Connor Weathers | 2026 I.S. Symposium
Name: Connor Weathers
Title: The Nixon Model: The Enduring Legacy of the Imperial Presidency of the United States
Majors: Political Science;History
惭颈苍辞谤:听Economics
Advisors: Kent Kille, Peter Pozefsky
The power of the American president has grown into one of the most debated issues in our modern political system, especially after Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. introduced the concept of the “imperial presidency” in response to President Nixon’s time in office. This Independent Study, using both history and political science disciplines, has identified the core identifiers of an “imperial president” and analyzed three different presidential administrations for these traits in the hopes of showing a continuing imperial legacy in our presidential system. What really interested me about this project was the importance it has for the current day, as the term “imperial president” has become more and more common. I have always enjoyed learning about President Nixon’s time as a president, and conducting a study to see if any precedents or traits he set in our political system continue to evolve up to the present, was really fun to complete. This study is useful as the framework developed in this study for picking out identifiers of an imperial president, and then historically analysing a president for these traits, can be applied to any administration, not just the ones selected. It can even be used to analyse the current presidency. I can see this project being used as a tool for historical analysis for tracking the growth of executive power in the united states, as an imperial president is naturally tied to expanding their executive power.
Posted in Symposium 2026 on May 1, 2026.
