Feeble Times

How much can a president do to shepherd the economy? The question has bedevilled the inhabitants of the White House since the office came into being, and it has material relevance for elections, democracy, social policy, and international relations. Mark Zachary Taylor joins the show to explain his findings on this topic, and to discuss his latest book Presidential Leadership in Feeble Times. Essential Reading: Mark Zachary Taylor, Presidential Leadership in Feeble Times: Explaining Executive Power in the Gilded Age (2023). Recommended Reading: Edward O. Frantz (ed.), A Companion to the Reconstruction Presidents, 1865 - 1881 (2014). Mark Wahlgren Summers, Party Games: Getting, Keeping, and Using Power in Gilded Age Politics (2005). Jane McAlevey, No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age (2020).