The Big Stick : President Of The United States Essay

The arguments made by Federalists and anti-Federalists regarding the office and powers of the presidency during the ratifying debates that followed the drafting of the Constitution in 1787 were persuasive, but distinctly at odds. Both sides, however, sought the same thing, how best to allocate power in a unified republic of states? From this question opposing views developed as to whether or not a President should even exist, and if so, what powers he should be granted. I will briefly examine the presidential powers that were primarily awarded under Article II of the new Constitution. I will then explore the opposing arguments that arose during the ratifying debates concerning those granted powers. I do so in the interest of offering a

Hard power and soft power are important factors when it comes to our nation and its role throughout the world. The differences between hard and soft power offer people a better insight when it comes to political power in our nation. Hard power deals with the aspect of changing the actions of others through things such as coercion; whereas, soft power deals with attraction and shaping what others want from a different perspective (Smith-Windsor, 52). These versions of power are crucial when it comes to the theory of international relations. A hypothesis that alliances are founded on calculations of national interest and do not withstand a conflict of those interests is christened “theory” in the current language of political science (Aron,

Since the creation of the United States of America, the power of the President has increased dramatically. Specifically, regarding foreign affairs, the power of the President has greatly increased. According to foreign policy specialist Michael Cairo, the Constitution originally gave Congress the majority of war powers. While the formal powers of Congress include the power to declare war, raise and support an army, and regulate commerce, the President was only meant to mainly be Commander in Chief and negotiate treaties in regard to foreign affairs. The President’s role of leading the armed forces may seem like it would give him the authority on all issues regarding foreign affairs, but this power was granted to the President so that he could react quickly if a national emergency occurs. Although Congress was originally given the majority of war powers, Presidents have begun to utilize unilateral authority in the realm of foreign policy. In the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President deployed troops without a declaration of war from Congress.

George W Bush’s presidency can be associated with an infamous term that stood out from the State of the Union address, that term being ‘Axis of Evil’. In this context, Bush categorised the countries of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as being ‘evil’ states. This neoconservative comment left little doubt as to what Bush’s foreign policy towards these states was going be (Baxter and Akbarzadeh, 2008). This comment would then define George W Bush’s presidency, due to the controversy over this phrase and the results that it would have on US foreign policy as “rarely had such a rhetorical device had such devastating consequences” (Ansari, 2006:186). This paper will argue how the use of the word ‘evil’, and the categorisation of these ‘evil’ countries, had a large impact on US-Iran relations.

United States involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last thirteen years has resulted in much debate over the role of the United States military. This debate is encouraged, as it will sustain conversation of how to best employ an important yet dwindling national resource. The publication of Dominic Tierney’s article “Why Has America Stopped Winning Wars” speaks directly to this debate. The article argues that the US military has lost the capability of winning wars since World War II . Tierney posits that the world is a more peaceful place and the United States is incapable of adapting to the resultant style of low intensity conflict that normally rises with state peace. He believes the U.S. government has a lust for global hegemony. The excessive use of military force is the only way to quench Washington’s thirst He concludes with an implication that American’s victory culture has led to disillusionment of our government’s expectations, and that this culture should be reexamined in order to prevent unnecessary loss of life in the future. Although Tierney makes a valiant effort to question US military strategic efforts over the last 70 years, he fails to realize that America’s emphasis on national security is a major contributing factor for why the world has seen a reduction in state-on-state war.

Since 1776, The United States of America has been an independant country, presided over by presidents. This year, 2016, the country will greet its forty-fourth president, but forty-three if Grover Cleveland is counted twice. Some say that the greatest presidents, however, presided in 1860 to 1877. These three presidents, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Ulysses S. Grant, rose to the occasion and helped to shape the United States of America to be the great nation that stands today.

After the Revolutionary War, the United States wanted to implant a strong relationship with Britain and also with France. Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, helped settle hostility with Britain and with France. By doing so, he helped to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, started trading more with other countries, and also made it easier for immigrants to become citizens.

Presidents day is not only a day of no school and savings it is also a day to reflect on the leaders of our nation throughout its history. This brings to light the question "Who have been the greatest presidents of the U.S.?". When I reflected on this I came to the realization that there is no correct answer. There have been many great presidents in their own right from Washington our first president, the setter of many precedents, the one who every presidents strives to be like.To Lincoln our 16th president the one who saw the division of the nation and then brought it back together and to many the great liberator of the slaves. And now in my mind I've decided to speak of Ronald Reagan our 40th president and the "Great Communicator".Ronald Reagan was one

Presidents of the United States of America have been around since the country became it’s own. Each president is given certain responsibilities and rights. Presidential power is listed in the Constitution but since then, there’s been room for more responsibilities to come into play. The powers exercised in the modern world surpass those included in the Constitution. Today, the president has a number of offices and departments serving under him. These institutions help keep the government together and everything running smoothly. The presidents rely on a number of other things. Some include elections, political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion. There are different kinds of powers granted to the president. While some

The President has too much power in my opinion. Even though the Congress has enough power to make the President look bad, I still believe they have too much power. Since the President is a part of the Executive Branch, he creates laws and can also veto them. In some circumstances the President has to go through Congress for their decision, like declaring war and having the power to deal with foreign affairs. Congress holds all of the power to declare war, but the President is still the Commander-and-Chief of the Army.

America lies in the wake of the impending presidential election, which has been shrouded in controversy from its infancy. FBI investigations, leaked emails, private recordings, rape allegations, and indubitable untruths have plague both front-runners. Despite the foul taste left in the mouth of many Americans by Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, they have come out victorious in their campaign to represent their respective party as the nominee for president. While it was once widely believe that the American people democratically elect the president of the United States, through current influences such as the media, internet, and growing population an exorbitant amount of Americans believe that their vote no longer counts, thus posing the question who’s really in control of the electoral process? In the past, the call to question of the integrity of the electoral processes was strictly reserved for the most devout conspiracy theorist, but with the pullulating concerns over super delegates, average sound mind Americans are not sure the full truth is being told. Has America been fed at noble lie? A simple answer yes, a more complex answer America has been fed a misconception disguised as a lie.

Throughout United States history, the American people voted for the President of the U.S. and for members of both chambers of Congress, and the 2016 election is not an exception. On November 9th, Donald J. Trump was declared to become the 45th President of the United States by attaining 306 electoral votes, which is clearly past the threshold of the required 270 electoral votes. However, after winning the popular vote in states Trump had won, some electors from those states have expressed their disappointment in voting for him, and other have decided to not vote for him at all. Lilly O 'Donnell, a journalist for The Atlantic, states, “[electors] Michael Baca of Colorado and Bret Chiafalo of Washington state have called themselves Hamilton Electors, in a nod to Alexander Hamilton’s explanation of the Electoral College’s necessity.” These electors are trying to convince other electors to prevent a Trump presidency when the electoral college votes; however, there are other calls for electors to do the same thing throughout the nation. While the calls for electors to change their vote from Trump are growing, another conversation is growing rapidly, especially among Democrats, and that is to eliminate the electoral college. With former Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton’s popular vote count margin being at the current amount of 2,838,506 votes, a multitude of people throughout the United States are questioning the relevance in the U.S (Wasserman).

The government in the United States supposedly revolves around American ideals such as equality and diversity; however, this is simply not the case as perpetuated by class inequalities. The meaning of democracy has been skewed in the United States to represent something entirely different than it did in 1776. Today, American democracy behaves more like an aristocracy, where the upper class exercises power within the government and state, influencing discourse and therefore the laws and resources in our country, which are purportedly “for the people”. Democracy is presumed to provide everyone with equal political power, but the government in today’s America, although seemingly following this ideal model, does not. Instead, the elite upper class has a monopoly over the political influence and are the sole benefactors from public policies due to their influence over the policy making process. The upper class has an overall benefit from class inequality, as it greatly impacts American ‘democracy’ through the significant power gained through money and status, leadership roles that impact government, and the influence in the policymaking process that creates upper class advantages.

Will Donald Trump fulfill America’s request and actually “make America great again”? When friends of mine who are Trump supporters inform me that they support him, I don’t understand the reasons why they picture him as our future president of the united states. Donald Trump has never been an elected official. He has never been elected into an office of any kind. He’s never had to broker political compromise or gave any political speeches prior to him running for president. With no experience in politics at all, why would people think he’d make a good president? Sure, Donald Trump is a barefaced self-promoter and experienced businessman. But people don’t realize all of the mistakes he has made as a businessman. Washington, D.C., is not a type of Wall Street or anything for him to lose money or make some reckless decisions that would put our country into a deeper hole that we are already into, and also getting multiple things done within the nation’s capital takes more than a huge personality and a strong will. If Donald Trump is elected to be our president, he’ll have to quickly learn how to deal with his Democratic associates in the House of Representatives and Senate. He’ll also have to get used to the pace of government because there are moments when things can accelerate pretty quickly and also where things can move extremely slow at times. He’ll also have to get used to giving speeches on topics he may not be interested in, especially when it comes to conversations

In the early 1990s, Joseph Nye’s book Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature Of American Power ignited a huge discussion among society of the need to transition from America’s traditional use of hard power to something more benign which he termed soft power. Before looking at the two branches of power, we first define power as the ability to do something or act in a certain way. As Nye had pointed out, nations can wield power in two forms, soft and hard power. Soft power, as coined by Nye (1990) is defined as “the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than through coercion.” In contrast, hard power is seen as the use of military might or economic sanctions to coerce others into