Gormley, Experts Tell the Real Story of the Presidents and the Constitution in New Book

After more than 10 years of work from concept to its recent publication, President-Elect Ken Gormley’s latest work provides what he describes as a real story in which the American presidents’ powers come to life in a context of actual events in history—energizing the Constitution of the United States of America. 

The Presidents and the Constitution: A Living History features a chapter on each president contributed by some of the nation’s most renowned experts on the American presidency and the constitution including Gormley, who wrote the chapter on Bill Clinton and served as editor of the book.

“I wanted a book that showed all of the interconnections from one presidency to the next—that was the fun of it,” said Gormley, who used a working manuscript of the book to teach a University seminar on the topic during the last three fall semesters to Duquesne law students and then undergraduates. “It’s been the most fun course I’ve ever taught.”

According to publisher NYU Press, the book examines “presidential history through the lens of constitutional conflicts and challenges” and “offers a fresh perspective on how the Constitution has evolved in the hands of individual presidents.”

One of Gormley’s challenges with putting the book together initially was recruiting the chapter authors before he had a publisher on board. Once a few prominent figures committed to doing chapters, Gormley said it made it easier for others to sign up. Among the chapter contributors are former presidential candidate Gary Hart (James Monroe); American legal historian Paul Finkelman (Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce); and Founding Director of the International Lincoln Center at Louisiana State University William D. Pederson (Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt).

“I was really surprised and heartened by the enthusiasm for the project, and we ended up with what is a who’s who of writers in the field of the presidency, and that makes this book all the better,” said Gormley.

In addition, retired Duquesne Professor Emeritus of History Dr. Joe Rishel wrote the chapter on Millard Fillmore, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Executive Editor David Shribman contributed the chapter about William Henry Harrison.

Upon completion of all 44 presidential chapters, Gormley was then faced with the arduous task of editing for continuity. “I was very involved in conceiving of chapters, in working with authors to bring important themes to light, and I edited the entire thing with the goal of having it read like one book with a smooth, seamless narrative account,” he said. “That was maybe the most challenging and difficult part of it, but I’m really very happy with how it turned out.”

The Presidents and the Constitution has already garnered glowing reviews from prominent commentators, including Associate Editor of The Washington Post Bob Woodward, NPR Correspondent Nina Totenberg, Politico’s John Harris and the Library Journal.

Gormley recently participated in a panel discussion about the book hosted by the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia that focused on how each president has related to the Constitution and how their respective tenures have affected the document. The discussion will be broadcast at 4 p.m. this Sunday, June 19, on C-SPAN2.