US Presidents For Dummies

by Marcus Stadelmann

  The creation of a federal republic, where the states and the national- federal government shared powers

  A bicameral Congress with two chambers — the House of Representatives (selected by the people) and the Senate (equally represented by the states, with each state sending two Senators)

  An executive, or president, elected by an Electoral College every four years

  A Supreme Court nominated by the president and ratified by the Senate

  Drawing up the presidency

  During the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, the hottest topic was what kind of executive to have. Some wanted a strong executive, even a king. Others wanted a weak executive at the mercy of Congress. Some even proposed multiple executives, with more than one president serving in the various areas of government.

  James Wilson, a delegate from Pennsylvania, was responsible for the presidency we have today. During the debate, he based the modern presidency on the New York and Massachusetts State constitutions.

  One of the big questions at the Constitutional Convention was whether to create a parliamentary or a presidential republic. In a parliamentary system, the legislature, not the citizens, selects the executive. Chosen by the majority, the executive’s party always controls the legislature. In a presidential republic, voters choose the president. This can result in a divided government, with one party controlling the legislature and the other the presidency.

  A presidential system, such as the form the United States adopted, creates moderate policies, involving lots of compromise, because the executive and Congress have to bargain with each other to be successful. In a parliamentary system, the executive always gets what he or she wants, because it controls the legislature.

  Being unique

  The system of checks and balances is a feature unique to the United States. The delegates at the convention wanted to make sure that the president wouldn’t dominate the new government. So they implemented many checks on his power. Congress and the Supreme Court can check the president in the areas the delegates considered the most important, resulting in this system of checks and balances. These areas included treaty-making, war-making and especially the power to declare war, which was given to Congress. Congress and the Supreme Court further received the power to override a president’s veto and to remove him from office if necessary.

  Today, the president is the most powerful politician on earth, but he has to share a lot of his powers with Congress.

  Over the next two centuries, the power and influence of the presidency developed and changed.

  The Electoral College

  The Electoral College, established by the Constitution, consists of electors who have the power to choose the president and vice president.

  The first Electoral College, which met in 1789, consisted of representatives from all the states that ratified the Constitution. Depending on the state, either the people or the state legislatures chose the respective delegates for the Electoral College. In the Electoral College, each delegate cast two ballots. Whoever won the most votes became the president of the United States; the runner-up was named the vice president.

  This system led to confusion. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received the same number of votes, even though most electors favored Jefferson for president and Burr for vice president. The electors had to cast two ballots without being able to differentiate between president and vice president. The 12th Amendment fixed the system in 1804 by mandating separate ballots for the president and vice president.

  In 1961, the 23rd Amendment allowed the District of Columbia to cast three votes in the Electoral College, even though it doesn’t have statehood. Today, the electors in the Electoral College represent all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The electors, in turn, are chosen by their respective state legislatures. (Each party, Democrats and Republicans, draws up a list of electors. Whichever party wins the state in the presidential election gets to use its list in the Electoral College. The only exceptions to this rule are found in Maine and Nebraska, where one electoral vote goes to the winner of each Congressional district in the state and two votes go to the winner of the state itself). The number of electors representing each state equals the number of members of Congress (members of the House of Representatives plus the two senators) for each state. Today, there are 538 total votes in the Electoral College, and a candidate has to win 270 to become president. If nobody has a majority in the Electoral College, the vote goes into the House of Representatives.

  Granting formal presidential powers

  The Constitution, even though a brief document, sets aside Article II to discuss the presidency. Article II outlines the Electoral College and the powers of the president. The Constitution formally mentions the following powers in Section 2 and Section 3 of Article II of the Constitution. The powers are listed in the order found in the Constitution:

  Commander in chief of the armed forces: This power has caused much controversy. Many presidents have interpreted it to mean that they have the power to make war. Congress, on the other hand, has the constitutional power to declare war. The War Powers Act of 1973 (discussed later in this chapter) further contributes to the controversy surrounding this power.

  Granting reprieves and pardons: The president has the power to pardon anyone for federal offenses. The only exception is impeachment. The president cannot pardon someone who has been impeached.

  Making treaties: The president has the power to negotiate treaties with foreign countries. All treaties have to be approved by the Senate with a two-thirds majority.

  Appointing Supreme Court Justices and ambassadors: The president has the power to appoint justices of the U.S. Supreme Court and ambassadors. In both instances, the Senate has to approve his choices.

  Convening Congress to special sessions: In emergency situations, the president has the power to call Congress into a special session.

  Receiving ambassadors: The president has the right to receive foreign ambassadors and other foreign dignitaries to discuss policy with them.

  Ensuring that the laws are faithfully executed: That’s all the Constitution says about this power. Today, presidents interpret it as the power to make policy, as outlined in the annual budget the president submits to Congress.

  Vetoing legislation

  Additional powers of the president are found in Article I, Section 7. Even though Article I deals mainly with Congressional powers, it does discuss the veto power of the president. According to Section 7, the president possesses the power to veto legislation passed by Congress. He has ten days to veto a bill and has to explain to Congress why he cast the veto. Congress then has the option to override a president’s veto. This requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress.

  If Congress passes a bill within ten days of adjourning, the president can cast a pocket veto. All he has to do is to let the bill sit on his desk until Congress adjourns and the bill has been vetoed. Pocket vetoes cannot be overridden, because Congress has no chance to vote on the veto. Most vetoes stand, or are not overridden by Congress. Less than 4 percent of all vetoes in U.S. history have been overridden.

  Interpreting presidential powers

  The Constitution is not very specific on presidential powers. Many are vague and open to broad interpretation. For example, does to “faithfully execute the laws” mean that a president just observes Congress and then makes Congressional legislation law? Or can the president make laws himself? As commander in chief, is the president just some kind of super-general reacting to Congress, which has the power to declare war, or is he the supreme war maker in the United States? It is thus left up to the president to define his role.

  Different men who have held the office have interpreted their powers differently. For example, in 1861, after President Lincoln took office and before Congress reconvened, Lincoln unilaterally reacted to the attack on Fort Sumter by the Confederacy (see Chapter 10). He defined the role of commander in chie
f by taking over the war effort himself. In addition, he single-handedly freed the slaves in the Confederacy with the Emancipation Proclamation. He felt his actions were justified by the emergency of the Civil War. Lincoln’s predecessor, James Buchanan, however, believed that his powers did not extend to preventing the Southern states from leaving the Union. So he refused to act when the first Southern states left the Union and created the Confederacy.

  Examining Presidential Influence on the Presidency

  Just as the president is a living, breathing person, the presidency is a living, breathing institution. The men who have so far filled the office have put their own unique stamp on the office, for better or worse. The following sections give you some examples.

  During the period from 1789 to 1824, most U.S. presidents were prominent men known to most U.S. citizens. They included many of our founding fathers and others who had served their country valiantly in the Revolutionary War. With the exception of John Adams, each of the first 5 presidents served two terms, bringing a measure of stability to the young country.

  They legitimized the new government, or in other words, they created public support for the new form of government. Even if one disagreed with the new form of government created by the Constitution, how could one oppose George Washington as president? These presidents set the foundation for the United States. However, during this time period, Congress dominated and made most decisions for the United States. The president was considered to be a caretaker, and his job was to implement policies passed by Congress.

  Challenging Congress: Andrew Jackson

  When Andrew Jackson assumed office in 1829, he believed that he had a mandate from the people and that it was his job to not only implement policies passed by Congress but to make his own. He saw himself as a guardian of the people, with a mission to protect them from the excesses of Congress. He challenged Congress and vetoed major congressional legislation. Jackson actually vetoed more legislation than all of his predecessors combined.

  Jackson’s interpretation of a powerful president disappeared with him. His successors perceived their role as one of reacting to Congress.

  With the exception of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, all presidents for the next century subordinated themselves to Congress. Congress made policy for the United States, and the presidents passively endorsed it.

  Creating the imperial presidency: Franklin Roosevelt

  With the Great Depression hitting the country hard in 1929, and World War II (WWII) starting in Europe in 1939, the U.S. public looked for strong leadership.

  They found it in Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Starting with his election in 1932, FDR single-handedly created the imperial presidency. He was responsible for the New Deal programs, which greatly enhanced the powers of the presidency by establishing a large federal bureaucracy over which the president presides. Roosevelt put a massive welfare state in place (see Chapter 16) and had government take an active role in the economy. FDR made it the business of the president to take care of the U.S. public.

  Foreign policy also came to the forefront when FDR took over in 1933. He moved the United States to support the Allies during WWII. During the war, he met with Allied leaders and hammered out major agreements. The subsequent Cold War further involved the United States in global affairs.

  The trend of the president dominating foreign policy continued, and presidents today are the foreign policy leaders in the United States. By the time Lyndon Johnson assumed the presidency in 1963, Congress was reacting to the president, who now made both domestic and foreign policy for the country.

  Dethroning the imperial presidency: Richard Nixon

  In 1974, Richard Nixon destroyed the imperial presidency with the Watergate scandal and its aftermath. Congress saw the executive position weakened and took this chance to restore some of the power it had lost to the president.

  The most visible changes Congress imposed were in the area of foreign policy and budget policies, when Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973 over President Nixon’s veto and the Budget Reform Act in 1974. These acts brought Congress back into the realms of war-making and budgeting.

  The War Powers Act of 1973 was a direct challenge to the president and the president’s powers to commit U.S. troops into combat. The acts severely restricted the president by calling for the following:

  The president has to inform Congress in writing 48 hours after he commits troops into a hostile situation.

  Sixty days after committing troops into a hostile situation, Congress has to declare war or authorize continuous commitment. This gives Congress the power to recall the troops.

  Congress, at any time, can pass a concurrent resolution (a resolution passed by both houses of Congress) to recall the troops. The president cannot veto this resolution.

  Suddenly Congress had the powers to recall troops that a president committed into a hostile situation. It didn’t have to stand idly by while a president fought a war. Both institutions, Congress and the president, again shared war-making powers.

  Ironically, every president affected by the act — beginning with Nixon and including George W. Bush — has claimed that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional and has refused to be bound by its terms. The Supreme Court has so far refused to rule on the constitutionality of the act.

  The Budget Act of 1974 is another example of how Congress reasserted itself. Presidents had given themselves the power to refuse to spend money appropriated by Congress for certain programs. Most presidents, beginning with Jefferson, used it frequently.

  This power was absolute until the Nixon era. In 1974, Congress passed the Budget Reform Act, which stated that the president can refuse to spend or delay the spending of money, but he has to tell Congress about it. Congress then has the option to pass a resolution calling for the spending of the money. After the resolution passes, the president has to spend the money. Suddenly, Congress could force a president to spend money allocated for programs the president opposed.

  Perfecting the Power to Shape Public Opinion

  The greatest power a U.S. president has is not found in the Constitution. It is the power to persuade and convince the U.S. public. If the president can get the public behind him, he becomes unstoppable. Congress cannot and will not oppose him if he can show Congress that the public supports him on a certain issue. For this reason, the power to shape public opinion is a great one.

  Persuading the people

  Theodore Roosevelt was the first U.S. president to take advantage of the power of public opinion. He used the presidency as a bully pulpit — a forum to use his influence to promote his causes — and preached to the U.S. public in an attempt to gather public support. When Congress began to stifle his progressive reforms (see Chapter 13), he toured the United States and attempted to convince the public of the integrity of his programs. With the public behind him, Congress had a tough time not agreeing to his agenda.

  Woodrow Wilson, a political scientist, recognized this power and continued in Roosevelt’s tradition. He, too, traveled around the country to rally support for his policies. In addition, Wilson established the tradition of holding regular press conferences, and addressed Congress directly by giving his State of the Union address in person to Congress. Wilson transformed the State of the Union address into the public spectacle it still is today. He set the precedent of using the media to disseminate his speeches to the U.S. public.

  Making use of the media

  With the invention of the radio, and later television, the power to persuade, or shape public opinion, gained new importance. Radio made it possible to reach the U.S. public easily, without ever leaving the White House.

  The first president to take advantage of this was Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s. A week after presenting his first inaugural address, FDR began addressing the U.S. public directly over the radio with his famous fireside chats, which he used to explain his policies and foster trust and confidence in the public. Roosevelt continue
d this practice throughout his presidency, delivering a total of 27 fireside chats.

  It was John F. Kennedy who used television for similar purposes. He became our first television president. Kennedy and his advisors had figured that the best way to reach the public was through television appearances heavily laden with political messages. Nothing was more successful in gaining the support of the U.S. public than a well-timed, well-written, and well-delivered speech.

  Kennedy was also the first president to allow his press conferences to be covered on live television. (Eisenhower had his press conferences taped and reserved the right to edit them before they were broadcast.) Kennedy delivered 64 live press conferences before he was assassinated.

  Today, using television to reach the public is common. Inaugural addresses, State of the Union addresses, and press conference are all designed to reach out to the U.S. public and convince people that the president’s policies merit their support. Clearly, a well-written and well-delivered speech can sway public opinion in a president’s favor. This in turn facilitates his dealings with Congress.