The Imperial Presidency was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1973, as the Watergate crisis was unfolding. The timing gave the book extraordinary political resonance — Schlesinger’s historical analysis seemed to explain the contemporary crisis. His argument: the presidency had accumulated powers far beyond anything the Constitution intended, particularly in foreign policy and war-making, and this accumulation represented a fundamental threat to democratic government.
Schlesinger traces the expansion of presidential power from its modest constitutional origins through Lincoln’s wartime precedents, the twentieth-century growth of executive authority under Wilson and FDR, the institutionalization of the “national security state” after 1947, and the culmination in Nixon’s assertion of essentially monarchical prerogatives. The argument is nuanced — Schlesinger does not oppose presidential leadership (he had celebrated it in Kennedy) but insists that leadership must operate within constitutional constraints.
The book’s central tension is that Schlesinger himself had celebrated strong executive power when it served liberal purposes (Kennedy, Johnson on civil rights) and only turned critical when it served conservative or authoritarian purposes (Nixon). Critics noted this inconsistency. Schlesinger addressed it partly in later editions, arguing that the crucial distinction is between presidential power exercised with congressional consent and power exercised against it — but the tension between his Kennedy-era enthusiasm and his Watergate-era alarm remains one of the book’s most interesting features.
Collecting The Imperial Presidency
First edition (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1973): Cloth with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $40–$100
- Very good: $15–$40
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation.
Executive Overreach
The Imperial Presidency (1973) is Schlesinger’s analysis of the growth of presidential power from the founding era to the Nixon administration. Written during the Watergate crisis, the book traces how presidents from Jefferson through Nixon progressively expanded executive authority, particularly in foreign affairs and war-making, beyond what the Constitution intended. Schlesinger argued that the presidency had become “imperial” — a threat to the constitutional balance of powers. The book remains the definitive study of its subject and is regularly updated and reissued.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has the imperial presidency gotten worse? Schlesinger updated the book several times, and most constitutional scholars agree that presidential power has continued to expand since Watergate. The concept Schlesinger identified has become a permanent feature of American political debate.