Summary
Ever since the nation's most important secret meeting--the Constitutional Convention--presidents have struggled to balance open, accountable government with necessary secrecy in military affairs and negotiations. For the first one hundred and twenty years, a culture of open government persisted, but... Full description
- Introduction
- The constitutional convention: The president's limited power
- George Washington: A culture of openness
- Woodrow Wilson: A foundation for secret government
- Harry Truman: Institutional secrecy
- Lyndon Johnson: Stealth attacks on openness
- Gerald Ford: A time of reckoning
- George W. Bush: A test of the limits
- Barack Obama: A twenty-first-century bargain?
- Conclusion.