"This volume uses essential and illuminating primary documents as a portal for understanding the evolution and present parameters of presidential power, the relationship between America's three branches of government, and why wartime often leads presidents to claim expansive powers and authority. Covers topics such as Operation Pastorius, the Watergate scandal, the Iran-Contra affair, and drone strikes to show how each presented tests of presidential power. Utilizes events and developments throughout U.S. history--from the nation's founding to the contemporary era--to demonstrate how these singular, focusing events are often reflections of broader political, economic, and social forces"--