New Books In Law

In this latest book, Stephen F. Knott continues his extensive research of the American presidency, from the Founders’ concept of the office to the current office holder. In The Lost Soul of the American Presidency: The Decline into Demagoguery and the Prospects for Renewal (University of Kansas Press, 2019), Knott guides the reader through more than 200 years of presidents and the changes that these individuals have brought to the office itself. Knott—a scholar of the founding period, and, in particular, of Alexander Hamilton and the role that he played in establishing the Executive branch in the constitutional system—explores the foundational ideas for the presidency and the ways in which Hamilton and George Washington, as the first inhabitant in that office, tried to establish the office as one that was imbued with dignity while still remaining accessible to the people. The Lost Soul of The American Presidency traces, essentially, what happened next, after Washington left office, and how the pressures and t