Center for Distance and Independent Study
Political Science 4150: The American Presidency

This course is an introduction to the central figure in the American political drama—the American president. This is not to imply that the president as an individual is the most important political figure, or that the presidency as an office is the highest office, but simply that the chief executive tends to sit at the center of national political action. This course explores the nature of presidential leadership through an examination of the leadership strategies of past presidents and the current incumbent. The goals are to deepen students' understandings of how the presidency works and to sharpen students' abilities to assess the qualifications of candidates and the job performance of presidents.

The presidency is unquestionably the most visible institution in the American republic, but it is often poorly understood. In this course students examine the key questions that surround this office. What is the constitutional design of the presidency, and why did the framers structure it this way? How does the presidency relate to the other branches of government—and how should it? What constraints do history and context place on a president's ability to act? Does the individual make the office, or vice versa? Does character matter? And finally, how should American citizens evaluate their presidents? What should be our criteria for success or failure? In this course students will embark on an exploration of the place of executive leadership in republican government.

The course is organized into the following three parts and associated lecture topics:

1. Development of the Presidency
   How and why did presidential power grow? What does presidential history teach the American people to expect of presidents? How does historical precedent affect current presidential performance?
   
   
   • Introduction: Functions, Values, and Competing Views of the Presidency
   • The Presidency Defined and Launched: Constitutional Foundations and George Washington
   • The Presidency Democratized: Jefferson, Jackson, and Van Buren
   • Presidential Morality and Power: Polk and Lincoln
   • The Presidency Suppressed and Reinvigorated: Johnson and McKinley
   • The Presidency Modernized: Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt
   • Why Judgments Change: Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy
   • The Impact of Vietnam and Watergate: Johnson and Nixon, Ford and Carter
   • Preliminary Appraisals: From Reagan to Bush II
2. The Presidency in Action
   What are the responsibilities of the institution, and what resources are available to meet them? What are the "state of the art" strategies for deploying resources to achieve a president's political and policy objectives? How can the quality of a president's performance in office be reasonably measured?
   
   
   • The Domestic Policy Arena—Confronting Congress
   • The Budget and Economic Policy
   • Foreign Policy
   • The News Media
3. Evaluating Presidents and Presidential Candidates
   What are the grounds for choice among candidates for president? How important should character be in appraising the qualifications of presidential candidates compared with their stands on issues and their records of political experience and competence? How well does the system for presidential selection work?
   
   
   • Evaluating Presidents—How Do We Rate Their Performance?
   • The Campaign for Office
   • Candidate Qualifications—Evaluating Presidential Candidates
   • Avoiding Troubled Candidates: Is This Possible?

Catalog Description: This course follows the evolution of the U.S. Presidency with particular emphasis on the constitutional and political roles played by chief executives in shaping public policy.

Time Limit for Course Completion: 9 months. All assessments must be submitted and graded within this time.

Course Keycode: 2301

Required Textbooks

• Edwards III, George C. and Wayne, Stephen J. Presidential Leadership. (7th Edition). Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth, 2006.
• Nelson, Michael, ed. The Presidency and the Political System. (8th Edition). Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2006.

Note: There are several other required online readings throughout the course which you will find within the lessons with durable links provided by the University of Missouri library.

External Websites

Throughout this course, you will find links to useful websites. These links will include guided instruction on how each link can be used—whether as a supplemental resource, a place to go for practice, or for reference on course assignments.

Broken or incorrect links. We check for broken links regularly, but let our support staff know if you find one and we will get it fixed right away.

It is difficult to give tips for studying because everyone studies in different ways. I can tell you how I used to (and still do!) study for a course like this. Political Science 4150: The American Presidency is a survey course, meaning that we cover a great deal of information about many topics. That means you have a great deal of material to assimilate. It means that you have to study with diligence or you won't retain important information.

One important thing to remember is to keep up with current events. This is helpful because in Political Science 4150 we are not studying some theoretical concept of physics, we are studying the interaction between the media and American political processes. There is always something going on in Washington, DC, that relates to what you are learning in the lessons. I suggest that you spend some time every day reading about current events and keeping up with current events on television and the Internet. The best coverage of Washington politics comes from the Washington Post and the New York Times. Both require registration, but both are also free. Keeping up with current events makes the course material more "real" for you—I guarantee it! With that suggestion out of the way, now I'll tell you how I used to study for courses like this.

I always tried to take notes as carefully as possible, and then I would go home and type up the notes. I did this because (a) my handwriting is terrible and (b) because typing it up made me think through it all again. Reinforcement is critical. The textbook covers an incredible amount of material and simply reading through it once isn't going to be much help to anyone (except those with photographic memories, of course). I used to read the assignment once, then I re-read it and outlined the assignment as I went. As you read, make sure you pay attention to the section headings and terms in bold that the authors provide. They are very good clues about what's important.

Of course, you are probably wondering how to study for the progress evaluations and exams. To help you prepare for the tests, each lesson contains a list of key terms and concepts from the lecture material and from the assigned reading material. There are many articles assigned for this course by many different authors. In assessments, you will be asked questions that refer to the different authors, so pay attention to their names when doing the assigned reading.

Each lesson also contains a list of study questions to think about after you complete the lesson. If you can't answer those questions, you aren't ready to take the progress evaluation. When you can answer the study questions and define the important terms and concepts, you are ready for the progress evaluation. The progress evaluation is a very important tool for you to see if you've learned the material you need to know to be successful in this course. This is another major advantage of taking this course online. The students in my classroom don't get the opportunity to take these (and have me grade them) after each lesson is complete! These are there to help you, and you should take advantage of them.

Additional Study Hints

The professor even thinks about presidents while he's on vacation at Disney World!

William T. Horner, PhD, graduated from Northwestern University in 1990, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. He received a Master's Degree in Political Science from Arizona State University in 1994. He received his Doctorate in Political Science from the Department of Government at the University of Texas in 1999. His doctoral research was a study of the media strategies of Lyndon Johnson and George Herbert Walker Bush, utilizing the resources of both men's presidential libraries in Austin and College Station, Texas. After teaching for one year at Lake Superior State University, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, where it is quite wintry nine months out of the year, he began teaching at the University of Missouri in 2001. Courses taught by Dr. Horner include American Government, State and Local Government, Public Policy, Interest Groups, Politics and the Media, and the American Presidency. Dr. Horner's research interests lie in exploring the relationship between presidents and the news media, the phenomena of split-ticket voting and divided government, as well as the intricacies of state politics. In 2005 he authored Showdown in the Show-Me State, about the 14-year policy battle in the Missouri State Legislature over a law legalizing the carrying of concealed weapons. His latest book is Ohio's Kingmaker: Mark Hanna, Man and Myth (Ohio University Press, 2010). He is married to Dr. Heather Carver, who teaches Playwriting and Performance Studies at the University of Missouri in the Department of Theatre. He has two children, Tricia and Ellie, the smartest, cutest girls in the world. Among other accomplishments, Dr. Horner has won MU's Purple Chalk Award for teaching excellence two years in a row (2008 and 2009), and the 2010 University of Missouri's Chancellor's Excellence Award for Lifetime Achievement in Advising (for advising Pi Sigma Alpha) given by the University of Missouri's Department of Student Life.

Students with Disabilities

If you anticipate barriers related to the format or requirements of this course, please let the student services staff at Mizzou Online know as soon as possible.

If disability related accommodations are necessary (for example, a note taker, extended time on exams, captioning), please register with the Office of Disability Services, S5 Memorial Union, 573-882-4696. For other resources for students with disabilities, visit the Disability Resources site from the MU Chancellor.

To receive testing accommodations for this course, you must provide a memo of accommodation, issued from the MU Office of Disability Services, to Mizzou Online Student Services prior to requesting exams.