Constitutional Origins: The Presidency on Paper

1
Constitutional Origins The Presidency on Paper

• Session 2

2
(No Transcript)
3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
From McKenna The Drama of Democracy, 3rd Ed.
7
(No Transcript)
8
The Constitutional Convention

• . . . a new event in the history of mankind.
• The Constitution as DNA
• Some characteristics are good and what the
  Founders intended
• Some characteristics had unanticipated
  consequences
• He shall take care that the laws be faithfully
  executed Article II, Section 3
• provides the basis for extraordinary claims of
  power
• manifestation depends on the individual and the
  circumstances
• The president shall recommend consideration such
  Measures as he shall judge necessary and
  expedient.

9
Antecedents

• The British king
• The colonial royal governors
• Executives created by state constitutions
• The Articles of Confederation

10
British and Colonial Executives

• The Constitutional Monarchy
• The kings power was limited by Parliament
• Parliaments laws could be vetoed by the king
• Overcame the limitations of rule by one person
  (monarchy), rule by elites (aristocracy) and rule
  by the people (democracy) because it involved all
  three

• Colonial Governors
• Great powers An absolute veto, could dissolve
  the legislature, created courts and appointed
  judges
• Was appointed by the king
• Used these powers cautiously because the
  legislature controlled the governors salary

11

• Pitfalls of the king and colonial royal governors
• King bribed Parliament for control and colonial
  governors behaved similarly abuses of power
• The legislatures, in contrast, represented the
  colonists interests

12
State Governors

• 17 state constitutions were written during the
  course of the Revolutionary War
• Strong legislatures, weak governorships and weak
  judiciary
• Governors terms were usually short and limited
• They shared powers with a council
• No veto
• Vague and weak powers

13

• One exception New York
• Elected directly by the people
• Three year term
• Could be reelected
• Office was unitary
• Veto power subject to override
• Appointment power subject to confirmation by the
  legislature

14
Articles of Confederation

• Fear of a strong central government at its most
  extreme
• Equal power for each state
• Amendments to the Articles had to be approved
  unanimously by the states
• Powers technically rested with the Congress under
  the articles, but it had no enforcement power or
  power to tax

15
The Context National Problems

• States had overlapping claims to western lands
• On the coast, states taxed goods imported by
  other states
• Debt with no way to remedy debt
• Border problems on the northern, southern, and
  western boundaries
• A currency crises

16
The Lessons

• The design of an effective executive
• Energy and responsibility
• Unitary (just one person)
• Veto power
• Fixed salary
• Three equal branches of government

17
The Constitutional Convention

• The Annapolis Convention (1787)
• Shays Rebellion
• The delegates
• Self selection the contented stayed away
• Former and current members of Congress under the
  Articles
• Revolutionary War veterans
• Young

18
Creating the Presidency

• Why it required such great ingenuity . .
• Not something that lent itself to compromise
• Many examples of what they did not want, not so
  many for what they did want
• Deep ambivalence about executive power

19
So, What Happened?

• Vague became clear, weak became strong over the
  course of the Convention
• Greater clarity
• Madisons uncertainty and the Virginia Plan
• Clarity did not come quickly Committee of
  Detail
• Greater strength
• The starting point was an executive who was
  subject to the legislature
• During the convention, those in favor of a strong
  executive won a series of victories

20
So, What Was At Issue? Unitary or Plural

• A unitary executive is proposed
• Cons this will grow into a monarchy
• A single executive will be able to act more
  quickly
• Responsibility can be attributed to an individual
  more readily than to a group

• A plural executive is proposed
• This will provide for greater stability and
  greater representation

Old versus young the older delegates favored a
plural executive because of their experiences
with the king and with colonial governors
21
So, What Was At Issue? A Council

• Unitary
• Energy, dispatch, responsibility
• A dual role for a judiciary would violate the
  separation of powers
• A council appointed by the legislature

• Council
• Can veto acts of the legislature
• An advisory council composed of the heads of the
  executive departments

No consensus formed and the idea was abandoned.