Changes

Presidential leadership and its qualities are often assumed or imposed by the culture of the given age. While the Constitution and laws of the United States clearly lay out how the executive branch is suppose to act, there are many cases of interpretation and precedent involved in the powers and actions presidents have taken. Perhaps an example of this are the wars and conflicts the United States has fought over the last 70 years without formally declaring war. The following provides a top ten booklist of presidential leadership.

Historians have debated what the nature of the presidency was intended by the founders of the United States. Alexander Hamilton explained the presidency as a needed "energy" that helped to propel the legislative branch to action. In effect, the presidency was to be the engine of government rather than the government or just another branch. More than checks and balances, these branches were meant to act and influence the other. Since Hamilton's time, the presidency has often varied between more centralized or even weak power. Perhaps what was not envisioned in the early United States is the degree to which partisan politics would sculpt policy.

4. Ragone, N. & Velshi, A. (2011) <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616142375/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1616142375&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=9afe441659974f3989b23b637c08e45e Presidential Leadership: 15 Decisions that Changed the Nation]</i>. Amherst, N.Y, Prometheus Books.