Opposition to the Theory of Presidential Representation: Federalists, Whigs, and Republicans JEREMY D. BAILEY University of Houston This article considers the theory of presidential representation by examining its develop- ment from 1800 to 1864. In particular, it returns to the critics of Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln and presents new evidence that the concept of presidential representation not only remained contested throughout this period but also grew more entangled with rival claims of representation and alternative arguments for executive power. By exploring the early development of the theory of presidential representation, the article contributes to the ongoing scholarly task of classifying arguments about the foundations of executive power and attempts to link literatures regarding the constitutional and political sources of presidential power. Executive power has the advantage of concentration in a single head in whose choice the whole Nation has a part, making him the focus of public hopes and expectations. —Justice Robert Jackson, concurring opinion in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952, 654) Robert Jackson’s statement points to an enduring difficulty for scholars of presi- dential power. It argues that, in addition to formal sources of constitutional authority and in addition to the emergence of the president as party leader, there is a third source of presidential power, and that source is public opinion. Scholarship on the presidency has documented the importance of each of these three sources, and the emphasis on the one or the other has ebbed and flowed much like Jackson’s description of executive power itself. In the last decade, scholars have variously rediscovered the formal powers of the unilateral presidency, expanded on continuing debates about the constitutionality of prerogative, and found new ways of measuring the extent to which presidents represent their parties or the whole. Jeremy D. Bailey is an associate professor of political science and in the Honors College at the University of Houston. He is the author of Thomas Jefferson and Executive Power and coauthor of The Contested Removal Power. AUTHOR’S NOTE: The author would like to thank the participants of the Houston political theory workshop for their comments as well as the editors for their guidance and good judgment. Sarah Mallams provided valuable research assistance. Presidential Studies Quarterly 44, no. 1 (March) 50 © 2014 Center for the Study of the Presidency