Political Role of the Presidency

Thomas Jefferson, who served as the nation’s third President from 1801-1809, presided over one the largest expansions of territory in American history: the Louisiana Purchase. Undertaken and finalized in 1803, the Louisiana Purchase ceded a vast expanse of Western lands, including the invaluable port city of New Orleans, from the French government to the United States. Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Emperor at the time, was desperately in need of funds to support his massive army and so he approached Jefferson, offering to sell all of France’s continental North American lands to the United States. Although Jefferson had a few doubts as to the constitutionality of this purchase, he felt that he could not in good conscience, following his duties as President to act in the nation’s best interest, allow such a generous opportunity to slip away. The completed deal drastically increased the size of the young nation, opening up wide new lands to exploration and exploitation.

A treaty is the only device which is explicitly mentioned by the Constitution. One of the recurring themes of American Politics, however, is institutions looking beyond the “four corners” of the Constitution for power. The president does so in terms of war by his (constitutional) ability to direct troop movements which he can (extra-constitutionally) use to intervene in foreign affairs without the Congressional consent necessary to declare war. The president does something similar with executive agreements. The President has the (constitutional) ability to create treaties—the downside to treaties, however, is that they must be ratified by the Senate. Presidents have maneuvered around that requirement, however, by using an (extra-constitutional) device called the “executive agreement.” An executive agreement is basically exactly what it sounds like—two heads of state agreeing to something. Clearly, however, it must come with more strings attached than just a treaty (because it, unlike a treaty, is not ratified by Congress). An executive agreement cannot supersede existing law, on top of which Congress may pass a law nullifying it, and the courts may strike it down as unconstitutional.

Jimmy Carter (term: 1977-1981) oversaw the Iran Hostage Crisis, which occurred in 1979 and lasted over 400 days. It was a massively public situation that had a ton of angles to it, and many argue that this cost Jimmy Carter a second term in office.

Iran was facing a revolution, and the Iranian students that held the Americans hostage in the American embassy were supported by the powers that were not backed by the American government.

John Kennedy (term: 1961-1963) was in office during the Cuban Missile Crisis. America and the Soviet Union were bitter enemies during the Cold War and each found allies throughout the world. The Soviet Union deployed missiles to Cuba, a Communist ally, after America had failed to topple the Castro government during the Bay of Pigs invasion. This led to the most direct conflict of the Cold War, and the possibility of war was very very real.

Ultimately, negotiations settled the situation peacefully.

In the event that a special session of Congress becomes necessary after Congress has been adjourned, only the President may summon Congress back into session.

Abraham Lincoln (term: 1861-1865) is one of the most popular Presidents in American History. During wartime, Presidents have used executive privilege to limit rights or exert far-reaching power.

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln deemed it necessary to restrict habeas corpus, a Latin term that essentially means the right to a fair trial. Lincoln argued that due process was illegal to limit except when the nation was on the brink of collapse – like during the American Civil War.

Warren Harding (term: 1921-1923) and his administration are often labeled as a corrupt Presidency, especially because of the Teapot Dome scandal. This is regarded as the first modern example of publicly exposed corruption among oil companies. The scandal also exposed the backroom dealings where the Harding administration gave contracts to specific companies they were close with, leaving an indelible smudge on Harding’s reputation. Another term for the backroom dealings described here is crony capitalism.

Ever since Franklin Roosevelt greatly expanded the powers of the Presidency, during the New Deal era of American history, the nation’s policy agenda has more and more often been set by the President. The expanding power of the Presidency is one of the defining traits of twentieth-century American politics.

Devolution as a concept relates to the decentralization of power by offering some powers previously reserved for the Federal government to the states. It’s purpose is to reduce the overwhelming power held by the national government. Because it focuses on reducing Federal power, it should be understood as a conservative policy and therefore should lead you to select Ronald Reagan as the correct answer.

Upon inauguration, the President and Vice President must be natural born citizens, at least 35 years of age, and United States residents for at least 14 years.