Areas of Presidency to be Addressed Within the Unit
Why a president?
Article II of the U.S. Constitution provides that executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. The decision to vest powers in an executive was not made lightly or hastily. These Founding Fathers (all but Alexander Hamilton) had been taught to revere their king. 71 The break with their beloved monarch did not come easily 72 So when James Wilson on Friday, June 1, 1787, in the Assembly Room of the State House of Philadelphia moved that the "executive consist of a single person," 73 you could have heard a pin drop. Eleven years ago, they had rejected a monarchy "in principle as well as in person." 74 the delegates to this Constitutional Convention were deeply afraid of subjecting this new country to the excesses of a monarchy. 75 The matter before them, however, was that the current governmental configuration was too weak.
The original Articles of Confederation did not provide for a chief executive. The closest the Articles came to an executive was a "Committee of the States" which consisted of one delegate from each state. 76 In addition, the Articles did not provide a way for the national government to support itself. The U.S. was essentially bankrupt. 77 The government leaders during the Revolution found that meeting and deliberating in committees way too cumbersome when the war demanded efficiency. 78 The war also demanded money and the national Congress had no real power to generate funds other than thru private funding. The states were the only ones able to levy taxes. 79 The issue for the states was that they had become autonomous. The states did not believe one person could truly understand and thus respond to the needs of each individual state. In addition, the states did not completely trust one another and were reluctant for someone from another state to make decisions about their state. It goes without saying the founding fathers were very distrustful of a strong centralized power. However, due to the difficulties the confederation had encountered with just managing the logistics of the American Revolution, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 understood that some power needed to be vested in a federal government if the states were going to be able to function together as a nation. Borrowing from Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and the Baron de Montesquieu, the Founding Fathers believed that creating a government with checks and balances built in was the best option for a government system.
Issues to be debated
So, on June 1, 1787, as they are proceeding to take up the 7 th Resolution of the Virginia Plan proposed by Edmund Randolph that of an executive, they had several critical issues before them. The first was whether the Executive should be one person or many. 80 It took the delegates four days to settle on a single executive and then two more mouths of debating the decision. The second issue before them was the extent of executive power. 81 The committee of the whole was never able to really come to a consensus on this issue. It was not until September when the Committee of Eleven convened that particular executive powers were outlined. 82 The third issue centered around term length. 83 Initially, this seemed a relatively easy issue to resolve and the delegates voted on seven years for a term length. The fourth issue, how to choose the executive, was a particular sticking point. On June 2, James Wilson proposed an electoral system that was soundly defeated. 84 On the surface the delegates all professed to be committed to a government of the people but none wanted to place authority of government operations in direct control of the people 85 because they were too "liable to deceptions." 86 This issue will also not be solved until September when the Committee of Eleven, decided on a single executive with a term of four years and by the indirect vote of the populace for a group of electors. The fifth issue was relatively easy to decide, compensation for the executive. Only Benjamin Franklin strenuously opposed any compensation fearing it would lead to graft and corruption. 87 Likewise, issue six was settled relatively calmly. The question was whether the executive could be removed for mal–practice or neglect of duty. The answer was a resounding yes. The seventh issue went through a bit more debate. Should the executive have any legislative authority. 88 The initial scope of this issue concerned veto power. James Wilson and Alexander Hamilton favored the executive having an absolute ability to negate any legislation without legislative recourse. This option was soundly voted down. Roger Sherman and Gunning Bedford proposed the executive to have no veto power. This also garnered no real support. The third option, executive with veto but congressional 2/3 override provision, seemed to appeal to the majority. 89
At the beginning of the convention, the delegates held strongly to their class and state loyalties. Stances in regards to the executive were strongly held and strenuously argued for or against. However, as the heat and the length of the summer wore on, reason and compromise became more of the foundation of discourse. In the end, no one delegate achieved all of which they set out, but it was Benjamin Franklin who was able to help the delegates send the Constitution to a vote of the people–"thus I consent Sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best. The opinions I have had of its errors, I sacrifice to the public good…" 90
Requirements to be President
Article II, Section 1, clause 5 states that only natural born citizens who have lived within the boundaries of the United States for at least 14 years and are at least 35 years old may be president. 91 With the addition of the 22 nd amendment to the Constitution passed in 1951, no one can be President again if he has already served two complete terms. 92 You do not constitutionally have to be a member of a political party, but no President other than George Washington has been elected to the office without formally declaring their allegiance to some political group. Lastly, the Constitution does not stipulate that a candidate has to have any formal governing experience. 93
Powers of the President
Explicit
Chief of State, Chief Executive, Commander–in–Chief, Chief Diplomat, and Chief Legislator are the explicit powers outlined in Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. (Rossiter) The Chief of State is the ceremonial head of the government and the living symbol of the nation. As Chief of State the President is expected to perform any number of public duties that would be relegated to a king or queen in a monarchy such as greeting visiting dignitaries, lighting the nation's Christmas tree, and throwing out the first pitch of baseball season. 94 As Chief Executive, the President is responsible for enforcing the laws of the U.S. and for overseeing the thousands of workers in the Executive branch. 95 As Commander–in–Chief, the President is the literal head of the armed forces responsible for the adjudication of all matters related to the maintenance and conduct the military. 96 As Chief Diplomat the President has sole responsibility for "the formulation of policy and the conduct of affairs" 97 in relation to other countries. The Founding Fathers also granted the some legislative powers such as the power to veto legislation he finds fault with. In addition the Constitution maintained that at least once a year, the President must communicate with Congress and "recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." 98 Also, the president may convene both houses of Congress if he deems it necessary. 99
Implicit
Clinton Rossiter, author of The American Presidency, contends that the President has five implicit powers: Chief of Party, Voice of the People, Protector of Peace, Manager of Prosperity, and World Leader. The Presidency has evolved to encompass these roles as they have become necessary. Despite the intention of the Founding Fathers, the President "is at once the least political and most political of all heads of government." 100 As the Voice of the People, the President serves as the moral compass of the nation. 101 As Commander–in–Chief, the President is the defacto Protector of the Peace. While the Founding Fathers did not explicitly spell out "Protector of Peach," incidents before and after the Constitutional Convention reinforced the need to have one person who could quickly marshal troops, equipment, medical supplies, monetary aid, and food in the case of an emergency such as a national disaster. 102 The President has also been saddled with the job of Manager of Prosperity. President Franklin Roosevelt perhaps best understood their role. The Employment Act of 1946 singled out the president as the official who is charged "to foster and promote free competitive enterprise, to avoid economic fluctuations or to diminish the effects thereof, and to maintain employment, production, and purchasing power." 103 Lastly, due to the rise of the Cold War and the United States' economic prosperity, the U.S. President is the one other world leaders look to for counsel.
Electoral Process
Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution provides that "each state shall appoint a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representatives may be entitled in the Congress…" On election day, when you are marking your ballot, were you aware that when you cast your ballot, you are really voting for your state's group of electors, that when they meet in December you want the electors to cast their vote for your choice? This system is not without its critics (particularly after the election of 2000 when Al Gore actually received the majority of the popular vote but lost the electoral vote and thus lost the election). The Founding Fathers understood they were not creating a direct democracy but rather a deliberative democracy. Their intention was to insulate the election of the President from the immediate desires, and "unwise and possibly unjust inclinations" of the populace. 104
Conclusion
In their book You are not your brain: The 4–step solution for changing bad habits, ending unhealthy thinking, and taking control of your life, Jeffrey Schwartz and Rebecca Gladding contend that just studying the brain and its plasticity by itself is innocuous. The real change occurs when the information is self–directed. "Using the power of focused attention, along with the ability to apply commitment, hard work, and dedication, to direct your choices and actions, thereby rewiring your brain to work for you…" 105
As I was reading Raphael's book, Mr. President: How and why the founders created a chief executive, I became very frustrated with the delegates at the Constitutional Convention. These Founding Fathers espoused a belief in rationality, that if given adequate time to consider all of the options, a rational decision would prevail. Yet, time and again a solution would be put forth and the delegates would dismiss it out of hand for its lack of viability yet only to end up returning to the same suggestion several months later. Why were they being so stubborn with their minds so firmly entrenched in their fears? And then I got it! The battle of reason over emotion is not new. These men suffered the frailties of man just like any other. But when push came to shove, the majority of the delegates at the convention were able to consciously put aside their emotions for the betterment of the cause.
This unit is designed to enact a paradigm shift with you the teacher and with the students. We became teachers because we wanted to make a difference. We became teachers because we wanted to help mold better people and citizens. As teachers we have the opportunity and power to affect how our students turn out, what kind of people they become. A key part of this process is teaching them how to make better decisions; how to put aside their emotions for the greater good. Teaching the students how to recognize and evaluate their unconscious in order to make conscious decisions is not an easy task, but it is worth it and what better way than through the greatest of all civic responsibilities – the vote. The Founding Fathers understood that emotion was "inseparable from human affairs" 106 but they maintained that man could keep emotion in perspective in order to make a logical, rational decision. We must strive to understand the unconscious influences upon our brain and how those influences are processed within our brain so that we may make better decisions and not be fooled by someone just because he 'looks' like he might make a great president.
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