Creating the US Presidency

About the lecture

In this module, Dr David Andersen discusses the creation of the US Presidency, focusing in particular on: (i) the origins of the American polity: the Articles of Confederation and the subsequent Constitution; (ii) the Founding Fathers’ concerns over bringing a “king-like” figure into the American polity; (iii) Shays’ Rebellion and its effects; (iv) the key problems associated with the presidential office in the late eighteenth century, and (v) the Founding Fathers' attempts to solve these problems, such as by establishing the Electoral College.

About the lecturer

Dr. David Andersen is an expert on American politics and government whose research focuses primarily on political psychology and political behaviour. After receiving his PhD in 2011, he worked for two years at the Eagleton Institute of Politics before transferring to Iowa State University in 2013 as an Assistant Professor of American Government. He remained at Iowa State until 2019, when he moved across the pond to join Durham University as an Assistant Professor in United States Politics. His research has been published in a number of well-regarded academic journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, and he is particularly interested in the research question: "How do people learn about politics?"