Learning Objectives

  1. Consider the American president as one individual acting with and against many institutions and other political actors.
  2. Describe the powers of presidency as defined in the Constitution and the constitutional limitations placed on those powers.
  3. Discuss institutional and informal sources of and influences on presidential power.
  4. Understand how presidents have tested the limits of executive power during wartime and other crises.
  5. Evaluate the tools that presidents use to further expand their power.