Day 31 - An Elected King?

Learning Targets:

• Explain how presidents have interpreted and justified their use of formal and informal powers.
• Explain how the president can implement a policy agenda. 

Opener:  Do we WANT a king?

An argument, going all the way back to the constitutional convention, says that in the end, most people want a single leader (king, dictator, emperor, etc.) even if they are not willing to admit it, or even aware of this inclination.  Since the convention in 1787, there is no doubt that the power and scope of the president has grown.  Watch the video (embedded above), and then answer this question:

To what extent have presidents used past and/or current crises, to expand executive authority?  How so?  

Activity #1: What did the founder originally intend?

Below are excerpts from Article II of the US Constitution that describe the office of the president as the framers saw it in 1787, as well as a couple of amendments that we have since added that affect the executive branch.

For each line, identify what you believe to be the intended purpose of this clause and how it has shaped the office of the president (its effect).

• The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term
• Purpose:  To allow presidents time to implement policies, but still hold them accountable by requiring election/reelection every 4 years.
• Effect:  Presidents have used executive orders and executive agreements when they feel that there is no other way to "leave their mark" and change policy in such a short period of time.

• No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
• Purpose:

• Effect:

• Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
• Purpose:

• Effect:

• The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
• Purpose:

• Effect:

• He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States
• Purpose:

• Effect:

• He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
• Purpose:

• Effect:

• No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice (22nd Amendment)
• Purpose:

• Effect:

• Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President (25th Amendment)
• Purpose:

• Effect:

Activity #2 - Beyond ASAP
Alexander Hamilton...a royalist, a patriot, or both? Please, no reference to the play in any part of your response. I'm sure it was wonderful.

Federalist No. 70 (1788)

Energy in the Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government. It is essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the steady administration of the laws; to the protection of property against those irregular and high-handed combinations which sometimes interrupt the ordinary course of justice; to the security of liberty against the enterprises and assaults of ambition, of faction, and of anarchy. Every man the least conversant in Roman story, knows how often that republic was obliged to take refuge in the absolute power of a single man, under the formidable title of Dictator, as well against the intrigues of ambitious individuals who aspired to the tyranny, and the seditions of whole classes of the community whose conduct threatened the existence of all government, as against the invasions of external enemies who menaced the conquest and destruction of Rome.

There can be no need, however, to multiply arguments or examples on this head. A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government.

Despite his resentment of "common" people involved in politics, his despise for state and local governments, and his proposal for a lifetime term for presidents, Hamilton was still viewed as a quintessential American patriot.  

1.  Looking at the above passage from Federalist Paper #70, make a case for how a modern president of your choosing justified Hamilton's argument above.  

• Be sure to include examples, illustrations, and quotes to support your claim.

Close:  5 Words


Make a list of 5 words that you feel best describe the "ideal" president.  This should be adjectives and adverbs that describe traits or behaviors.  i.e. "Decisive".