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the theories of presidential power
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the theories of presidential power
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Presidents of the United States of America have been around since the country became it’s own. Each president is given certain responsibilities and rights. Presidential power is listed in the Constitution but since then, there’s been room for more responsibilities to come into play. The powers exercised in the modern world surpass those included in the Constitution. Today, the president has a number of offices and departments serving under him. These institutions help keep the government together and everything running smoothly. The presidents rely on a number of other things. Some include elections, political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion. There are different kinds of powers granted to the president. While some are expressed powers and can be found written in the Constitution, others are delegated powers are given by the Congress to the president, and inherent powers, which are powers claimed by the President but aren’t found in the Constitution.
Expressed powers that can be found in the Constitution are Military, Judicial, Diplomatic, Executive, and Legislative powers. The president assumes the role of commander in chief. Presidents are allowed to declare war only with authorization from Congress. Article IV says that the “United States shall [protect] every State… against invasion… and …domestic violence” (Ginsberg 312). The judicial power the president holds is where he has the right to grant reprieves, pardons, and amnesty which involves the power of life and death over all individuals that pose a threat to the country. Diplomatic powers back the idea that the president is the head of the country. He’s the chief representative who’s the face while dealing with other nations. He can make treaties. He...
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...icized Bush for using this but had issued twenty statements in his first term.
Even with the very few examples I’ve included, it’s easy to note that every president is given the same powers and it’s up to them if they want to use them or not. Some may use some while other presidents favor others. Powers of the presidents don’t always change and have been used since the Constitution was drawn up. Continuing on from now, each president will continue to use these powers to further keep up with the order amongst the country. The United States depends on the president and needs it in order for its well-being. The country wouldn’t be what it is today without the president of the United States of America.
Works Cited
Ginsberg, Benjamin. "The Presidency." We the People: An Introduction to American Politics. 9th Essentials ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. 306-26. 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.
The power of the Executive branch has expanded over time to become the most authoritative division of government. In contrast to the Constitution 's fundamental designer, James Madison, who predicted the Legislative branch would dominate due to it’s power in making laws and regulating taxes/spending, the executive powers have proven to be superior and ever broadening. From the birth of the Republic, the President has sought to protect his rights and seek beyond his restriction of power. Setting the precedent as early as 1795, George Washington refused to relay documents relating to the Jay Treaty to the House of Representatives and saw his actions as a justified act of “executive prerogative.” Moreover, weaving throughout the Nineteenth century, presidents such as Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln conceived and added functions, such as the extensive use of the veto and the president’s direct and active role as Commander in Chief to their executive tool-belt. The Constitution communicates very little details regarding the President’s use of the power of veto and the role as Commander in Chief, but it was these presidents which established the major authority of the executive branch in these areas.
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.
War-making powers were given to Congress to prevent a single person from being able to declare war. The president needed continuous approval from Congress before doing anything regarding foreign policy. Escaping from the rigid monarchy of George III ensured that the settlers would avoid giving one entity the power to make such influential decisions. However, presidents increasingly started and carried out unauthorized wars, such as President Polk and Mexico. This “emergency prerogative” was and continues to be abused to it’s fullest extent. It allows the president to ignore the Constitution by declaring a state of emergency. Granted, many of these decisions were very crucial to national safety and there are times where presidents have used the prerogative to push their own objectives forward without having to explain themselves. As a result, the military expenses by presidential action have consumed more than half of the budget. Schlesinger has written that even the CIA is not under the control of Congress, “fewer than a dozen members of Congress have any idea how much money the CIA spends each year, and probably none of them has much of an idea what the agency actually does with that money” said Representative Findley in 1973. This lack of regulation from Congress shows that it is not only the fault of the president for their abuses of power, it is also the responsibility of Congress to enforce their own rules
... in office and how the congress will act toward the President; whether he be a President that demands respect or one who forfeits it and whether the Congress gives in to the demands of the Executive or if the Congress comes down on t he Executive like a hammer on a nail. This can be accomplished by viewing the circumstances in which a President takes office, the manner in which he carries himself during his term, and the way in which the President leaves as Commander in Chief. Conclusion: The President has neither gained nor lost power. There exists the same balance between Executive and Congress as there was when Washington was sworn in as America's first President. The only difference between then and now, is the fact that today we must wade through the layers of insignificance and precedents that history has forged against us, the political thinker and historian.
Richard E. Neustadt, the author of Presidential Power, addresses the politics of leadership and how the citizens of the United States rate the performance of the president's term. We measure his leadership by saying that he is either "weak or "strong" and Neustadt argues that we have the right to do so, because his office has become the focal point of politics and policy in our political system.
At the start of the nation, presidents used only the abilities given to them by the Constitution. The idea of corruption and a tyrannical king influenced The Framers’ decision. They believed that they should not have enough power to regulate things outside the Constitution. Their view is shown by the quote from Howard Taft, “… the president can exercise no power which cannot be fairly and reasonably traced to some specific grant of power or justly implied and included within such express grant.” Taft came after Theodore Roosevelt, and even though Roosevelt used many vested powers, Taft’s mindset explains how the earlier presidents thought. An example contrasting the earlier presidents use of enumerated powers and modern presidents vested power can be shown in the quantity of executive orders. George Washington used only 8 executive ord...
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...
America, land of the free and home of the brave. The center of democracy and freedom. At least that is what America thinks. However, with this being the first of its kind, it is relatively weak and can be infiltrated. While better than the Articles of Confederation, the United States first government, this government can still let cruel and oppressive leaders to tyrannize this nation. While our government is fairly safe, we still can be oppressed by unfair elections, the excess legislative power, and the lack of laws protecting minorities.
When the framers created our government over 200 years ago, they were very weary of history repeating itself in regards to the monarchy created by the King of Great Britain. Their concerns about having a president included someone who would gain too much power using it to overthrow the state governments, continue to run for election, or become a tool of the senate. To avoid their fears they allowed congress and the legislative branch to be the first branch of government. Today however, I think Congress has gained more power than the founders ever thought it would. I believe that the president’s perception of power has decreased over time. The powers that the president had at the beginning of our country, and th e powers they have now are very similar. The difference is Americans are more educated and involved in politics than they were before. Today the President not only has to deal with Congress to get anything done, but the people as well. If Americans are unhappy they want the president to hear them, sometimes that means by being close with their congressmen, or by protesting and rioting. Nowadays protests and riots are prodcast everywhere by the media, and if the president ignores them, everyone knows about it. Another reason the presidential office is not as powerful as it once was is that
The modern presidency has much more power than the one outlined in the constitution. There is argument as to whether or not this power derives from government itself, or from public perception. The notion is that the president is more powerful than the other branches of government, mainly the congress, and therefore has supremacy. However, in the constitution at least, this is not the case. Congress is the one that has the power to create and pass laws, while the president has no such power. In modern times, the perception is that the president has more power than the congress, and in some ways this is true. This can be seen in the rhetoric during the race for president. Candidates promise to implement many policies, but this all relies on Congress.
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An increase in presidential power is only justified due to the natural expansion of the governmental branches and agencies, and also in the amount of people it governs. But the rapid increase of presidential power over the past century has not been justified, as actions taken by the President in undeclared wars and times of economic crises is in no way justifiable by the Constitution and are therefore undemocratic. This is clearly seen in historical Presidential actions taken, and in how much power the Presidential position has gained over the past course of history. The Framers of the Constitution held a limited government position in mind, with the President being a chief citizen rather than a dictator, but his or her this power increases,
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