The Evolution of the Presidency1. The Founding Fathers feared anarchy and monarchy about equally, and initially, governor positions reflected that (elected by legislatures; some had one-year terms).
i. Many wanted an executive that was checked by a council that would have to approve all executive decisions, and few listened to Alexander Hamilton’s pleas for something that was very similar to an elective monarchy like in Britain.
2. Eventually, those who believed that a large nation could only be successfully ruled by single president with significant powers won out, and the U.S. Constitution created a single president with broad powers.
3. Early politicians were worried that a president could take over state governments with its power over the militia or rig elections to re-elect himself over and over again.
4. The American president was the first leader of its type ever, and the Framers could not have predicted all consequences that it could have, but they did know that they had to create a balanced position, so that neither he could dominate Congress nor the other way around, and eventually, the Framers decided to create a president elected by an Electoral College, thus allowing people to indirectly choose their leader.
i. George Washington’s decision to serve two terms established a “two term precedent” that was not broken until Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, and today, there is a two term limit for the president, as dictated by the 22nd Amendment.
5. At the time the Constitution was written, its writers could only hope that an orderly transition of power would occur when one president left office and another assumed this, but such fears were laid to rest when Thomas Jefferson peacefully took power after John Adams’s term expired.
i. Today, we take transfer of power for granted, but in other countries, power sometimes only changes as a result of political intrigue or violence.
6. Parties were not anticipated or wanted at first, but they became quite common, and the first few presidents were prominent, respected politicians who left office without any trouble; this, as well as the fact that early U.S. gov’t had relatively little to do, helped to legitimize the presidency.
i. The presidency was also kept simple and modest, so that there would not be any of the glitz, ego, and glamour associated with royalty, and early presidents did not use their vetoes much, thus appearing honest, forthright, and not tyrannical.
7. When Andrew Jackson became president, he saw himself as the “Tribune of the People,” and he used his power more than ever, vetoing 12 acts of Congress, not shrinking back when Congress didn’t like what he was doing, and lashing out at policies that he didn’t like.
i. He was the strongest president to date, and he showed what a popular president could do.
8. For the next hundred years, though (excluding the presidency of Lincoln, Polk at times, and Grover Cleveland), Congress thoroughly dominated the gov’t, becoming the leading institution.
i. This was an intensely partisan era, though Lincoln’s use of power was quite expansive and also unexpected: he had been initially elected through a minority, but he had taken unprecedented use of “implied powers” to do some Constitutionally questionable acts without Congressional approval, especially during the Civil War.
ii. However, Lincoln showed that great, drastic action could be taken during time of national emergency, and that the gridlock usually found in politics could stand back when needed.
9. Until the 1930s, Congress was likely to initiate programs to which the president responded, but afterwards, the presidency grew quite powerful, and not only during national emergencies.
i. Congress, though, still appears to take the lead in initiating legislation (i.e. 1970 and 1990 Clean Air Acts), and the President “simply” signs or vetoes it.”
