Chapter 12: The Presidency

Chapter 12 - The Presidency

"What are the powers, opportunities, and limitations of the presidency? How does the chief executive lead in our contemporary political system? What guides the chief executive's actions, including unilateral actions? If it is most effective to work with others to get things done, how does the president do so? What can get in the way of this goal? This chapter answers these and other questions about the nation’s most visible leader."

You can read this chapter by clicking on the following link.  Many students will prefer to read the textbook chapters directly on the OpenStax website.  You will be able to save highlights and notes after creating an account on the OpenStax website.  

Chapter 12:  https://openstax.org/books/american-government-3e/pages/12-introduction Links to an external site.

If you prefer not to leave Canvas, you can instead read the embedded chapter below. 

📘 Embedded Chapter

Audio Resources

You can access an audiobook recording of this chapter by opening the embedded audio players below.  This resource is helpful for students who prefer to listen to audio while reading the text. 

⏱ Timestamps:

  • 0:00:00 - Welcome
  • 0:00:37 - Introduction
  • 0:02:32 - The Design and Evolution of the Presidency (12.1)
  • 0:28:35 - The Presidential Election Process (12.2)
  • 0:45:18 - Organizing to Govern (12.3)
  • 1:06:42 - The Public Presidency (12.4)
  • 1:21:06 - Presidential Governance: Direct Presidential Action (12.5)
  • 1:46:17 - Credits

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📝 License

This project was developed by Brian Barrick Links to an external site. and is offered under a Creative Commons License (CC-BY-SA-4.0).

This is an audio adaptation of American Government 3e by OpenStax.  Access for free at openstax.org Links to an external site.. Some editorial changes were made to ensure a better listening experience.  The audio from this project is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY-SA-4.0).  The intro and outro music is “Take Me Higher” by Jahzzar Links to an external site. (CC-BY-SA).

The funding for this project was provided by CC-ECHO (California Consortium for Equitable Change in Hispanic Serving Institutions Open Educational Resources). You can learn more about CC-ECHO at https://www.hancockcollege.edu/ccecho Links to an external site..

The formatting of this Canvas instructor resource page was inspired by the UC Irvine Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI). Their Canvas template Links to an external site. is available under a Creative Commons license (CC-BY) and served as a reference.

The contents of this audiobook were developed under an Open Textbooks Pilot grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education.  However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.