Though the powers of the presidency have expanded with the growth of the nation, the process has been anything but consensual or smooth. The prerogatives of the presidency are uncertain and their assertion is invariably contested. These four presidencies: Jackson, Cleveland, T. Roosevelt, Nixon, are benchmarks in the development of executive power. We see here the emergence in practice of our modern conception of the executive office, and we take the measure of the men who fought to sustain it. As our constitutional system has developed, the idea of balance has been elaborated in new and unexpected ways and more.