Example Image
Topic
Constitutionalism
Published on
Jul 25, 2025
Contributors
John Yoo
Richard M. Reinsch II
Gen. Andrew Jackson on horseback commanding US troops in Battle of New Orleans.

Civitas Conversations: John Yoo Discusses Andrew Jackson's Gunslinger Presidency

Contributors
John Yoo
John Yoo
Senior Research Fellow
John Yoo
Richard M. Reinsch II
Richard M. Reinsch II
Editor-in-Chief, Civitas Outlook
Richard M. Reinsch II
Summary
A conversation with John Yoo on the meaning of Andrew Jackson's presidency.
Summary
A conversation with John Yoo on the meaning of Andrew Jackson's presidency.
Listen to this article

Civitas Outlook editor-in-chief Richard M. Reinsch II interviews John Yoo about his recent Outlook article on Andrew Jackson, which examines how Jackson fundamentally changed the presidency into the powerful institution we know today.

Yoo argues that, in contrast with George Washington's model of public virtue, Jackson proved that presidents don't necessarily need personal virtue to be effective. Jackson made the presidency the direct representative of the people, claiming independent authority to interpret the Constitution and veto laws on policy grounds, and in doing so helped to create the modern presidency.

John Yoo is a Senior Research Fellow at the Civitas Institute, Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

10:13
1x
10:13
More articles

'Pluribus' Is About More Than 'the Warmth of Collectivism'

Pursuit of Happiness
May 8, 2026

The Firestorm Over Congressional Redistricting

Constitutionalism
May 8, 2026
View all

Join the newsletter

Receive new publications, news, and updates from the Civitas Institute.

Sign up
The latest from
Constitutionalism
View all
The Firestorm Over Congressional Redistricting
The Firestorm Over Congressional Redistricting

In the end, the Court will enter the political thicket through a side door that never should have been left open in the first place.

Richard Epstein
May 8, 2026
Revisiting 'Zadvydas v. Davis' 25 Years Later
Revisiting 'Zadvydas v. Davis' 25 Years Later

Deportable aliens have no constitutional right to avoid detention.

Hans von Spakovsky
May 7, 2026
Colorado’s Secularist Hostility Strikes Again
Colorado’s Secularist Hostility Strikes Again

The Supreme Court needs to give lower federal courts a more workable test for determining when facially neutral conditions constitute religious exclusion.

Tal Fortgang
May 5, 2026
On the Liberating and Living Truths of the Declaration of Independence
On the Liberating and Living Truths of the Declaration of Independence

Clarence Thomas has done more to repudiate D.E.I. and restore America’s founding principles than any other American in the 21st century.

Vincent Phillip Muñoz
May 1, 2026
The Courage of Justice Thomas
The Courage of Justice Thomas

Courage was the theme of Justice Clarence Thomas’s recent, profound speech at the University of Texas.

Charles Kesler
May 1, 2026
John Yoo
Richard M. Reinsch II
Civitas Outlook
The Firestorm Over Congressional Redistricting

In the end, the Court will enter the political thicket through a side door that never should have been left open in the first place.

Civitas Outlook
'Pluribus' Is About More Than 'the Warmth of Collectivism'

In 'Pluribus,' Apple’s most-viewed drama, the integrity of the individual is the central theme.

Join the newsletter

Get the Civitas Outlook daily digest, plus new research and events.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Ideas for
Prosperity

Tomorrow’s leaders need better, bolder ideas about how to make our society freer and more prosperous. That’s why the Civitas Institute exists, plain and simple.
Discover more at Civitas