Changes

One great issue facing the United States has been race, particularly in regards to African Americans. Ever since the founding of the country, presidents have often attempted to balance different interests while also coming to terms with racial prejudice and shifting public attitudes. While some presidents took very bold decisions, including pushing the 13th Amendment in the Constitution for ratification, others created a more hostile environment for African Americans in times of great social and political change.

9. Meenekshi Bose (ed.) (2014) <i>U.S. Presidential Leadership at the UN, 1945 to Present</i>. White House Studies. Hauppauge, New York, Nova Science Publisher’s, Inc.

Wars have been stages for the president to lead the country. In the Civil War, Lincoln had to convince the public that the Civil War was in the nation's interest even as the effort went badly and he only just managed to do that with some timely battlefield victories. In recent wars, including Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, victory has been harder to define and the public's expectation has shifted where the wars were harder to argue as being part of the nation's interest. Conflicts have largely had negative effects on presidential powers in the last few decades and more risk than benefit, damaging public opinion and limiting the larger domestic and international agendas presidents have attempted to press.