PSC 313 Major Course Themes

1
PSC 313 Major Course Themes

• 1.) Gap between roles/responsibilities/expectation
  s and power to carry them out how do presidents
  resolve this?
• a.) informal powers
• b.) increase resources (build up institutional
  presidency)
• c.) politicize the bureaucracy
• d.) work on increasing legal powers
• 2.) Fiction of individual president governing
  vs. reality of institutional presidency
• 3.) Does history make the person, or does the
  person make history?

2
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION DESIGNING THE
PRESIDENCY

• Two influences
• 1.) colonial experience---executives bad
• 2.) Confederation experience---executives weak
• Stages of Convention
• a.) Virginia Plan
• b.) Committee of Detail
• c.) Committee on Postponed Matters
• d.) Committee of Style
• Much of presidential material was decided
  relatively late!

3
BIG STRUCTURAL ISSUES

• Strong executive faction vs. weak executive
  faction---in most cases, the strong exec guys won
• 1.) Unitary vs. plural
• 2.) Selection, re-electability, and term length
• a.) rejection of popular election
• b.) vacillation on legislative selection
• c.) Electoral college proposed by CPM
• (pre-XIIth Amendment EC)
• ---perfect compromise or Rube-Goldberg-like
  mishmash?
• d.) the complex intertwining of selection
  method, term length, and re-electablity

4
STRUCTURAL ISSUES CONTINUED

• 3.) Impeachment
• Whats an impeachable offense?
• 4.) Disability/Death/Resignation
• In case of the removal of the president from
  office, or his death, resignation, or inability
  to discharge the powers and duties of the said
  office, the same shall devolve on the Vice
  Presidentand such officer shall act accoridngly,
  until the Disability be removed, or a President
  shall be elected
• 5.) Complete Separation from Legislature
• --no simultaneous service
• --separate ballot, different election cycles

5
PRESIDENTIAL POWERS IN THE CONSTITUTION

• Enumerated Powers
• (compare to status quo under Articles)
• 1.) Veto
• 2.) Commander-in-Chief
• 3.) Require the opinions of the principal
  officers
• 4.) Pardon
• 5.) Makin treaties
• 6.) Appointments
• 7.) State of the Union (shall? may? must?)
• 8.) Convene Congress (adjourn in very limited
  cases?)
• 9.) Receive Ambassadorsnarrow and broad interp

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PRESIDENTIAL POWERS IN THE CONSTITUTION

• Implied/Unenumerated Powers
• Three theories about implied powers Taft, TR,
  Lincoln
• Supposed sources of implied powers
• A.) Vestment clauses (compare Pres. w. Cong)
• B.) Take care clause
• C.) Oath of office

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RANDOM CONSTITUTIONAL STUFF

• 1.) Qualifications for presidency age,
  residency, natural-born citizenship
• 2.) Vice-Presidency was a fix for 3 problems
• a.) what to do if president died or was disabled
• b.) give meaning to the second vote for
  president in the EC (consolation prize)
• c.) difficulties with Senator presiding over
  Senate

8
RANDOM CONSTITUTIONAL STUFF CONTINUED

• 3.) Presidency Issues in the Ratification Debate
• a.) The Federalist Papers (pro-ratification)---co
  mpares presidency favorably to British monarch
• B.) Letters of Cato (anti-ratification)---compare
  s presidency unfavorably to current state
  governorships

9
THE 19th CENTURY PRESIDENCY

• Precedents set by George Washington
• 1.) Accessible and popular but not a popular
  leader in modern sense
• 2.) Promoted theory of sole presidential removal
  power
• 3.) Reserved veto for constitutional issues, not
  policy disagreements
• 4.) Issues with advise and consent clause
• 5.) Unilateral proclamation of neutrality in
  1793
• 6.) Unilateral recognition of French
  Revolutionary govenrment
• 7.) Federalized (and personally commanded) state
  militias to deal with internal rebellion
• 8.) First claim of executive privilege
• 9.) Avoided direct involvement in legislative
  process
• 10.) Government of gentlemen approach to
  political appointments

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19th CENTURY PRESIDENCY

• 1.) Screwed-up presidential elections of 1796
  and 1800, led to 12th Amendment
• 2.) Jefferson (1801-1809) policy and style
  changes but no reduction in presidents role
• --party leadership in Congress
• --Louisiana purchase
• --enforcement of Embargo
• 3.) Madison (1809-1817) emergence of dominant
  Congress, War of 1812, breakdown of first party
  system
• 4.) Monroe (1817-1825) passive on domestic
  policy, established Monroe doctrine

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19th CENTURY PRESIDENCY

• 1824 another screwed-up election
• JACKSON (1829-1837)---a paradoxical president
• ---Emergence of Second Party System
• ---First use of veto for policy reasons
• ---Asserted presidential control over bureaucracy
• ---Spoils/patronage system enhance or reduce
  presdiential power?

12
19th Century Presidency

• JAMES K. POLK (1845-1849)--Dark horse
  one-termer increasingly regionally
  factionalized Democrat Party--Aggressive
  territorial expansion policywhy?
• --First clearly presidentially-initiated
  war--Rare president with extensive legislative
  experience
• --First president to attempt centralized
  budgetary clearance
• Young Hickory strong presidency within a
  smaller Federal government (reduced tariff)

13
LINCOLN

• Constitutional dictator or cautious ex-Whig?
• --April 1861 spending without congressional
  appropriations, suspending habeas corpus (and
  authorizing military trials for draft resisters),
  mail censorship, naval blockade of Southern ports
• --Ex parte Merryman (1861), Prize Cases (1863),
  Ex parte Milligan (1866)

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LINCOLN contd

• ---Election of 1864
• ---Emancipation Proclamationbased on
  Commander-in-Chief power
• Congress strikes back Andrew Johnsons
  near-removal

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The Relevance of 19th Century Presidents for
political scientists

• Can todays presidents learn anything from
  pre-modern presidents?1.) Neustadt no ---
  modern presidency is qualitatively different2.)
  Skorownek yes American political history is
  cyclical
• Presidencies of reconstruction ? articulation ?
  disjunction, interrupted by presidencies of
  pre-emption

16
Progressive/Populist Movements(and how they
changed presidency)

• Twin evils business monopoly and state and
  local political machines (how related, how alike)
• BTW, why called machines?
• Mechanisms of machine control (mostly legal at
  the time)
• a.) ballots printed and distributed by party
• b.) SFR method of nominationc.)
  patronage/spoils system
• d.) non-competitive contracting
• e.) welfare-like services to poor and immigrants

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Progressive/Populist Movements

• Major principles of Pop/Prog Movements
  Democratization, Depoliticization, Optimism about
  Govt.
• Specific reform goals
• 1.) government regulation and/or breakup of
  monopolies
• 2.) increased govt. health/safety
  legislation/regulation
• 3.) Australian ballot (ballot reform)
• 4.) Primary elections instead of SFRs for
  nominations
• 5.) Nonpartisan elections (in local govts.),
  manager/council form of govt.
• 6.) Competitive bidding for govt. contracts
• 7.) Civil service (merit) system for awarding
  govt. jobs
• Garfield assassination key to passing Pendleton
  Act
• 8.) Bigger govt. role in social
  welfare----benefits as entitlements rather than
  political favors

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Populist/Progressive Movements

• 9.Idealization of the Executive
• ---executive more democratic, better rep. of the
  people rather than special interests, less
  corruptible
• ---executive more professional streamlined,
  organized, scientific

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Populist/Progressive Movements

• Pops and Progs infiltration of the two major
  parties produced
• 1.) Teddy Roosevelt (R, 1901-1909)
• --mixed Hamiltonianism and Jeffersonianism
• --Square Deal Hepburn Act, Expansion of civil
  service, Conservation, Pure Food and Drug Act
• --used muckrakers as allies
• 2.) Woodrow Wilson (D, 1913-1921)
• --Party-centered progressivism idealized
  contemporary British parliamentary system
• --Popular president could overcome separation of
  powers
• --New Freedom creation of Federal Researve
  System, creation of FTC, Clayton Anti-Trust Act

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IRONY OF POPULIST/PROGESSIVES IMPACT ON
PRESIDENCY

• Although they intended to empower the president,
  some specific reforms weakened the president
  politically
• ---Australian ballot led to split ticket voting
• ---Primary elections led to more challenges to
  renomination
• ---Merit system reduced control over bureaucracy
• ---Merit system and competitive bidding reduced
  political resources
• LED TO INCREASING EXPECTATIONS GAP