Presidents and Civil Liberties from Wilson to Obama

Samuel Walker is Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. He is author of thirteen books on civil liberties, criminal justice and policing. They include In Defense of American Liberties: A History of the ACLU (1990), Hate Speech (1994) and Sense and Nonsense about Crime, 7th edition (2012). He is a frequent commentator on criminal justice and police issues in the national news media and has appeared on CNN, NBC, NPR, PBS Frontline and The History Channel. He has served as a consultant to the US Justice Department and local community groups on police problems.

• 1. Introduction: presidents and civil liberties; Part I. The Early Years: 2. Woodrow Wilson and the suppression of civil liberties in World War I; 3. Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover: civil liberties in the wilderness; 4. Franklin D. Roosevelt: the mixed legacy of a strong president; Part II. Civil Liberties in the Cold War and Civil Rights Eras: 5. Harry Truman: courage and contradictions; 6. Dwight D. Eisenhower: a failure of presidential leadership; 7. John F. Kennedy: the failed promise of the new frontier; 8. The glory and the tragedy of Lyndon Johnson; 9. Richard Nixon: a singular abuse of presidential power; Part III. The Post-Watergate Era: 10. Gerald Ford: a minor president in very interesting times; 11. Jimmy Carter: failed president, good civil libertarian; 12. Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush: the neo-conservative assault on civil liberties; 13. Bill Clinton: the divided soul of a 'new democrat'; Part IV. Civil Liberties in the Age of Terrorism: 14. George W. Bush: the worst president ever on civil liberties; 15. Reflections on presidents, civil liberties, and democracy with observations on Barack Obama.

'Sam Walker, one of the nation's most important historians of civil liberties, offers a magisterial and nuanced overview of the troubled relationships between presidents and civil liberties from Wilson to Obama. This invaluable guide makes clear that no matter what party holds executive office, civil libertarians must look beyond the President for protection of, much less progress on, civil liberties.' David Cole, Georgetown University Law Center