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Preface

In 2008, Americans elected the first sitting senator to the White House in nearly half a century. It was, in fact, the only presidential contest in the nation's history to field two sitting senators. Amid all the rightful attention to the election of America's first African American president, these other firsts were unfortunately reduced to trivia—intellectual memorabilia to impress friends when reminiscing about this historic event. Such oversights, however understandable, have proven to have a narrowing effect on our understanding of the American presidency and American political development. Americans should think carefully about the effect prior elective office has had on the presidency—and on each of its occupants. By electing Barack Obama the 44^th President of the United States, the American people ended nearly thirty years of presidential rule by governors. What this break in electoral practice portends may best be understood when considering a parallel event over 130 years ago.

The oddity of the election of Ohio's Rutherford B. Hayes over New York's Samuel J. Tilden surpasses the brokered political resolution that ended Reconstruction. Beyond Hayes's controversial victory is the story of a resurgent presidential office and the rise of modern presidential power. As Hayes and Tilden were the first two governors to face each other in a presidential election, the 1876 race marked a pivotal moment in the nation's selection of a chief executive. But more important, the moment led to a previously unimagined line of governor-presidents that would shape much of what Americans would come to understand as the basics of presidential authority. This was the era of Grover Cleveland, William S. McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, governors all, who would go on to become the protomodern leaders most identified with the emerging presidential republic. How Governors Built the Modern American Presidency is the first book to examine the role the American governorship has played in reconceiving, and in many respects inventing, the modern presidency.

Today, as Americans grapple with the extent of presidential prerogative power—whether it is called unitary, imperial, or simply modern—we would be well served to see how today's “Prince,” Machiavellian in an ability to garner personal power in the name of republicanism, first began to emerge. As governors, and later as presidents in their own right, the executives discussed in this book were part of a broader practical and theoretical construction of an executive-centered polity. In short, modern presidential power, however elusive to define, was ultimately crafted from the states up. This book is about the often forgotten link between our national and state executives, and how both presidents and governors have laid claim to extraconstitutional authority for themselves and their successors.

Outline of the Book

In the Introduction, I explore the ways prior elective executive office has shaped the presidency. Beginning with the election of 1876, I introduce the governorships of candidates Hayes and Tilden as early harbingers of the type of outsider politics that governors would come to define as presidential candidates. The key distinctions between presidents with executive backgrounds and those without are also drawn here. Chapter 1 takes up the Hayes-Tilden race's implications for the ensuing growth of presidential power. Key governorships of the pre-Progressive period are examined as well, including those of Bob La Follette, Grover Cleveland, and Hiram Johnson.

Chapter 2 explores the governorship of Theodore Roosevelt. TR's Albany tenure is presented as a window into his presidency and the emergence of innovations in executive practice in the United States. The theoretical as well as practical approaches Roosevelt employed are discussed as part of the broader trajectory of executive power emanating from statehouses in America at the time.

Chapter 3 analyzes the governorship and executive philosophy of Woodrow Wilson. Wilson's political writings and theories are explored and linked to his only prepresidential political experience as governor of New Jersey. Wilson's deconstruction and reinterpretation of the founding is presented along with his modern contributions to party relations, his bold moves in the legislative arena, and, finally, his innovative turn in press relations.

Chapter 4 explores the governorship of FDR in New York. Roosevelt's strategic political mind is analyzed and his seemingly antiphilosophical bent uncovered and scrutinized. Here, in the person of FDR as Albany leader, a powerful but by no means unchallenged governor, we can discern the outlines of the fireside chats, later efforts at establishing party unity under the executive, and the contours of the New Deal. Importantly, Roosevelt's modern executive acumen—the one that most comes to define the emergence of the modern presidency—can be seen drawing from the wellsprings of his predecessors in New York State, including Al Smith, Grover Cleveland, and Samuel Tilden.

In Chapter 5, I weigh the implications of executive power's centrality to American politics at the turn of the last century. By largely missing the governorship's role in the process of erecting the modern presidency, we have made an unintended secondary omission. This is the inability to see American executive power's growth as part of the narrative of the Progressive Era—an era in which governors challenged old conventions, opting for new tactics directed toward garnering popular support and progressive policy outcomes.

The most basic contribution of this book is to fold the institution of governor into any analysis of the modern presidency, and to revise the tendency in the discourse of presidential studies to minimize the role of prior elective office. It is time to bring the executive, writ large, into presidential studies.

This book is the product of many people and countless conversations that have shaped my thinking about politics over the years. In some ways, it grew out of a conversation over twenty years ago, when, as a fairly typical New Yorker, I was bemused and unimpressed on a visit to my girlfriend's home in Little Rock, Arkansas. After inquiring about the lack of a visible skyline from the approach to the quaint airport, I began to hear tall tales about the gifts of their young governor. Coming from the Empire State, I thought I knew what a real governor was all about. He was eloquent, ethnic, and nationally known. He was, in short, Mario Cuomo. I've since come to appreciate how easy it is to underestimate small beginnings in politics, and, more importantly, how easy it is to overlook the role governors play in American life. The following year, I spent a summer in Princeton, New Jersey, at the university's summer public policy program for students of color. There I met Michael Hanchard, who first sparked my interest in pursuing a career in political science. I have been in pursuit of the implications of executive power and the prospects of making a contribution in academia ever since.

Those good hosts in Arkansas, Manuel and Gwendolyn Twillie, are now my in-laws and have been indispensable in providing me time, lodging, and overall encouragement over the years. All sons-in-law should be so blessed.

Along the way, I have been introduced to marvelous researchers and thinkers in the field of American politics, not the least of which was the legendary Wilson Carey McWilliams, whose insights need no recounting here. Suffice it to say, I was privileged to be among his last students at Rutgers University. It was Carey who introduced me to my friend and mentor Daniel J. Tichenor, whose guidance and suggestions have been indispensable to the completion of this book and overwhelmingly responsible for whatever good qualities lie herein. Likewise, Dennis Bathory's generosity and keen sense of American political thought has been invaluable. It has been difficult to write about Tocqueville, even as sparingly as I have, knowing Dennis's insights are looming, and yet the joy is in hoping my views meet the muster of his probity. I have also been richly rewarded by the work and depth of analysis provided by Jane Junn, whose perspectives on the democratic implications of How Governors Built the Modern American Presidency have been a lodestar for me throughout. Innumerable others at Rutgers have been instrumental in challenging me to grow as a scholar in the very best sense. These include, but are in no way limited to, Beth Leech, Milton Heumann, Richard Lau, Gordon Schochet, Lisa Miller, and Ruth Mandel. I wish to single out Benjamin Peters for his particular encouragement and friendship. I am most appreciative of the time taken by these and other colleagues and friends, in reading this book.

My research was generously supported by a fellowship at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. I wish to thank the Miller Center and Sidney M. Milkis, in particular, for serving as my mentor as a Miller Fellow. His thoughtfulness, support, and encouragement have been an invaluable part of this journey. Sid is a one-of-a-kind scholar and his acute insights have been powerful reminders of just how challenging and worthwhile research into the presidency can be.

In the course of conducting this research, I have been well served by the staff at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library at Hyde Park, New York, and the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library at Princeton University. Wallace Dailey, the Curator at the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at the Harvard College Library, was particularly helpful to me in obtaining documents related to Roosevelt's governorship. I am also indebted to the Library of Congress and its Manuscript Division housing the Theodore Roosevelt Papers, along with Penn State University and Emory University, for their assistance in helping me obtain reels from the Theodore Roosevelt Collection. To be certain, the librarians and staff of the Fairchild-Martindale Library at my home institution, Lehigh University, were exceedingly helpful to me along the way, as was my research assistant Colleen Casey. This kind of work cannot be done without such supportive individuals and institutions, and I am grateful to them.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank the students whom I have taught history over the years. They have been remarkable reminders to me of the higher purpose underlying education—that in the unfettered exchange of ideas a stronger citizen body is forged. They have been absolutely wonderful, even as they awaited papers that were not always returned the very next day.

It goes without saying, but not without appreciation, that I am most grateful to my wife, Carmen, who, for more than twenty years now, has simply been my very best friend.