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Course: US government and civics > Unit 2
Lesson 6: Expansion of presidential powerChanges to the role of the presidency
The presidency's role has evolved over centuries, shifting from a loosely defined position to a powerful one. Initially, the president was a virtuous figure, avoiding monarchy and mob rule. However, over time, the need for quick action, especially during wars, led to more power being given to the president. Today, the president is seen as the key actor in American government.
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what does john dickerson want to know about presidency?(7 votes)
John Dickerson has covered Washington politics for more than two decades as a reporter for Time, Slate Magazine and CBS News. He previously hosted Face the Nation, currently works as a correspondent for 60 Minutes and is the recent author of “The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency,” which examines the complex challenges faced by our nation’s chief executives throughout history. In this episode of Transition Lab, host David Marchick spoke with Dickerson about his experience covering presidents, why presidents often struggle with their transition to the White House, how we should view the presidency and how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern if elected in November.Dickerson: “My very first reaction is that the American system is founded on a structure. And that structure is the peaceful transition of power. You mentioned that [John] Adams and [Thomas] Jefferson were friends once, then became bitter enemies. But Thomas Jefferson said, ‘Whichever of us wins this presidential contest, the country will be okay.’ …There was a norm that he felt it was necessary to speak to. That idea of a peaceful transition of power is one of the things that makes America great.”Dickerson: “John Kennedy said, ‘I spent so much time getting to be president. I wish I’d spent more time learning how to be president.’ …And when you talk to people who have worked in White Houses … they all say, ‘You walk in and you have all these plans, and you think it’s all going to be going one way, and then it absolutely is not as you expected.’ …Everything just starts flowing and you’re just in a constantly reactive mode. So the sooner you can get started thinking about what the set of challenges are going to be, what your organizational structure is going to look like, [the better]."(4 votes)
- what does john dickerson want to know about presidency?(5 votes)
- At2:18, John said that presidents can declare war, but isn't that power delegated to Congress? What aspects of war does the President actually control?(1 vote)
2:18Video transcript
- So, John, how has the role
of the presidency changed over the last several hundreds of years? - It's changed dramatically. First of all, when the founders created the presidency, they left it kinda loose. They weren't exactly very specific about what a president would do. And they realized that
the first president, George Washington, and this
is why he was so important, was a man of virtue and
that he in his behavior would set the precedence for
the next president after him. That means the job is basically
handed off by tradition from president to
president but that also-- - And the reason why they
didn't know what a president should do is that there
wasn't a notion of a, there wasn't a precedent
for being a president. - That's right, they knew
what they didn't want. They didn't want two things,
they didn't want a king, they'd just gotten rid of one of those. They didn't want a king
and they also didn't want somebody who's
whipped around by mob rule. Those were the two things they were trying to get between. But, a president has a lot of room to move in between the two of them, and they thought we'll put it in the hands of a virtuous American. George Washington, a good
first virtuous American, and that person, through
their virtue and character, would stay in the right place. Would not become a king and
would not give over to the mob, but it also meant that it relied on the character of the
person in the presidency. And so, each president
in subsequent years, has taken shape in the presidency both by what was determined
by their predecessors, but also by what they could do in the job. And what's happened is,
a job that started out very weak in the American system has now become one where some people think of all the entire of American
government as the president. And that's not what the founders wanted. - But how does that evolve? 'Cause obviously the constitution talks about the powers of the president. So, how does it change so much over time? - What happened was, when they originally created the presidency there was a debate, and the debate was, we need
somebody who can move quickly. We can't always be calling
them in to Congress because, of course, when the America was started they used
to take several months, or sometimes it would take weeks to get on a horse and get to Washington. So, we need an executive
who can move quickly. Well, what happened was, in various wars, America needed to move quickly, and they needed one person to act on behalf of the entire Union. Well, there's only one
person who can do that. But, as people wanted
quick action they handed over more power to the president. Congress, which used to fight
with the president a lot, during the Second World War and then on into our present day, has given up a lot of its
power to the president. One of the key ones being
the power to make war. Presidents can now go and make war. Well, that's not the
original way it was arranged. And they've done it
because there is a hunger in the country for quick action, but the problem and challenge of that is, if you invest somebody in with power to do things quickly in an emergency, they hold on to that power
and they don't let it go, and that means that they start doing things when it's not an emergency, that is then not vetted
by the American system. And that system has both the judiciary and the legislative which are meant to hold back a president who's trying to act too quickly and do too much. - Let's go on this notion
of making war as an example. There's clear powers that Congress has to approve a war, has
the power of the purse, So, how did this happen? They just do that as a ritual now? - Well, basically there are times and Congress tries and makes attempts to try to pull power
back from the president. The only times they've been successful after the Second World War
is really after Watergate. The view was that the president
had gotten too powerful. That President Nixon, who left the office, had abused the office
and so Congress tried to pull some power back, but again, political parties which are now
very close to the president. It used to be that political
parties were not so powerful. If I'm a Republican in Congress and I want my Republican
president to do well, I'm gonna give him the power he wants because we're connected. In the old days, if the
president in the office was my party, well that's nice, but I've got my own views
and I'm in Congress, and I'm gonna do what I want. And so, essentially a lot of these powers that have gone to the president have been handed over to
him, not with a ceremony, but just by a lack of a
fight by members of Congress, in withdrawing from their traditional role as the founders wanted it as the key actor in American government. That's no longer case, in America today, the president is the key actor. - And then every time that happens the next president or the
next several presidents, we allowed that to happen to that person. I should have that power as well. - That's exactly right. It's almost like the powers conveyed to the new president like the
furniture in the Oval Office. And so, they think, well this
chair's pretty comfortable. (Sal laughs) I'm not gonna get rid of that and sit in the old uncomfortable wooden chair. I want all the plush trappings. And here's another reason. American politics has created a situation, and television has made
this so much worse, where people run for office promising the sun, the moon, and the stars. So, they say I can, Donald Trump, when he was running
said I alone can fix it. That is not the way the
country was originally founded. That one person could fix or unfix things. It was supposed to be a country with representatives
of the entire country. But, politics has created a system where, whether it's a
Republican or Democrat, they run by saying I can do anything. Well, that means when
you get in the office you want those quick powers that allow you to keep those campaign promises, and those quick powers are only quick if Congress and the
courts aren't in the way. So, politics and the way you run for office makes presidents want to have every possible
power at their disposal.