The President: Executive Power in a Separation of Powers Regime
In this chapter we dealt with our most monarchic branch of national government—the presidency. In this effort, we first examined the historical precedents for the U.S. presidency by looking at the colonial-Crown relationship and the early state governors of the revolutionary era. These were basically viewed as models not to follow, and so the men who gathered at the Constitutional Convention created a chief executive all their own. In general, a strong model version of the presidency was crafted after the deliberative efforts of people like James Wilson. The Convention produced compromises like the Electoral College as a device for indirect but legislatively independent selection of the president.
The historical development of the presidency, in particular juxtaposed with its policy making partner/rival the Congress, has seen a steady if slow rise of executive power, largely through the interpretation of inherent powers as well as those deriving from its constitutional prerogatives, especially in wartime. As the presidency has grown in governmental stature and responsibilities, the Cabinet has both expanded in size but lost power to the centralizing tendencies of the White House Staff created along with the Executive Office of the President (EOP) during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration.
The twentieth century, in particular the administrations of the two Roosevelts and Wilson, created the modern presidency where the president is the chief executive, chief legislator, chief trade negotiator, chief diplomat, chief of party, nation, and perhaps most of all, the commander-in-chief. Executive management styles have varied over time, with Republican presidents following a more hierarchical style relative to Democratic presidents. However, the presidency is and will remain the most visible office of our national government both at home and abroad, especially in the uncertain world presented to us by the War on Terror and the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Quizzes
Critical Thinking Exercises
Presidential Power
Modern presidents find themselves in a demanding role that requires them to administer the bureaucracy, represent American interests abroad, and at times serve as a policy advocate. One of the president’s more important powers is the ability to set the agenda for national conversations. President John F. Kennedy’s use of his agenda setting power eventually led to creation of surgeon general’s warnings on cigarettes; President George W. Bush used his agenda setting power to focus attention on national educational reform; President Barack Obama used his agenda to enact a landmark national health insurance program; President Donald Trump worked with Congress to pass a major tax reduction package; and President Joe Biden used his agenda to expand Obamacare by including it as part of the economic stimulus response to the Covid pandemic.
Throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, the tools of public communication at a president’s disposal have changed from radio addresses to televised press conferences to internet websites and to Twitter. Visit the White House website (http://www.whitehouse.gov/) for the official website for the office of the president and familiarize yourself with the issues the president presents there. Are many of these issues now part of the national conversation? Has Twitter become as influential a tool for presidential agenda setting as televised press conferences?
Useful Links
Links to further content exploring the themes covered in this chapter
The White House Website
The official website for the White House contains links for various executive branch departments, agencies, bureaus, etc., as well as policy agendas, accomplishments, and personal information regarding the First Family.
Presidential Biographies
This website provides short bios of all 45 (counted as 46) presidents.
Presidential Libraries
This site provides links to all of the presidential libraries (covering all former presidents from Hoover to Clinton).
Donald Trump Presidential Library
This is the temporary website for the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library.
Joe Biden Presidential Library
This is the temporary website for the Joseph R. Biden Presidential Library.
Barack Obama Presidential Library
This is the official website for the Barack Obama Presidential Library will be located in Chicago, Illinois.
George W. Bush Presidential Library
This is the official website for the George W. Bush Presidential Library where his administration’s activities will be stored for posterity and eventually analysis by future generations. The library will be located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.
Bill Clinton Presidential Library
This is President Clinton’s official website for his presidential library where his administration’s papers are kept for posterity and future analysis. It is located in Little Rock, AR, and has extensive archives including text-based as well as video/audio based.
George H.W. Bush Presidential Library
This is the official site of the George H.W. Bush Library at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, where his administration’s activities are stored for posterity.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
This is the official website for the Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation in Sima Valley, CA. The website has numerous video/audio sources containing Reagan’s major speeches during his political career, including his presidency. There is also an access point to purchase the president’s movies from his acting days and a number of video clips from the Reagan Foundation’s speaker series covering public policy topics. Actor Gary Sinise leads a virtual tour of the Reagan Museum and Reagan’s presidential diary can be accessed from this site.
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library
This is the official website for the Carter Presidential Library located in Atlanta, Georgia. It contains a virtual tour of the Carter Museum and a number of reference sources for teachers and students.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
This is the official website for the Ford Presidential Library located on the north campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The library houses archival materials on the life, career, and presidency of Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library
This is the website for the Nixon Presidential Library and Foundation in Yorba Linda, CA. It contains a number of videos detailing the myriad events in foreign and domestic affairs that encompassed the Nixon administration. There are a number of video clips with excerpts of Nixon’s major speeches during his political career, most of the content emanates specifically from his presidency though.
Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
This is the official site of the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library located in Austin, Texas.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
This is the official site for the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts. This site opens with a riveting audio address by President Kennedy accompanied by graphics.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
This is the official website for the Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Library, located in Eisenhower’s hometown of Abilene, Kansas. Visitors can explore the extraordinary life and legacy of the only 5-star General who became President of the United States.
Harry S. Truman
Located in Independence, Missouri, the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum preserves and provides access to President Truman’s historical materials. Through engaging exhibits and programs, the Library aspires to reach a broad and diverse audience in a continuous effort to keep President Truman’s life and legacy alive, emphasizing his ideals of citizenship, learning, and service.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library
This is the official website for the FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY. It contains digitized collections of the FDR presidencies documents including speeches, schedules, films, reports, etc., and all can be accessed and researched.
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
This is the official website for the Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, IA. It contains the documents of the Hoover administration as well as various memorabilia. It has a video tour hosted by Hoover’s granddaughter.
American Presidency Project
The American Presidency Project (APP) is a non-profit and non-partisan source of presidential documents on the internet.
POTUS: President of the United States
This site provides election results and information on past presidents and candidates for the presidency. Audio and visual materials, speeches, and transcripts are also accessible.
Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress
The Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress (CSPC) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization founded in 1965. The site provides a plethora of information on past successes and failures of the Presidency and the ramifications for the future. Presidential leadership and institutional aspects are presented as well.
CSPAN American Presidents Life Portraits
This site is held by CSPAN and contains clips from its series on the “American Presidents Life Portraits,” that provides biographical videos of all American presidents from Washington to Clinton. The videos are good starting points for introductions to the pasts of our chief executives.
American Experience: The Presidents
This PBS program contains films covering the modern presidency from FDR to George H.W. Bush. It details their administration’s interactions with the major issues, events, and personalities of their respective times in office.
Miller Center for the American President
This is the site for the University of Virginia’s Miller Center for the American President containing scholarly essays on each of our presidents, as well as a photo gallery, and access to the Scripps Library of Presidential speeches. These speeches exist in textual and for later presidents in audio and video formats. This site is an excellent resource for research, classroom presentation, and general information.