Political Science
In every USA administration, a president expanding his/her presidential prerogatives or rather presidential powers has practically become part of the president’s job description, especially in this modern period. Since the founding of this country, presidential powers have expanded significantly, which begs the question; is it suitable for this country’s governance?
I believe that the expansion of presidential powers serves the greater good of this country. Since independence, the presidential powers have been evolving with time. There is so much dissimilarity between the first presidencies of the 19th century compared to today’s presidency. The pioneers of this great nation, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, created the executive branch as the most potent branch that the legislature and the judiciary (Jefferson 2019). However, in the 1800s, the most dominant branch was congress compared to the other branches.
Even though many see that the presidential powers have gradually increased over time, there are periods in history where the executive lost their power. The president has significantly lost power over the years since we cannot compare the first president’s powers with today’s president. Also, the loss of these powers was fundamental as it upholds the balance of powers between the government branches. Consequently, I trust that this evolution and expansion of executive powers are suitable for this nation’s governance since it will correspond with the other arms of government as they all must share equal powers as provided by the constitution.
Most of the presidential powers have expanded due to moving the country from a social, economic, and political quagmire. For instance, President Roosevelt increased the presidential powers to stabilize the economy during the Great Depression and as a move of trying to win the war (Graham2018). When he took office in 1933, he used extra presidential powers by acting quickly to stabilize the economy and provide relief and jobs to those who were hit hard by the chaotic economic situation. He also initiated programs like WPA, CCC, and a four-day bank holiday that forbade individuals to withdraw cash from unstable banks, among others, in a move that permanently altered the federal government by expanding its scope in matters country’s economy.
One crucial reason why the increment of presidential power is significant is that it can reduce external conflicts. President Kennedy used extra powers through foreign affairs and called for cooperation between America andthe communists, reducing tension that could have resulted in war without the senate’s approval. This resulted in more significant relations between these nations. During President Obama’s reign, he declared war and consequently killed the leader of al-Qaeda, thusreducing the issue of terrorism globally (Graham 2018). He did this without the senate’s approval, and those strikes were not a sign of war but rather a national and global interest. However, the increase of presidential powers might threaten the democracy of this nation, but I believe that the expansion of presidential powers has more benefits than the latter.
Works cited
Graham, David A. “The Strangest Thing About Trump’s Approach to Presidential Power.” The Atlantic (2018).Retrieved from.https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/the-strangest-thing-about-trumps-approach-to-presidential-power/562271/
Jefferson, Thomas. The declaration of independence.Verso, 2019.