Stephen F. Knott: Demagoguery, Restraint, and the American Presidency Part 2 | BRI Scholar Talks

How does a constitutional presidency reflect admirable qualities, and, alternatively, how can a "populist presidency" degrade the office? In a two-part series, BRI Senior Teacher Fellow Tony Williams is joined by author and professor in the National Security Affairs Department at the Naval War College, Stephen Knott, to explore these questions by looking back at the most significant presidents in American history and how they defined their times in office. In Part Two of their discussion, Knott explains how "populist presidency" expanded in the 20th century with idealistic leaders like Woodrow Wilson, while presidents William Howard Taft and Dwight Eisenhower upheld a healthy balance of power and restraint. Knott is the author of "The Lost Soul of the American Presidency: The Decline into Demagoguery and the Prospects for Renewal."

About Stephen F. Knott:

Stephen F. Knott is a professor in the National Security Affairs Department at the Naval War College. He co-chaired the Presidential Oral History Program at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He has taught teachers for many years at the graduate school program at the Ashbrook Center of Ashland University. He has written numerous books including "Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance That Forged America" and "Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth." He is currently at work on a book on the presidency of John F. Kennedy.