Audiobook
$0.99
with membership

Hardcover
$14.26 - $21.01

Paperback
$18.99

$21.01 with 35 percent savings

List Price: $32.50

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Thursday, October 9 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or Prime members get FREE delivery Tuesday, October 7. Order within 11 hrs 49 mins.

In Stock

$$21.01 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

FREE 30-day refund/replacement

Payment

Secure transaction

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

$14.26

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

Good book; pages appear clean and unmarked. Good book; pages appear clean and unmarked. See less

FREE delivery Friday, October 10 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 11 hrs 49 mins

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$21.01 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Sold by Ehood Books and Fulfilled by Amazon.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (42) from $14.26 FREE Shipping on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Corey Brettschneider

Follow

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

by Corey Brettschneider (Author)

109 ratings

Editors' pick Best History

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$21.01","priceAmount":21.01,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"21","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"01","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"5EOi%2FXBYGQTTP5pU8zw1JRieh4HzAco3l4mtKmpqmgk86Nq5JTjZZSm1qpssC35kOny92MNWiUkN5QO4b9a1vG%2BHUoVAnKlIL6Da8kTGEQB9wPQ4I5Fk30hc7pcF3q5OWF0aZsGIRkvMNIxLGU%2BgeA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$14.26","priceAmount":14.26,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"14","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"26","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"5EOi%2FXBYGQTTP5pU8zw1JRieh4HzAco3nyc8QI0QSRP3Clt2qlblFUaWa6LwIiAHOUGuUgZ24UsFs5uVAi6upNqYhYYmIitLKuPvS1rYJ5BYrXA2MnhW8mnd70mbaGLtth6owBrswMHl2ctqcWudrTsFUA%2FTEqhTJgGnk6RqzwJ5JjN9m24zKjA1Ri0OHDCl","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Winner of the American Bar Association's 2025 Silver Gavel Award

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.

From the Publisher

	The Presidents and the People	The Oath and the Office

Customer Reviews	109	88
Price	$21.01	$14.40
What Readers Are Saying	NEW, An Amazon Editors' Pick for Best History, July 2024: "Rarely can a book be called indispensable, but here the term applies." —Jan-Werner Müller, Professor of Social Sciences and Politics, Princeton University, and author of What is Populism?	"Essential reading for anyone who seeks to become president—or to hold in check those who do." —David Cole, national legal director, ACLU, and author of Engines of Liberty

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Timely and provocative… Brettschneider’s claims seem less like history than prognostication."
― Julia M. Klein, Boston Globe

"Informative and stimulating…. This carefully researched book explores in detail how presidents in different eras abused their power."
― Roger Bishop, BookPage

"Rarely can a book be called indispensable, but here the term applies. At a time when aspiring autocrats appear to be winning across the globe, it is essential to remind citizens why they should not lose hope. With deft sketches from US history, one of our finest constitutional theorists demonstrates how so-called ordinary people, rather than having to rely on judges or professional politicians to save the system, can themselves play a crucial role in the process of recovering democracy."
― Jan-Werner Müller, Professor of Social Sciences and Politics, Princeton University, and author of What is Populism?

"An inspired history dramatically rendered: the crises five past presidents inflicted on the nation and the moral sense, political skill, and persistence the people mustered to restore constitutional order. Richard Nixon’s abuse of power, however, eluded recovery―why? The Presidents and the People supplies a guide and issues a warning."
― Nancy L. Rosenblum, Senator Joseph Clark Research Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government, Harvard University, emerita

"Corey Brettschneider traces a stunning pattern right across American history. Again and again, brave citizens wielded the Constitution against power, arrogance, and racism to save the republic. The Presidents and the People challenges our conventional wisdom about the presidents, the people, the courts, and democracy itself. Deeply researched, beautifully written, dramatic, wise, and inspiring―a must-read for scholars, citizens, and anyone interested in how the United States really works."
― James A. Morone, author of Hellfire Nation and Republic of Wrath

"[A]n essential survey… [The Presidents and the People] is an invaluable breakdown of present-day concerns in an illuminating historical context."
― Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A welcome reminder, in a time of growing repression, of the power of well-placed dissent."
― Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Corey Brettschneider is a professor at Brown University, where he teaches constitutional law and politics. He has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Time. He is also the author of The Oath and the Office. He lives in New York.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 2, 2024
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1324006277
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1324006275
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.3 x 1.3 x 9.3 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #190,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #48 in General Constitutional Law
- #69 in Democracy (Books)
- #98 in United States Executive Government
Customer Reviews:
109 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Corey Brettschneider

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Related books

Page 1 of 1Start Over

Customer reviews

109 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Customers say

Customers find the book great for these times and timely. The writing quality receives mixed feedback.

Select to learn more

Readability Timing Writing quality

6 customers mention "Readability"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, particularly noting it's a great read for current times, with one customer describing it as engaging.

"a very interesting and eye opening book. should be required reading in civics or American history classes...." Read more

"...I was not disappointed...." Read more

"...It’s an exhilarating read, especially now !" Read more

"This might be a good book; I may never know. I have the Audible version and rhe narrator is terrible...." Read more

3 customers mention "Timing"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book timely.

"Timely and timeless......" Read more

"Astute and timely!..." Read more

"This is very timely...." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"2 positive1 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book.

"Brettschneider, one of the country's top political theorists, writes in an informed and engaging way of the struggles we have had in maintaining a..." Read more

"...I have the Audible version and rhe narrator is terrible. I have tried to listen to it multiple times but just can't stand how it's being read." Read more

"Important book, well written. Do not miss it..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

Amazon Customer
book review of 5presidents that comprimized democracy
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

a very interesting and eye opening book. should be required reading in civics or American history classes. used this book while doing a book club presentation. especially now.

Read more

Helpful

Report
David Arnoldi
Timely and timeless...
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2024
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
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.

Read more

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Louise Bahar
Important book, well written. Do not miss it
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2024
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Excellent review of American history. Wonderful point of view. A very important book.

Read more

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Frank Spain
The Right Book for Right Now !
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2024
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Corey Brettschneider’s The Presidents and the People could not have been better timed for the Summer of ’24. A page turner that will be appreciated by any of us drawn to American political history, its account of how five Presidents aggressively overstepped their constitutional bounds and threatened democratic norms is, at once, sobering and inspiring. In each case, we learn of how ordinary citizens and future leaders came together to form resistance movements which ultimately protected individual rights. While readers will draw assurance from history that democracy has resilience, there’s no sense of inevitability that the resistance to current or future threats will pass the stress test. As the nation makes up its collective mind about whether to accept or reject the ‘restoration’ of a former president, Brettschneider’s vibrant accounts of these prior constitutional crises offer both a heightened understanding of what’s at stake, and real hope in our ability to rise to the challenge. It’s an exhilarating read, especially now !

Read more

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Michael P. Kenny
Democracy And The Power Of Inspired Citizens To Check Presidential Overreach
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Professor Corey Brettschneider has written a brilliantly conceived and meticulously researched book that stands on its own as a work of history and political thought as well as an inspiring story of how courageous citizens can effectively promote the pillars of democracy and check megalomaniacal presidents. Those pillars are (1) the right to dissent, (2) equality of citizenship, and (3) the rule of law. Brettschneider brings to life historical examples of presidential attacks on all three pillars, and the successful, citizen-led challenges to each. Eternal vigilance is the price we pay for liberty (and equality), and the great takeaway from the book is the admonition from Jefferson and Brandeis that democracy will endure if, and only if, the citizens are informed and engaged. Brettschneider's book proves the point.

Read more

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Diane Price
The Audible version
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2025
Format: Audible AudiobookVerified Purchase
This might be a good book; I may never know. I have the Audible version and rhe narrator is terrible. I have tried to listen to it multiple times but just can't stand how it's being read.

Read more

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Sarah Conly
Astute and timely!
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2024
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Brettschneider, one of the country's top political theorists, writes in an informed and engaging way of the struggles we have had in maintaining a strong democracy, with clear applications to the problems we may have once again. Extremely insightful and extremely educational! And extremely enjoyable to read! I recommend this book to all readers.

Read more

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Mamahoek
Great Read for These Times
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2025
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Great read for these times. Audible book was good.

Read more

Helpful

Report

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

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

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Frequently purchased items with fast delivery

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Corey Brettschneider

Related books

Customer reviews

Customers say

Select to learn more

Images in this review

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.