Liberty May Be Endangered by the Abuses of Liberty, As Well As by the Abuses of Power” (Madison, No
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Spokane 1 Julia Spokane The Expansion of Executive Power James Madison once wrote, “Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty, as well as by the abuses of power” (Madison, No. 63); a theme that is seen throughout the presidencies of the United States. James Madison and Franklin Delano Roosevelt are comparable in that both Presidents were confronted with constitutional issues and used the precedents set before them to help guide their presidencies. Madison helped create the Constitution and only had three presidents come before him, while Roosevelt had 115 years of presidents before him, who set their own standards. They differ in that Madison had a narrow, more strict interpretation of the Constitution, while Roosevelt had a flexible interpretation of the Constitution. Madison used limited executive power and did not want to encroach on the separation of powers, while Roosevelt expanded his executive powers as he saw necessary in the time of an emergency. Despite facing extraordinary crises in their presidencies, both personal beliefs and political circumstances led Madison and Roosevelt to hold contrasting views of executive power, providing differing precedents for future presidents to follow from, thus demonstrating how the president’s executive power has grown beyond the original intent of the Constitution. Original Intent When drafting the Constitution, the framers kept in mind the tyrannical powers that the king held, while also noting that the legislative branch could gain too much power. The framers looked to the states that already had a constitution, like Virginia. Virginia’s constitution created a government with a weak executive office with all the power vested in the legislature, but the Revolutionary War and Shays’ Rebellion proved that not having a strong executive weakened the federal government (Gormley, 4). New York then created a constitution in 1777 with a strong Spokane 2 executive, which turned out to be successful (Gormley, 2). The framers thus decided that, “The president would not be a king or sovereign. Instead, he would swear to protect and defend a higher authority: the Constitution” (Gormley, 2). The framers adopted a new Constitution that they intended to be assessed as time went on, with new presidents; they loosely defined certain provisions, but left details to be resolved in the future. The intent of the framers continued with their appreciation of the three branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial. As Gormley writes, “the framers ensured this by building into the Constitution the Federalist notion of separation of powers and checks and balances, so that the three branches of government would remain in a constant state of tension, each guarding its own turf” (Gormley, 10). This new system would guarantee that one branch of government would not dominate power over the others, like Madison worried the legislature would. The overall goal was for America to adopt a whole new system of governance, which was done with a democratic ideal in mind. The new nation wanted to involve the governors of states and the citizens in order to balance the powers between the state and federal governments, ensuring that their voices could be heard in shaping the country. Even after the Constitution was ratified, the framers had different understandings of it. According to Jefferson Powell, author of “The Original Understanding of Original Intent,” the framers all agreed that it, “would be interpreted in accord with its express language” ( 903), but each framer had their own view of that. Madison favored that the future interpretation should focus on the people, while Hamilton believed the Constitution should be interpreted by looking at the text itself, per the Federalist Papers. The approach to the Constitution was one from a common law view, where the framers provided that each article would have an accurate meaning attached to it. Although much of the Constitution is left open for interpretation, “the framers Spokane 3 were aware that unforeseen situations would arise, and they accepted the inevitability and propriety of construction” (Powell, 904). The framers chose not to do anything to help interpret the Constitution for the people of the future, as they knew the nation would expand with arising conflicts. Leaving it so future presidents could interpret, so they could decide what would be best for the United States in times of crises. Executive Power The Constitution explicitly gives the president expressed powers that are for them and them only. First, in Article II, Section 1, Clause 1, it states the Vesting Clause; “The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America” (U.S Constitution, 9). The interpretation of this statement is that all executive power, the power to execute and enforce laws lays in the hands of the president, and it is his power to do so without advice and consent from Congress. Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 continues to give the president the power as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, explaining that although Congress is to declare war, he is in charge of the military and the decisions in war. Section 2, Clause 2 also gives the president the power to appoint, including Supreme Court justices and members of his cabinet with consent of the Senate. The Presidential Veto is another power that the Constitution expressively gives the president, as stated in Article I, Section 7, in the Presentment Clause; it proclaims that all bills must be presented to him, giving him the power to sign or veto it. The strongest aspect of the Constitution granting the president executive power lies in Article II, Section 3 under the Take Care Clause. This clause states that “he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed” (U.S. Constitution, 13). The implied powers are derived from this clause, which are powers that are not expressively given in the Constitution, but are laid out from set precedents or similar powers given; this is the constitutional basis for executive orders. Spokane 4 Inherent powers are those that can be deduced from the Constitution, usually from the Take Care Clause, and are given in times of crises, particularly surrounding foreign affairs. This power is regulated by Congress as it can be limited by the legislature or deemed unconstitutional by the judiciary. Through the expressed, implied, and inherent powers, the executive is granted much power, perhaps even more than Congress. Madison’s View of the Constitution As the Father of the Constitution, Madison had a structuralist approach, an approach that “draws inferences from the design of the Constitution: the relationships among the three branches of the federal government; the relationship between the federal and state governments; and the relationship between the government and the people” (Murrill, 18). Before Madison became president, he was very particular that the separate branches could not be completely detached and that they had to work together, specifically when creating new amendments. Throughout his work on the Constitution and as president, it is evident that Madison referred to the legality of issues before reaching a decision. The Federalist Papers are a collection of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, all under the alias Publius. The goal of the essays was to promote the ratification of the Constitution. In Federalist Paper No. 10, Madison explained how there were factions with complete opposite views of one another who wanted different things out of the Constitution. Madison decided that were two methods to control the factions: “—by destroying liberty which is essential to its existence [or] by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests” (Madison, No. 10). When deciding between the two, Madison saw that the first was impossible and the second was impractical. Madison pushed for a strong central government as he believed the class struggle between the factions would come to Spokane 5 an end and it would unify the nation. He did so by assuring the citizens that the factions could not control others because of the majority rule and minority rights that produced diversity, which would prevent tyranny. Moreover, Madison’s Federalist Paper No.51 further explained the structure of the new government and how liberty was achievable. Liberty is attained through the balance of independence and autonomy, as seen through the separation of powers. Madison wrote that with “the preservation of liberty, it is evident that the members of each [power of government] should have as little agency as possible in the appointment of the members of the others” (Madison, No. 51). The separation of powers and the checks and balances are a vital part of making the new democratic government function. This idea became built within the Constitution as Articles I, II, and III provides that each branch must work with another in order to carry out its duty. The separation of powers is the reason behind Madison’s view of an energetic executive, while also advocating in favor of lesser executive power. Madison’s Take on Executive Power An energetic executive is a concept that Hamilton referred to in the Federalist Paper No. 70. In this essay, he defines an energetic executive structure as having one powerful executive leader, so the executive could act in a more timely manner than the legislature, while also having other branches for checks and balances to show that the government was not a monarchy. Madison also agreed with this idea of a strong executive, but he did not agree with expanded powers of the executive. Madison believed that the executive branch should adhere to the separation of powers and should not infringe on other powers. Later on, this energetic executive became an excuse for expansion of presidential power, of which Madison did not approve.