ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues that in rebelling against the British, the framers rejected the British model of executive power, saw executive tyranny as the chief danger to be avoided, and thus invented a circumscribed presidency under a constitutional republic, with the rule of law and a system of separation of powers and checks and balances. The decline of George W. Bush's imperial status gives us the opportunity to re-examine the status of presidential power in an age of terrorism. The book explores ways of dealing with the dilemma of presidential power in a constitutional republic. It takes us back to the invention of the presidency to more clearly discern the goals and sentiments of the framers as they dealt with executive power in the new government. The book traces the rise of presidential power over time.
