In this essay, I will be writing about how the power relationship between the United States Congress and the presidency has changed during the past two hundred years. I will be talking about how the executive branch is more powerful than the legislative branch and how the changing relationship between Congress and the president affected American democracy in a good way. The relationship between the president and Congress has changed drastically in the past two hundred years. The framers of the constitution did not want an executive power in charge of the whole country in fear of it turning into a monarchy. They knew they needed a leader for America though. The framers did not want political parties. “Political parties established after Washington left the presidency” (Mandate). The relationship between Congress and the president changed in a very visible way. In the past, the president would meet to discuss issues with Congress, but that is not how it is today. Also the president would have to go through congress to pass a bill or an amendment, but presidents found a way around going through congress. The president can sign a bill without congress’s approval. For example, president Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln wanted to pass an amendment that would end slavery but Congress said no. Lincoln then did what the people wanted and signed the emancipation proclamation anyways to end slavery. Also known as the thirteenth amendment. Some presidents even put the people in power.
Another very notable role of the President also outlined in Article II. Section 2. of the Constitution and reads, “He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court(http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html). It essentially gives the President power to make treaties with foreign nations however, two-thirds of Congress must be in agreement with the decision. Although the President, or the Executive Branch can be interpreted as the most authoritative arm of government, its powers are still limited and restricted by the process of checks and balances. Each branch of government has some governance over the other two divisions. For instance, just as it is outlined above, the President can nominate Ambassadors and Judges of the Supreme Court but the decision must be upheld by Congress. In other words, under the "Advice and Consent clause the appointed member must be sworn in by the Senate. Again, this is an example of how the system of checks and balances limits the powers of the President.
That’s right congress seems to have a grudge of sorts on the executive branch. This could be from a number of things, it could be that they see the president as some annoying co-worker that just deleted their last months project, every time the president vetos. We all know this must be frusterating be cause im sure we have all been in their place. And if congress breathing down his neck wasnt bad enough, one of the only checks that the executive branch has can be overridden. That means that the thing that is supposed to stope legislation from passing can be passed. Which isn’t tha tbad of a thing because if congress passes legislation which means there is aleady a majority. So when one man says no and then even more men say yes i think we can all see where the real preoblem
The main breaking point between the President and Congress was in the Vietnam war. This war sparked a debate on who has the right to declare war, and who has the right to only send advisory troops. Only Congress has the right to declare war, the President can only send advisory troops to other countries. This is a very controversial topic because many people think that the President can declare war, but they have to ask the Congress first. Another convincing reason on why Congress is more powerful that the President is the fact that Congress can make laws and the President has no say. Laws are the outline of America, and they are the only thing keeping crime from all streets in all states across America. Those are only two reasons why Congress is more important to America than the President. All of these powers are stated in Article 1 of the Constitution and the powers of the President are listed in Article 2 of the Constitution. Some people still disagree, though, they think that the President has more rights than
Another important power the Chief in Legislature has is the ability to assemble a meeting with the House of Representatives, the Senate, or both. The framers specified this role of the president in in Article II, Section 3. Not only is the president given the authority to call a meeting with congress, he or she is expected to do so (Kesavan & Sidak, 9). In these meetings the president can discuss the state of America, the status
One of the most interesting events that occurred in the early days of Congress occurred when George Washington brought the Senate the very first treaty to be ratified. Upon his delivery of this treaty Washington expected, being the President, an immediate ratification. However, before this instance a treaty had never been ratified by the Senate, so they informed Washington that they would have to discuss it. Thereafter, Washington paced the halls of the Capital Building, until the Senate, establishing their newfound power, informed him it would take a day or two to be finished (Burns, 1988). This interaction between the President and the Senate, is a crucial example of how early adaptations of power in America allowed for the
My thoughts about the power between Congress and The Presidency I think it’s all about balance. We look to Congress and The Supreme Court to lead our government and The President to be the head of our country to make hard decisions that sometimes lead our country into war. With that said neither one at the same time should have too much power we don’t want a dictatorship and our constitution was made to give the President the freedom to be great leaders. It's all about balance and doing what’s best for our country with both Congress and The
The president also has the power Veto laws passed by congress. The president has the power to make political appointment and negotiate treaties with foreign countries, however this power also requires the approval of the senate. The President is responsible for making a for appointing his cabinet and federal judges. The president is capable of calling congress in session and the power to adjourn congress.
All through the American history, the President's capacities have extended enormously from a constrained part doled out by the Founding Fathers to the official force and a more extensive impact over numerous territories. Being suspicious of giving the President an official force which may prompt an American dictator, the Founding Fathers permitted not very many particular president powers, in contrast with the real part of Congress, which was relied upon to be the predominant branch of the national government.
In fact, when thinking about foreign affairs congress is thought of as a major player very little in pour recent history. Yet, this was not how it was originally designed to be. Our founding father worried about given the president a kind of absolute power when involved with foreign affairs. Though they believed he should be a big part in it, they feared how close it was to the power the king of England had at this time, which was the absolute opposite kind of position they wanted a person to have in the newly formed United States. This is why a balance of power was put into place, in this case having the congress have major controls over declaring war and keeping the nations wealth away from the president, also known as presidential disempowerment. However, reflecting on past situations we see that congress have either turned a blind eye on the president’s action in foreign policy or was unable to gain the upper hand. This can be seen early on in the United States with George Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793. Even though congress argued that this went over them to go to war the matter was soon hushed since the law was vague enough that it allowed the president to have more power than actually specified. Yet, this was one of few instances where the President took control more than congress in foreign policy, at least in early
The Constitution give the president power to veto congress bills. But once Congress passes a bill, the president has the powers to sign it, making it law: veto it, sending it back to Congress with the reason why the bill was vetoed, and finally the president can let it become a law after 10 days of not doing anything with a bill.
The president plays many rolls such as chief legislature, Chief bureaucrat and chief administrator. The powers of the president as chief legislature gives the president the ability to accept or deny bills that Congress presents. As chief legislator, the president can influence congress by either accepting or vetoing a bill. An example of the president’s power occurred in 2012 when President Barack Obama threatened to veto any legislation extending tax cuts for families making more than $250,000 a year. Congressional leaders at this time were trying to avert the fiscal cliff tax increases and automatic spending cuts due to take place in January. Both parties at this time agreed that failed deficit cuts could leave the economy back into recession.
The U.S. Constitution gives Congress and the president various responsibilities, but there have extensive disputes about where war powers begin and the other’s ends. The U.S. Constitution permits the president to let wars happen as commander in chief while Congress has the power to claim war; in fact, to authorize hostilities at any level and fund them. Many people can agree that presidents can send U.S. troops to fight when the country is being attacked, it appears forthcoming but chief executives from both major parties often differ with Congress over their ability to let military force into other combat situations. The president’s relationship with Congress is crucial to American politics. Federalism and the Constitution represent the effort that the president and Congress need to do, which is work together for the good of America.
The United States congress is the most powerful group of politicians within the Governmental system under the United States Constitution. Congress is the glue that holds the United States together upholding its roles and responsibilities detailed in the Constitution on a daily basis. Which so much power Congress members are held in high regard for what they do, Congress’ main responsibly stems from making laws to declaring war. With all this power and responsibility you would assume that there would be no room for congress to make mistakes or even be dysfunctional. Due to high egos and self-centered politicians, congress has become very dysfunctional,and heavy-handed over the years. As well as the shortcuts Congress members have maneuvered
Throughout the history of the United States, the three branches of government had experienced their respective highs and lows. During creation of the United States Constitution, its authors had a preconceived notion that the legislative branch would end up being the more capable of the other two branches of government. All things considered, the legislative branch was a leading force for states amid the Revolutionary War and amid the Articles of Confederation years. The vast majority of the Bill of Rights starts with the expression "Congress shall make no law." That being said, like the sentiments during the Revolutionary Period and amid the Articles of
The president has many duties many to fulfill as though the congress does not have a promise to keep. Barack Obama has fulfilled 47 promises which has made many people proud which were also enormous changes to our country. Although I believe that the president steers the ship of state he still needs the help of the congress as well as they need his help. For example, the president can send the U.S armed forces to war but will need the congress to fund the action. Therefore, they come together to do many things, the power is shared between the two not equally but shared.