The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It

by Corey Brettschneider

American presidents have often pushed the boundaries established for them by the Constitution; this is the inspirational history of the people who pushed back.


Imagine an American president who imprisoned critics, spread a culture of white supremacy, and tried to upend the law so that he could commit crimes with impunity.


In this propulsive and eminently readable history, constitutional law and political science professor Corey Brettschneider provides a thoroughly researched account of assaults on democracy by not one such president but five. John Adams waged war on the national press of the early republic, overseeing numerous prosecutions of his critics. In the lead-up to the Civil War, James Buchanan colluded with the Supreme Court to deny constitutional personhood to African Americans. A decade later, Andrew Johnson urged violence against his political opponents as he sought to guarantee a white supremacist republic after the Civil War. In the 1910s, Woodrow Wilson modernized, popularized, and nationalized Jim Crow laws. In the 1970s, Richard Nixon committed criminal acts that flowed from his corrupt ideas about presidential power. Through their actions, these presidents illuminated the trip wires that can damage or even destroy our democracy.


Corey Brettschneider shows that these presidents didn’t have the last word; citizen movements brought the United States back from the precipice by appealing to a democratic understanding of the Constitution and pressuring subsequent reform-minded presidents to realize the promise of “We the People.” This is a book about citizens—Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Daniel Ellsberg, and more—who fought back against presidential abuses of power. Their examples give us hope about the possibilities of restoring a fragile democracy.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Presidents, American History, American, Historical

359 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 2, 2024

About the author

Corey Brettschneider is a professor of political science at Brown University, where he teaches constitutional law and politics. He has also been a visiting professor at Fordham Law School, The University of Chicago Law School and Harvard Law School. His writing has appeared in Time, Politico, and the New York Times. His new book is The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corey Brettschneider's book The Presidents and the People could not have come out at a better time and be relevant with the recent Supreme Court rulings. Brettschneider explains how certain presidents violated the rights of citizens and ordinary citizens who stood up to them. The first one is John Adams with the Alien Sedition Act. I knew this story, but I did know that act prohibited criticism of Adams' Administration, but there was a loophole: You could criticize Thomas Jefferson, his vice president since he was not a member of the Federalist party. Brettschneider then explains the role of citizens who argued against this unjust law.

When I thought I could not dislike Woodrow Wilson any more than I did, Brettschneider demonstrates that is it possible for me to loathe him more. Presidents are not above the law and we should not treat them as such. The stories in this book shows it is our civic duty to stand up to politicians who abuse their power.

A must read.

[Susan Bivins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every American should read this. As a history major I was shocked by what I didn't know. I thought Adams was cranky, not that he was a monarchist. It made me admire Grant and Truman, something I hadn't done before. Even the Marshall and King conflict was new to me. The fact that the Supreme Court is usually not on my side was surprising since I came along post Warren Court and thought the supreme were heroes. Sigh.

[Cassidy McSheffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very eye-opening read about about American history and our presidents and advocates for basic human rights! Learned a lot!

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Late Breaking addition to review - July 1,2024: One day after I posted this review, the Supreme Court ruled that Presidents have total immunity for actions committed as part of official duties. This book explains how the powers given to the President can be extremely dangerous (and recognized as such by founders such as Patrick Henry) when an ill-intentioned person takes the office. In a literary sense, the supreme court decision is almost the perfect coda to the last chapter of this book, but after reading these accounts of presidential abuse of power it should just scare the sh-t out of you. Now on to my original review of this very timely book.

The basic premise of The Presidents and the People is that we cannot depend on a self-correcting system of government to overcome periods of presidential abuse of power. Ultimately, engaged citizenry and reformist presidents must come to the rescue, but this should not be viewed as inevitable.

The five presidents who precipitated the crises were John Adams(alien and sedition act), James Buchanan (expansion of slavery), Andrew Johnson (stymying reconstruction), Woodrow Wilson (establishing federal white-supremacism, already well in force in the states), and Richard Nixon (abuse of power against political enemies). In my take, the Buchanan-Johnson-Wilson story is one continuous tale of setbacks and triumphs from the 1850s to the 1960s. For American History enthusiasts, much of the ground will be familiar, but the framing of the stories is definitely original.

Among the most interesting things I learned were:

1. James Madison set an important precedent by allowing antiwar speech during wartime

2. Woodrow Wilson's white supremacist ideology was deeply embedded as evidenced by students' lecture notes in the Princeton library. (It's implied that the author's own research exposed these). During Wilson's campaign in 1912 he gave some indication that he could be a civil rights reformer and received a considerable share of the black vote. This just shows that it is worth digging into past statements and social media posts of our candidates to see what they really think.

3. The citizen grand jury convened for the Watergate break in was a vital tool for unearthing Nixon's crimes, and while this information was supposed to be secret a still untested legal theory was used to transfer this information to the House Impeachment Committee. The grand jury voted overwhelmingly to indict Nixon but was pressured by prosecutor Leon Jaworski not to do so, also setting a Department of Justice precedent. The grand jury definitely felt cheated by Ford's pardon of Nixon. The author gleaned much of this from interviews with surviving grand jury members.

The tone of this book is academic - few would say that it reads like a novel - but accessible to most readers, including those with little prior knowledge of these events. In this election year, it is most highly recommended, and it will be on the ballot for the nonfiction book club that I run.

Thanks to NetGalley and W. W. Norton for providing an egalley for early review.

[Abra Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is PROFOUND. And as a white American who has read extensively about the treatment of African Americans in the U.S., I am still astounded by the horror and extent of the mis-treatment. This book lays out the two steps forward, three leaps backwards that depicted our quest for true equality in the U.S. AFTER the Civil War. The Civil War was truly only the beginning. The premise is that everyday citizens in the United States have the power to effect change. The author uses four primary examples of Presidents who disregarded the rights spelled out in the Constitution and the Supreme Courts that went along with them and then the regular people who diligently worked to see change come about. You can’t rely on the courts to protect our rights. The first President was John Adams who worked to stifle dissent with the Alien and Sedition Acts; Laws passed against speaking negatively about the Administration. Newspaper editors fought back, some were arrested and jailed, but ultimately the freedom of speech was reinstated. The other main topic was the treatment of African Americans after the Civil War. James Buchanan set Civil Rights back dramatically as did Andrew Johnson immediately after Lincoln was killed, and Woodrow Wilson later. William Monroe Trotter, Ida B. Wells, and Sadie Alexander, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, and a host of other everyday citizens continued to fight for equal treatment and the right to vote. And Richard Nixon’s criminal acts while President were covered as a Grand Jury of regular citizens investigated and tried to hold him accountable to the people. The book ends on the positive note that everyday people can make the difference in America. The book is well-written and very readable and contains a wealth of history!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect antidote to hopelessness in the age of Trump and authoritarianism.

[Kyle McClenagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting prospective on American history. Our democracy is only as strong as we allow it to be.


“The presidency has always been a loaded gun.”

[Kelsey Baguinat · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️

[Diana Kamada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and engaging. 80% inspiring, 20% fuck why, was hoping for more concrete insights on what to do now. Even more relevant now than when I started reading! 🥲

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent history of presidential power and the abuse of that power by 5 presidents with a final chapter on the recent abuses by the 45th president.
The author describes the recovery from each episode of presidential efforts to curtail democracy, and the roles of average citizens and the recovery President in restoring the Constitution and the path to equality and justice for all.
I definitely recommend reading this book to anyone interested in America’s history and choppy path to full democracy for all of its citizens.

[Terry Earley]

Listened to this interview with the author:
https://the1a.org/segments/how-much-p...

Disturbing!

[Jim Thomason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, especially considering our current political situation.

I don't know about the rest of you, but my social studies education in school painted a very glowing picture of all of the presidents. Maybe William Henry Harrison wasn't that great, but that's only because he died in a month. And maybe Nixon did some suspicious stuff, but come on you only got to Nixon when you had about 2 weeks of school left so he was glossed over. The rest? Probably fine.

Spoiler: They were not fine.

The truth is that the country is very fragile and a lot is held together by conventions - basically, a president may say, "I can do this now!" and then everybody just kind of...goes along with it? Except for the times that people do NOT go along with it. And that's where this book comes into play.

It focuses on 5 of them - John Adams, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, and Richard Nixon. Honestly, I wasn't aware of how awful these people were.

John Adams (social students: "He was our second president and a Federalist. End of chapter") basically tried to make the presidency into a monarchy. He wanted to make it illegal to criticize the president, though, amusingly, not the vice-president since Thomas Jefferson was his VP from the earlier system of the running up becoming VP and since Adams hated Jefferson criticizing him was fine. The country was new and...maybe that should be allowed? Some people sure thought so! Even members of Congress! Fortunately, normal people banded together and pushed back hard against him and were able to knock back the precedents he was trying to establish.

That's the ongoing theme of the book. If you're trying to figure out how you can resist the current administration, this book has the blueprint in citizen constitution coalitions. Just normal people that get together and push on their version of how the Constitution should be interpreted. It has overall had a very good track record.

Sure, James Buchanan's racist policies helped spur on the Civil War (again, glossed over in my social studies classes, where he was merely trying to keep the peace and we'll ignore him being an outright racist), but the people pushed back. Andrew Johnson was just as much of a racist and deserved his impeachment (though this was always framed to me as him being set up to get impeached on a technicality. Maybe? Kinda? But he still deserved it and the country would've been better off if he'd been kicked out and Reconstruction had proceeded differently).

Wilson? All I learned about Wilson was that he lead the country through World War 1 and was hence a great leader, but he was an absolute white supremacist asshole who did extensive damage in re-segregating the government because he felt it operated more efficiently. Horrible polices from all of these clowns that took decades to roll back, but which nonetheless were rolled back.

And then we have Richard Nixon. You can draw a straight line from a lot of our current issues to Nixon's shenanigans and lack of consequences. We'd arguably in much better shape if the same type of groups of citizens had stepped up and made sure he suffered for what he did, but we didn't. And that's made the build up of the last 4o years that much worse. In that respect, the book does not end on a hopeful note—we're in it deep right now.

But I still find it a hopeful read, because it overall outlines how horrible wannabe dictators were pushed back just by regular people, even when the courts or Congress were pushing intolerable interpretations. It's not just a matter of understanding just how awful this country has been, it's a blueprint for how the country is made better by ordinary people stepping up and refusing to tow the line into dictatorship. Even when things seem hopeless, and I'm sure they must have at some points in these presidencies, especially for Black people, the tide was turned (eventually) and progress lumbered on. We can still do that.

Everybody should go read this book. Excellent content, very informative, and an easy read. Highly recommended.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok. I’m glad I hung in there with this book and checked it out a second time from the library after struggling to get very far with it in the lead-up to the holidays. It’s an excellent book that combines history I never learned in school with present-day concerns about the future of democracy in this country. With the political craziness that has taken over the last 8 years (well, it started before that, but you know what I mean) I find myself needing to pay closer attention to political historians such as Heather Cox Richardson who are able to tie together past and present clearly and succinctly, which Corey Brettschneider does in this book. I found myself looking at all these historical events through the lens of today’s political crises, and while I fear for the future of democracy in this country with the upcoming administration, I won’t abandon hope. As citizens, we still have collective power to effect change, even when it can seem in the moment like 2 steps forward/3 steps backward. Highly recommend, even if you feel bored at the beginning. A very worthwhile read.

[Laura Hoekstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s never too late to learn from history and hold our elected leaders accountable. This book encouraged me to remember that “We The People” means it is never too late to engage in activism to protect democracy. Boycotts, protests, phone campaigns in support of candidates that share our values; what we do makes a difference. Now, more than ever, citizens must rise up.

[Dave Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the current political divide in American politics, Corey Brettschneider's book The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It is both interesting and timely.

The book begins with a scenario where a President prosecuted journalists who investigated him and actively worked to deny his opponent to assume office. A reader may think this is a description of our current environment, but it dates back to John Adams. But there is more; the author describes how James Buchanan worked with allies in the Supreme Court to deny personhood to Black Americans. And there are stories about Andrew Johnson and Woodrow Wilson, who advocates white supremacy.

The book's theme revolves around the tension between executive power and democratic principles, as demonstrated through the actions of five American presidents. These presidents, including Adams, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon, and Donald Trump, serve as case studies.

Brettschneider argues that historical cycles of executive overreach continue due to the lack of accountability measures for presidential misconduct. He suggests that understanding and enforcing the boundaries of presidential power is crucial to prevent future abuses that could destabilize American democracy.

FIVE KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Unchecked Presidential Power Can Threaten Democracy: The book highlights that presidents who view themselves above legal constraints pose a significant threat to democratic principles. Leaders like Nixon and Trump exploited executive powers to bypass legal and constitutional limits, showing how unchecked authority can erode public trust and democratic safeguards.

2. Historical Cycles of Abuse and Public Pushback: From Adams’ enforcement of the Alien and Sedition Acts to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, historical examples demonstrate a recurring pattern: presidents overstep, triggering backlash and renewed calls for accountability. These cycles underscore the enduring need for vigilance in protecting democratic institutions.

3. Public and Institutional Accountability is Essential: The book illustrates that accountability mechanisms—public opinion, Congress, and the judiciary—are vital in checking presidential overreach. The impeachment proceedings against Nixon and public condemnation of Adams' actions serve as reminders that collective action can rein in executive abuses.

4. The Constitution’s Ambiguities Enable Power Misinterpretation: Brettschneider emphasizes that the Constitution’s vague language about executive powers leaves room for dangerous interpretations. For example, Trump’s claim that Article II granted him unrestricted authority reflects how ambiguities can be manipulated, threatening the democratic system.

5. The Need for Legal Reforms to Prevent Future Abuses: Brettschneider argues that past abuses point to the need for clear constitutional or legislative guidelines defining the limits of presidential power. He suggests that stronger laws on presidential accountability could deter future leaders from exploiting the office, preserving democratic governance.

MEMORABLE QUOTES

America’s constitutional history often follows this recurring pattern: a president causes a period of acute democratic crisis, which is then met head-on by aggressive efforts led by democratic constitutional constituencies—not courts, legislatures, or political parties—to thwart this crisis and spread a new popular understanding of the Constitution that enhances the democratic values under attack.

Underneath these episodes of despair and triumph lies a deeper question: Why does American constitutional history experience a continual tug-of-war between crisis and recovery?

When the Constitution was ratified in 1788, the presidency it created was nothing like the weak “president” that had existed under the Articles of Confederation during the failed post–Revolutionary War government. Instead, the framers of the new Constitution designed an office of far more significant power, making the president the commander in chief of the military, the chief executor of the laws, and the head of state.3 The president would lead the executive branch and would serve alone, not on a committee. The office’s power would be vested in a single person, a “unitary executive” as it is sometimes labeled.

The presidency is therefore both a poisonous recipe for tyrannical overreach, lurking in each president’s shadows, and its antidote, found in the power of the office when its occupant responds to a democratic constituency.

Of the twenty-two oldest democracies, twenty have rejected the American model.6 One strength of parliamentary systems is they are less rigid; prime ministers may be replaced at any time by parliament if they lose its confidence—a check against tyranny.7 In contrast, the presidency can collapse into dictatorship, a phenomenon that has happened often in Latin American countries mirroring the American model.

Our current moment is also marked by profound antidemocratic threats. But the examples throughout this book make clear that while our democratic Constitution is vulnerable, committed citizens can save it.

[David Arnoldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more I study history the more I realise how little mankind has changed. There are no new scripts, just different actors.” Richard Paul Evans.

I never bought a book as soon as it was released. But hearing about the author and this book on the John Fugelsang podcast, I knew this book had to be on my short list. I was not disappointed. Despite being mostly "historical", so many similarities of historical threats to democracy have striking similarities to current events. An easy read for sure for any student of history or politics, whatever way you lean. Highly recommended.

[Deanna Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read! So much history that I had missed! Well written and readable. I checked a copy out of the library but I may have to get my own copy, along with a few as gifts.

[Carol Dimitriou · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and important book that everyone should read. It shows how an unscrupulous president can undermine democracy, unless citizens come together to stop them. He shows how five presidents almost succeeded, and our current president is such a threat. A must read!

[James P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book points out some of the difficult times of politics of the United States that are often hidden or overlooked. Good reading 📚.

[Sandy Miley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This extraordinary book reminds citizens who may be in despair regarding recent Supreme Court opinions that "we the people" get to weigh in too. And have the power to overcome the opinions of the powerful Nine. If we only use it. The author relates how over three centuries determined citizens took on presidents to achieve their aims. And each story puts fiction in the shade for exciting, suspenseful accounts. How rare is it that a book on history is at the same time a page-turner. I read histories and biographies all the time and this one is top-notch. Presidents, and people you probably never heard of will come to life. There are half a dozen films embedded in this book. But if they aren't made you will still have the pleasure in your mind's eye, thanks to an extraordinary author. Thanks, Corey Brettschneider. I will be checking out your other books.

[Carol Gaskamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical review of John Adams, Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, and Nixon presidencies through the lens of differing interpretations of the Constitution. Emphasizes the importance of citizens in preserving democracy against those who would create a monarchy or in other ways hold segments of the population back from achieving rights granted by the constitution.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the read by all those who care about the future of democracy.

[Ali Nazifpour · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid book about the dangers faced by American democracy and how it overcame them. For readers who are interested in the US, a good history lesson and a very prescient read for the times we live in currently. For people who are interested in the democracy itself, a major lesson about how even the strongest of democracies can be vulnerable. Recommend strongly.

PS. The book challenged my partisan affection for the Federalist party, but when criticisms are fair, they're fair!

[Evan Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this as a Goodreads Giveaway on Kindle, and I'm glad I did.

Corey Brettschneider has written a deep, knowledgeable history of the United States from an interesting angle-how citizens confront and convince the President of the United States, the ultimate expression of democracy, and how the Constitution is brought to life by citizenry, not just legality. Detailing the push/pull of democracy, how power and authority flows to and from President to populace and back again.

Brettschneider focuses his ideas of democracy on three pillars: the right to dissent, equal citizenship, and the rule of law, and demonstrates how each of these have had to be fought for through American history, as they each came under threat by a President, but was ultimately advocated for by an active, engaged citizenry.

There's a rich cast of characters here, and the five Presidents that Brettschneider chooses to focus on are in the lead role as antagonists: John Adams, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, and Richard Nixon, with Donald Trump looming in the background.
It's an unusual lineup, because Adams is usually cast as a protagonist, while Wilson is middling depending on your viewpoint, and Buchanan, Johnson and Nixon are all consistently ranked amongst the worst of the lot. But I think it shows that this effect, of President against citizen, is not a partisan one-in fact, it's a pattern than has been repeated across party and across America's history. Brettschneider calls these particular Presidents "crisis Presidents," and their successors as well as the citizens who hold them to account democratic restoration.

In addition to the nature of democracy, Brettschneider also explores the nature of the power of the Presidency, and how the ideology, character and decisions of just one man can have major, far-reaching effects on the whole of the government, and the country.

We start with Adams, and the Alien and Sedition Acts, a Federalist set of legislation designed to specifically mute any criticisms of the President and the President alone, while the Vice President-Thomas Jefferson-and his Democratic-Republicans were not so immune. Adams probably could have gotten away with the Acts if he hadn't been so blatant in showing that they were a political weapon to be used against his enemies, real or perceived. Adams was a thin-skinned egotist, as well as a brilliant legal mind, who was more fond of the pomp of the office than his contemporary Founders. It was only through the efforts of a number of brave newspapermen and editors that defied the Alien and Sedition Acts, as well as the restorative efforts of Jefferson and Madison, that the right to dissent-free speech and a free press-were upheld.

The next three Presidents-Buchanan, Johnson, Wilson-all struggled with the equal citizenship part of the triangle of rights Brettschneider details. Buchanan, of course, directly influenced the Civil War, while Johnson derailed Reconstruction following it; and Wilson helped popularize and disseminate the Lost Cause theory of the Civil War, institutionalizing racism at a federal and cultural level. This segment shows the zig-zag of the nature of democratic revival-Buchanan was succeeded and Johnson preceded, by Abraham Lincoln, who, almost more than any other President, worked to make equal citizenship a reality. However, Brettschneider glosses over Lincoln's other attributes to a certain extent-his suspension of habeas corpus, for example. This isn't given the same weight of an action as it would be if it had been one of the other focal five who had done such a deed.

Another character in this era, the thread of Buchanan, Lincoln and Johnson, is Frederick Douglass, the great black abolitionist and speaker. Douglass had become the spokesman for many black Americans, and fought hard for abolition across multiple Presidents. But Douglass had to fight not only enemies, but his own allies, as his split with William Lloyd Garrison demonstrated. While Garrison sought a new system of government, with a Constitution that utterly repudiated slavery, Douglass instead argued for inclusion of blacks into the existing system, explaining that the Constitution, in his view, already provided evidence of liberty in that slavery is never mentioned in the document itself at the time.
In a certain way, Douglass is an advocate for the legal method of textualism-that the words of the document, and not the intent of the writers of the document, is what matters. Textualism, and its' cousin originalism, are today considered *conservative* legal methods, but Douglass disregarded originalism, and its focus on the *intent* of the Founders, to focus on the words of the Constitution itself, as well as the words of the Declaration of Independence, to build his argument for equal citizenship.

It is clear that we would be a fundamentally different country if Abraham Lincoln had lived. Lincoln's own journey, from reluctance to advocate for clear abolition of slavery and equality, is a powerful one, better explored in other areas, but still evident here.

Wilson's mainstreaming of white supremacist thought was accompanied by a deep intellectual belief in minimization of friction, which of course was caused by the people who were advocating for equality, and not the oppressors themselves. It would be the work of generations, and it would take until World War II, for the push for equal citizenship to be revived by Truman, Eisenhower (legalistically and moderately), Kennedy, and ultimately another Southerner named Johnson who arrived in the Oval Office because his predecessor was assassinated-Lyndon, LBJ.

Finally, we come to Nixon, and how he used the power of the Presidency to go after his opponents. It's all well-known: the enemies list, the plumbers and the Watergate break-in. Then there's Daniel Ellsberg, the source of the Pentagon Papers, who Nixon directly attempted to embarass by ordering the break-in of his psychiatrist's office.
Nixon viewed himself as the office, therefore as the state-"when the President does it, that means it's not illegal"-especially during wartime (a war which Nixon had extended for his own political purposes), and viewed not only Ellsberg, but any of the many people who opposed him, as not only opposing his policies, but seemingly he himself personally.

Nixon was certainly confronted by the people-in the form of Ellsberg, journalists like Woodward and Bernstein, and the citizens serving as Grand Jury One, many of whom are unknown to this day-but unlike some of his predecessors, the constituency for reform that emerged post-crisis that Brettschneider details never truly emerged. Part of this is due to the fact that Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon, and the nation was denied the trial that would have undoubtedly incarcerated him, and the reckoning that we, as a people, would have had to have come to terms with at that point.

Another reason, and this is based on my own beliefs, is that the constituency for democratic reform that could have emerged after Nixon didn't because there was a sense that "the system worked." Nixon had been forced out of office, yes because of the work of the citizenry, but also because of the work of the courts and Congress, and indeed, because of his own Executive Branch. There was a sense that the guardrails held, and because of it, major Constitutional reform wasn't necessary, only legislative and legal reforms were. And indeed, a number of those post-Watergate reforms were useful, but the entire system, rather than being reformed as necessary, or the examination of HOW Nixon came into power and was removed, was never undertaken. The country was, perhaps, too eager to move on.

And finally, looming over all of this, is Donald Trump, and the tendencies he has....not so much unleashed, but revived.

Brettschneider doesn't have any firm advice here, no actions to be taken, aside from citizen activism and the need for an engaged and educated populace to ensure a healthy and active democracy. But it's almost not needed, as this engaging historical narrative is enough of that on it's own, a reminder of the power of the people against that of the Presidency, even now.

[David Agay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. Brettschneider delivers his highly relevant lesson on citizen soldiers as interpreters and defenders of the constitution by canvassing almost 250 years of history, government, and constitutional law. Embodying the subject matter, his clear and accessible writing makes this a fun (yes, fun) read. Because the book never loses its focus, Brettschneider can cover a lot of ground with breadth and depth that seems not to omit a lot of details.

[Jeremy B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Presidents and the People is essential reading for everyone worried about what will happen when self-absorbed politicians threaten to trash the core tenets of American democracy. Corey Brettschneider demonstrates that the current political threats to the institutions of American democracy are not a unique feature of today's politics. Rather, they fit into a long-standing pattern across American history. In this carefully constructed study, he traces how John Adams, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, and Richard Nixon all had Trumpian impulses, willing to use presidential power to threaten foundational elements of democratic society. The marvelous response was that after the moment of crisis, there was a democratic revival, generally engineered by American citizens and not so much the political elites in society. The Presidents and the People delivers unexpected hope for a dark time. It should be required reading for journalists, academics, concerned citizens, and anyone interested in prospects for the future of American democracy.

[James Mehrling]

Professosr Corey Brettschneider’s book, "The Presidents and the People," is a fascinating account of the struggles to maintain our constitutional republic. If the history books I had read in school had delved into the conflict and drama covered in his accounts, it is likely I would have studied history and the law in greater detail. Brettschneider recounts a lot of omissions from the what many of us have learned of America’s past. It is a most timely history book, richly documented, ranging from bitter controversy over the Alien and Sedition Acts under John Adams to the author’s personal research, including interviews with Daniel Ellsberg and surviving grand jurors who had sought a Nixon impeachment. "The Presidents and the People" raises vital and timely concerns about freedoms under the Constitution and the limits of presidential power. It presents valuable background, well beyond what is to be found today, notably in the plethora of books about how bad Trump was and is. He is far from the first to test the limits of executive power.

[Robert Gottlieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It" should be required reading in every school and home at this critical time when this nation's democracy is under such serous attack that millions of people fear for its continued existence. Prof. Brettschneider clearly and plainly writes a well researched book that reminds us that America's past is littered with so-called leaders who threatened our democracy but were defeated by courageous citizens who stood up for the American ideal. Hope for a brighter tomorrow is found in the pages of this book that destroys the myth that America's past was without flaws and dishonor but yet managed, somehow, to survive.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the one hand, this is an interesting analysis of five times when Presidents (Adams, Buchannan, Johnson, Wilson and Nixon) tried to subvert or limit the freedom of "we the people" by their understandings of the Constitution, and now these efforts are reflected in our current Trumpian crisis. However, the writing is somewhat pedantic, almost sounding like a lecture class he teaches, and I am not sure that his unifying theme of "democratic constitutional constituencies"reallyworks.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first heard about this book when the author appeared on Pacifica Radio's "Letters and Politics" program and discussed the eerie similarity between a John Adams scheme to dispute the electoral votes of certain states (and throw the Presidential election into the House of Representatives) and would-be dictator Trump's nearly identical idea in 2020.

This one anecdote can tell you how relevant the book is to the current day. The book is full of provocative stories like that one.

For instance, I have a Ph.D. in Political Science and I had repeatedly heard the names of civil rights legal pioneers Charles Houston and Thurgood Marshall, but I had never heard of Sadie Alexander and her role in convincing President Truman to desegregate the U.S. military--a crucial step toward making desegregation normal for society writ large.

For another, I lived through Watergate, but the crucial role of the grand jury in DC (made up of ordinary working people, many of them Black, as DC is) in bringing Nixon's crimes to light was news to me.

The book also makes me think even less of President Wilson than I already did, and surprisingly, I am viewing Truman and (earlier) Grant in a much more positive light now.

So, the book would be worth reading just for the anecdotes. Brettschneider has a larger thesis in mind, however. As he summarizes it:

Our current moment is also marked by profound antidemocratic threats. But the examples throughout this book make clear that while our democratic Constitution is vulnerable, committed citizens can save it. We should be heartened by the fact that in the face of antidemocratic presidents, citizens resisted and often succeeded in restoring democratic meaning to the the Constitution. In the first four instances of presidents who threatened democracy, Adams, Buchanan, [Andrew] Johnson, and Wilson, citizens' democratic understanding of the Constitution prevailed, at least for a time. And even though the fifth, Nixon, escaped legal accountability and left the presidency dangerously immune from prosecution, citizens stopped him from serving, which was a partial victory.

Let me pull the most important point out and reiterate it: we have stopped antidemocratic Presidents and even Supreme Courts before. We can do it again. Nothing is guaranteed, but the fight is up to us.

I do have a bone to pick with the argument, as encouraging and valuable as I find it to be. I think the author plays fast and loose with the concept of "democracy" and the meaning of the U.S Constitution. Sometimes, he seems to use "democracy" to mean just any manifestation of the people's power against a possibly tyrannical leader. He also cheers on the progressive reading of the Constitution as tending toward a larger and larger concept of the right to dissent, of legal personhood, of equal protection and equal citizenship, and of presidential accountability.

Brettschneider is honest enough to acknowledge, however, that January 6, 2021 marked an unprecedented threat. "There is yet another dimension" to that attempted coup "that makes recovery a profound challenge: people who claim to be 'citizen readers' of the Constitution, but who serve an anti-democratic ideology." (p. 303) What makes their "citizen reader" interpretation less valid than his and mine? In other words, white supremacists, anti-immigrant xenophobes, and advocates of domestic repression can all find succor in the words of the Constitution and in some of the ways that document has been interpreted over time. What Brettschneider does very well is to show that so can we.

The survival of democracy in the U.S., and its continued expansion to more and more of us, will depend on citizen organizing. If this book shows that citizens (including journalists, lawyers, organizers, writers, donors, and just plain folk) have the power to change history, it has done its job.