is Donald Trump the Next Jimmy Carter?,” The New Republic January 23, 2017 .

Thomas Edsall, "The Fight Over How Trump Fits in With the Other 44 Presidents"

11/13-20 The Executive branch and the Judiciary

Glenn Thrush, "The Lure of Executive Orders: Easy to Implement, but Just as Easy to Cancel"

Kate Sullivan, "Here are the Executive Orders Biden has signed in his first 100 days" 

NFIB v. OHSA and Biden v, Nebraska [excerpts]*

William Howell, "Relations With the Federal Judiciary" from The American Presidency*

Rebecca Ruiz and Robert Gebeloff, "As Trump Leaves the White House, His Impact on the Federal Judiciary Deepens."

Elena Mejia and Amelia Thompson-DeVeaux, “How Biden is Re-Shaping the Courts.”

Movie, "Supreme Revenge" 

 Second midterm posted on November 21,  Class cancelled November 22. The exam must be submitted through the link on the course Canvas page by Monday, November 27 at 12 PM.

11/27-12/6 The Presidency and Foreign Policy

Rebecca Thorpe, The American Warfare State: The Domestic Politics of Military Spending Ch 1-3, 7-9

11/27 Ch.1

11/29 Ch. 2-3

12/4 Ch. 7-9

12/6 Mark Graber, “Counter-stories: Maintaining and Expanding Civil Liberties in Wartime.”*

United States v..Zubaydah  (2022)

Final exam (non-cumulative) posted on Friday, December 8 and due Wednesday, December 13 by 6 PM on the course Canvas page.