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An essay on alexander hamilton
An essay on alexander hamilton
An essay on alexander hamilton
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Constitutional Powers of the President The framers of the Constitution of the United States gave the president executive powers that only he (or she) could execute. Some of these powers are the power to grant clemency and pardon individuals, the power to appoint judges and a cabinet, the power to veto congressional bills, and what I believe is the most influential and far-reaching power, the power of executive orders. I will discuss these in this paper, and offer my thoughts. The powers of the President are listed in Article II of the United States Constitution. Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist Paper, Number 70, argued for a strong president, and believed that dynamic and enthusiastic presidential leadership was "essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the administration of the laws." This type of president would not bow down to congressional demands. James Madison, on the other hand, believed more in the shared powers of Congress and the president--that they are equal. He also believed that the president is protected by the concept of separation of powers, but that the chief executive is an equal partner in the policy-making process. Most of our presidents prefer the Hamiltonian interpretation of presidential power, exercising leadership over Congress, as opposed to deferring to them (Fausold et al). One of the ways the president has a check over Congress is the power of the veto. This power is laid out in Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution. The veto was seen by the framers as a protective measure to prevent ill-advised legislation, and as a revisionary power against legislative encroachment on the executive branch (Spitzer 12). There are two types of vetoes, ... ... middle of paper ... .... Edelson, Chris. Emergency Presidential Power: From the Drafting of the Constitution to the War on Terror. Madison: U of Wisconsin Pres, 2013. Print. Fausold, Martin L., and Alan Shank. Introduction. The Constitution and the American Presidency. Albany: State U of New York, 1991. Xvii-xvi, 133-146. Print. Mackenzie, G. Calvin. Innocent until Nominated: The Breakdown of the Presidential Appointments Process. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2001. Print. Myers, Steven Lee. "BUSH VETOES BILL ON C.I.A. TACTICS, AFFIRMING LEGACY." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 Mar. 2008. Web. 12 July 2014. Pfeiffer, Dan. "Why President Obama Is Not Signing H.R. 3808." The White House. The White House, 07 Oct. 2010. Web. 10 July 2014. Spitzer, Robert J. The Presidential Veto: Touchstone of the American Presidency. Albany, NY: State U of New York, 1988. Print.
As the President of the United States, a president have powers that other members of the government do not. Presidential power can be defined in numerous ways. Political scientists Richard Neustadt and William Howell give different views on what is presidential power. These polarized views of presidential powers can be used to compare and contrast the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
A unitary executive branch is necessary to ensure liability in government, enable the president to defend against legislative violations on his power, and to ensure energy
The Executive Branch can veto bills from the Legislative Branch, but the Legislative Branch can override the veto. An example of our checks and balance system is Obama’s plan for military action that requires congressional checks and balances; therefore, Congress has a constitutional duty to debate and vote on Obama’s plan to expand the US role in Iraq and Syria.
When the Constitution was first written by America’s founding fathers, they intended for the executive branch to serve the nation’s citizenry by keeping their best interests at heart, but stated that in no way should this branch be more powerful than any other—it be constantly checked and balanced by the legislative and judicial branches.. In James Madison’s Federalist Number 48, he states that in a representative republic, “the executive magistracy is carefully limited; both in the extent and the duration of its power” (Federalist #48). The founding fathers never intended for the role of President of the United States of America to become ‘imperialistic’, meaning that the government takes too much control, and is too involved in the affairs of the
Congress also has the ‘power of the purse’ which can control the Presidents war makings, but again this as not always been effective. Article II of the constitution states that, ‘The president shall from
It is obvious the president was not given enough power under the Constitution. This is in part because Article II of the Constitution was written in a short period of time with little thought. Many presidents have had to make unclear decisions with little information about the circumstance in the Constitution and the president is beginning to take over the government due to increasing implied powers. However the president’s power has recently proven that it has outgrown the constitution and is swiftly evolving. The Constitution gave the president broad but vague powers, including the authorization to appoint judges and other officials with the Senate’s consent, veto bills, lead the military as commander and chief and make sure “that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Many of these powers however are shared with the Legislative Branch, and cause conflict within the government.
The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers which shows how they have too much power because even though they are split into two separate entities, they can share and overtake other parts of the government and basically do whatever they want from making laws to declaring war. They have the power of impeachment. They have had 15 federal judges impeached by the House, two Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, a cabinet secretary, and a U.S. Senators have also been impeached. (http://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Impeachment/)
The Constitution lays out power sharing amongst the President and Congress. However the Constitution is not always clearly defined which leaves questions to how the laws should be interpreted and decisions implemented. There are three major models of presidenti...
The main powers of the executive branch rest with the President of the United States of America. Powers granted to him by the constitution include serving as commander in chief of the armed forces; negotiating treaties; appointing federal judges, ambassadors, and cabinet officials; and acting as head of state. The president also has a cabinet which includes officials such as the attorney general and the secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agricu...
The legislative, executive, and judicial branches represent the constitutional infrastructure foreseen by the Founding Fathers for our nation 's governing body. Together, they work to maintain a system of lawmaking and administration based on checks and balances, and separation of powers intended to make certain that no individual or embodiment of government ever becomes too controlling. America is governed by a democratic government or a democracy which is a government by the people, in which the power is established in the people themselves. The people then elect representatives who carry out their power in a free electoral system. The United States government’s basic claim is to serve the people and only through a combined effort can we
Unlike many other foundational documents written by other counties, the US Constitution has held strong from the start. The Constitution is at the center of our everyday lives and is the reason we are able to live with the freedom and security that we do. As the Constitutions author, contents, and effect on the US are evaluated it is very clear why America holds so strongly to the foundation the Constitution set in place.
Presidential power has become a hot topic in the media the in recent years. There has been extensive debate about what a president should be able to do, especially without the involvement of Congress and the American people. While this debate has become more publicized since the Bush administration, similar issues of presidential power date back to Truman and the Korean War. As with much of the structure of the U.S. government, the powers of the president are constantly evolving with the times and the executives.
The United States of America is one of the most powerful nation-states in the world today. The framers of the American Constitution spent a great deal of time and effort into making sure this power wasn’t too centralized in one aspect of the government. They created three branches of government to help maintain a checks and balance system. In this paper I will discuss these three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, for both the state and federal level.
On February 25th, 1793, Washington held his first full Cabinet meeting with Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Once in office the two immediately made it clear they’ll never truly see eye to eye. Hamilton, a true believer in a strong central government, felt he needed to limit democracy and make the U.S. a powerful nation “It has been observed . . . that a pure democracy if it were practicable would be the most perfect government. Experience has proved that no position is more false than this.” (Hamilton, speech-urging ratification of the Constitution in New York June 17, 1788). He turned to Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the Constitution, which allows Congress to have the power "To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof." utilizing it to make his America; this was also known as the elastic clause or as he called it, Broad Construction. In order to expand the powers, he broadly interpreted the meaning of the Constitution. Jefferson could not contend with any of Hamilton’s ideals. He believed in Strict Construction. He
Several aspects of the executive branch give the presidency political power. The president’s biggest constitutional power is the power of the veto (Romance, July 27). This is a power over Congress, allowing the president to stop an act of Congress in its tracks. Two things limit the impact of this power, however. First, the veto is simply a big “NO” aimed at Congress, making it largely a negative power as opposed to a constructive power (July 27). This means that the presidential veto, while still quite potent even by its mere threat, is fundamentally a reactive force rather than an active force. Second, the presidential veto can be overturned by two-thirds of the House of Representatives and Senate (Landy and Milkis, 289). This means that the veto doesn’t even necessarily hav...