GOVT 320
The Imperial Presidency and its Implications
GOVT 320
The American Executive has taken an upward trajectory of power and size over the past
100 years. When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt assumed office, he proposed radical
changes to the office of president itself, including breaking previous norms and increasing its
jurisdiction. This led to the advent of the Imperial Presidency, and the birth of the modern
American Executive. With this, there have been several notable changes, including the ability for
the president to unilaterally commit acts of aggression without Congressional approval,
legislative from the Executive branch, and surveil American citizens, breaking civil rights. These
are all effects of the Imperial Presidency, and its growth.
A relatively new phenomenon in American politics is the massive growth of power and
scope of the Federal Executive. Presidents have used broad interpretations to utilize their
increased powers, and have continually taken measures to further their influence, whether by
setting new precedents, or by taking completely unchecked unconstitutional actions. These
actions can come in the form of legislating through an executive order, making early or sub
cabinet appointments without legislative approval, or committing act of war, forgoing the process
laid out explicitly in the Constitution. This slow, but crucial, process of the growth of the
Executive is important to note because it is not what the Founding Fathers intended for their
country to go. They wanted a strong, yet limited federal government, with the Legislative Branch
holding the most authority of the three designated in the Constitution. However, this
appropriation has been severely distorted, and the American Executive has grown, largely
unchecked by the other two branches of government. With this, there is a noticeable growth of
what is called the “Imperial Presidency,” which essentially states that the President of the United
, States has grown into a far more complex role than when great men like Presidents Washington
and Jefferson held the same position.
George Washington was the chief general of the Continental Army, or the military force that led
to the defeat of the British in the American Revolutionary War. When the war was finished,
Washington went back to his estate, Mount Vernon, and planned on retiring
[ CITATION Bly08 \l 1033 ]. However, he was elected at the Constitutional Convention
unanimously to serve as the first President of these United States. Washington, with his great
integrity and upstanding as an individual, was looked upon as how the presidency would be
shaped. Washington understood this fact and wanted to set an example for the people that would
come after him and succeed him in the position. Therefore, he wanted to adhere to the
Constitutional limitation set on the office, while also setting norms that were not expressed in the
Constitution expressly. Three pressing issues faced the young nation, and Washington as the
leader of that nation, that would determine the size and scope of the federal government and the
American Executive. First, was the issue of the national debt occurred during the Revolutionary
War by both the national government, and the states themselves. When Hamilton, who would
become the de facto leader of the Federalist faction, proposed a National Bank that would
centralize the nations funds, Thomas Jefferson, and his party of the Democrat-Republicans,
publicly opposed this proposition. Despite this pushback from the Democratic Republicans,
Washington signed the bill into law [ CITATION The15 \l 1033 ]. Therefore, Washington set a
precedent that powers expressed in the Constitution were not the only ones that either the
legislative or executive branch had. The next event that occurred was the Proclamation of
Neutrality with regards to the war between Britain and France. Despite France being a crucial
The Imperial Presidency and its Implications
GOVT 320
The American Executive has taken an upward trajectory of power and size over the past
100 years. When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt assumed office, he proposed radical
changes to the office of president itself, including breaking previous norms and increasing its
jurisdiction. This led to the advent of the Imperial Presidency, and the birth of the modern
American Executive. With this, there have been several notable changes, including the ability for
the president to unilaterally commit acts of aggression without Congressional approval,
legislative from the Executive branch, and surveil American citizens, breaking civil rights. These
are all effects of the Imperial Presidency, and its growth.
A relatively new phenomenon in American politics is the massive growth of power and
scope of the Federal Executive. Presidents have used broad interpretations to utilize their
increased powers, and have continually taken measures to further their influence, whether by
setting new precedents, or by taking completely unchecked unconstitutional actions. These
actions can come in the form of legislating through an executive order, making early or sub
cabinet appointments without legislative approval, or committing act of war, forgoing the process
laid out explicitly in the Constitution. This slow, but crucial, process of the growth of the
Executive is important to note because it is not what the Founding Fathers intended for their
country to go. They wanted a strong, yet limited federal government, with the Legislative Branch
holding the most authority of the three designated in the Constitution. However, this
appropriation has been severely distorted, and the American Executive has grown, largely
unchecked by the other two branches of government. With this, there is a noticeable growth of
what is called the “Imperial Presidency,” which essentially states that the President of the United
, States has grown into a far more complex role than when great men like Presidents Washington
and Jefferson held the same position.
George Washington was the chief general of the Continental Army, or the military force that led
to the defeat of the British in the American Revolutionary War. When the war was finished,
Washington went back to his estate, Mount Vernon, and planned on retiring
[ CITATION Bly08 \l 1033 ]. However, he was elected at the Constitutional Convention
unanimously to serve as the first President of these United States. Washington, with his great
integrity and upstanding as an individual, was looked upon as how the presidency would be
shaped. Washington understood this fact and wanted to set an example for the people that would
come after him and succeed him in the position. Therefore, he wanted to adhere to the
Constitutional limitation set on the office, while also setting norms that were not expressed in the
Constitution expressly. Three pressing issues faced the young nation, and Washington as the
leader of that nation, that would determine the size and scope of the federal government and the
American Executive. First, was the issue of the national debt occurred during the Revolutionary
War by both the national government, and the states themselves. When Hamilton, who would
become the de facto leader of the Federalist faction, proposed a National Bank that would
centralize the nations funds, Thomas Jefferson, and his party of the Democrat-Republicans,
publicly opposed this proposition. Despite this pushback from the Democratic Republicans,
Washington signed the bill into law [ CITATION The15 \l 1033 ]. Therefore, Washington set a
precedent that powers expressed in the Constitution were not the only ones that either the
legislative or executive branch had. The next event that occurred was the Proclamation of
Neutrality with regards to the war between Britain and France. Despite France being a crucial
