Development of the presidency
The founding of the presidency
During and immediately after the Revolutionary War in America (1775–1783), the government of the United States operated under laws called the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave the national government little authority over the states. Most Americans agreed that the nation needed to strengthen its federal government. In 1787, a group of state leaders gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. Instead, they wrote an entirely new document—the Constitution of the United States.
Under the Articles, the chief officer presiding over Congress had been called the President, and that title was chosen for the leader of the new government. The authors of the Constitution described the presidency in fairly general language because they knew that the nation’s respected wartime leader, George Washington, would be the first President. They expected Washington to shape the responsibilities of the office for future Presidents.
Washington brought extraordinary courage, prestige, and wisdom to the United States presidency. In 1793, he kept the young nation out of a war between Britain and France. In 1794, Washington used federal troops to put an end to the Whiskey Rebellion, a tax protest in the state of Pennsylvania. This action helped establish the federal government’s authority to enforce federal laws in the states.
Strengthening the office
During the early and mid–1800's, the nation had several bold and imaginative Presidents. These leaders interpreted the Constitution in new ways and greatly increased the power of the presidency. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, the third President. Many scholars consider Jefferson the most brilliant person ever to have served in the White House.
Jefferson raised a constitutional question when he approved a treaty to buy the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803. The purchase almost doubled what was then the area of the United States. The Constitution did not specifically give the President power to buy new territory. But Jefferson decided that the purchase was constitutional under his treaty-making power.
Andrew Jackson strengthened the President’s role as the nation’s popular leader. In July 1832, Jackson vetoed a bill to renew the charter of the Second Bank of the United States. Jackson and many other Americans viewed the bank as a dangerous monopoly and criticized its failure to establish a reliable currency. Later in 1832, South Carolina declared federal tariff laws unconstitutional and refused to collect tariffs at its ports. Jackson declared that no state could cancel a federal law. The President received congressional approval to use federal troops in order to collect the tariffs. Jackson’s actions helped force South Carolina to end its rebellion.
The Civil War began in 1861, when Southern forces attacked Fort Sumter. Abraham Lincoln ordered a military draft, blockaded Southern ports, and spent funds without congressional approval. He knew he had used powers the Constitution reserved for Congress. But he believed his actions were needed to save the Union.
The decline of the presidency
After the Civil War ended in 1865, Congress moved quickly to increase its influence in the government. A power struggle broke out between Congress and Andrew Johnson. This struggle led to Johnson’s impeachment by the House of Representatives. The prestige of the presidency was damaged, but it was saved from total destruction because the Senate failed, by one vote, to convict Johnson.
Few strong Presidents emerged during the late 1800's. Most Presidents of the period accepted the view that Congress, not the chief executive, had the responsibility to set the nation’s basic policies.
The rebirth of presidential leadership
The United States became a world power during the late 1800's and early 1900's. This development helped bring increased power to the President. In the Spanish-American War (1898), the United States took control of Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. To protect these interests, Theodore Roosevelt built up U.S. military forces. He also warned European nations against interfering in Latin America. Roosevelt broadened the scope of executive power at home by leading a fight for reforms that limited the power of great corporations.
Woodrow Wilson enlarged the presidency during World War I (1914-1918). After the United States entered the conflict in 1917, Wilson rallied public support for the war effort. He won widespread praise for his pledge to help make the world safe for democracy. After the war, Wilson led the drive to establish the League of Nations, an international organization dedicated to maintaining peace.
Perhaps no one expanded the powers of the presidency as much as Franklin D. Roosevelt. He became President during the Great Depression of the 1930's and took extraordinary measures to combat the severe business slump. Roosevelt won public acceptance of his view that the federal government should play a major role in the economy. Largely as a result of strong popular support, he got Congress to adopt a far-reaching program called the New Deal. This program created work for millions of Americans and strengthened the President’s role as the nation’s legislative leader.
The rapid growth of U.S. military strength during World War II (1939–1945) further increased the influence of the presidency in world affairs. Harry S Truman’s decision to use atomic bombs against Japan during the war showed the tremendous authority of the President.
Another example of this authority occurred in the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. In that crisis, John F. Kennedy carried out negotiations that resulted in the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Communist Cuba. The Soviet Union had placed nuclear missiles in Cuba capable of striking U.S. cities. Kennedy demanded the missiles’ removal and announced a naval blockade of Cuba. About a week later, the Soviets withdrew their missiles in exchange for the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear missiles from Turkey.
The Vietnam War
The presidency lost much of its prestige during the Vietnam War (1957-1975). Lyndon B. Johnson, who became President in 1963, believed that non-Communist South Vietnam had to be defended against local Communist rebels and Communist North Vietnam. In 1964, Congress allowed him “to take all necessary measures” to protect U.S. bases in South Vietnam.
During the late 1960's and early 1970's, Johnson and his successor, Richard M. Nixon, sent hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops to support South Vietnam. Many Americans opposed United States participation in the Vietnam War. They argued that both Johnson and Nixon had abused presidential powers and misled Congress.
The Watergate scandal further damaged public regard for the presidency. It involved burglary, wiretapping, and other illegal activities designed to help Nixon win reelection in 1972. Attempts by White House aides to cover up many of those activities led to an investigation by the House of Representatives. In July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee recommended that Nixon be impeached.
That same month, Nixon lost an appeal to the Supreme Court involving the President’s executive privilege—the right to keep records secret. In United States v. Nixon, the court ruled that executive privilege is not unlimited. It ordered Nixon to release recordings of White House conversations said to contain evidence for a criminal case in the Watergate scandal. By then, Nixon had lost nearly all his support in Congress and faced possible impeachment. He resigned as President on Aug. 9, 1974, and was succeeded by Vice President Gerald R. Ford. Nixon was the only President ever to resign.
Many Americans thought Nixon had violated federal laws and wanted him brought to trial. The nation became further divided in September 1974, when Ford pardoned Nixon for all federal crimes Nixon may have committed as President.
The impeachment of Bill Clinton
In 1998, the House impeached President Bill Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice. The House charged Clinton with lying to a grand jury that was investigating an extramarital affair he had while in office. Other charges included hindering the investigation by lying to his aides and by encouraging others to lie and conceal evidence on his behalf. The Senate acquitted Clinton in 1999.
The presidency today is still strong and important. This is largely because the United States has powerful armed forces and ranks as a leader of the democracies. In addition, the President’s ability to reach huge audiences on television adds to the prestige of the office.
Americans look to the President to build morale, recruit talented officials, and explain complex issues. They also expect the chief executive to champion the rights of all Americans regardless of their age, color, political party, religion, region, or sex. At the same time, some Americans dislike the great size and power of the national government and want the President to reduce federal influence over state and local affairs.
Congress and the Supreme Court sometimes act to prohibit or limit actions that they consider a misuse of presidential power. But such challenges have halted the expansion of presidential authority only for limited periods. The presidency will continue to have its ups and downs. But it will remain, as John F. Kennedy once said, “the vital center of action in our whole scheme of government.”
Contributor: Thomas E. Cronin, Ph.D., President, Whitman College.