Transcript PPT - University of San Diego Home Pages

If you were designing a new government, what
powers would you give the executive branch?
What are the problems you see arising from
executive power, and how would you solve
them?
Which powers are easiest to grant?
Which would give you most pause?
What do you think of the idea of having a
presidential council instead of a president?
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What were the framers’ personal experiences
with executive power?
How did those experiences shape their views
of executive power?
What were the main controversies over the
construction of the Executive branch at the
Constitutional Convention?
How do we know what the Founders
thought?
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He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the
public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained;
and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and
distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of
fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices,
and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of
our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil
power.
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
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For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders
which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and
altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with
power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and
waging War against us.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to
compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with
circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous
ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
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No executive branch
Execution of laws left to states
Members of Congress chosen, paid, and
recalled by state legislatures
Each state has one vote
Congress cannot levy taxes or regulate
interstate commerce
No national army, only state militias
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The President shall be Commander
in Chief of the Army and Navy of
the United States, and of the Militia
of the several States, when called
into the actual Service of the United
States;
he may require the Opinion, in
writing, of the principal Officer in
each of the executive Departments,
upon any Subject relating to the
Duties of their respective Offices
he shall have Power to grant
Reprieves and Pardons for Offences
against the United States, except in
Cases of Impeachment.
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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, and all other
Officers of the United States, whose
Appointments are not herein
otherwise provided for, and which
shall be established by Law
he shall receive Ambassadors and
other public Ministers;
he shall take Care that the Laws be
faithfully executed,
and shall Commission all the
Officers of the United States
--Article II, US Constitution
“He shall from time to time give to the
Congress Information of the State of the Union,
and recommend to their Consideration such
Measures as he shall judge necessary and
expedient”
(Art. II: Sect. 3).
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Every Bill which shall have passed the House of
Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become
a Law, be presented to the President of the United
States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall
return it, with his Objections to that House in which it
shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at
large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it.If
after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House
shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together
with the Objections, to the other House, by which it
shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two
thirds of that House, it shall become a Law.
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Virtues of the Constitutional executive:
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Single not plural
Elected and re-eligible (not hereditary!)
Impeachable, removable, and subject to the law
Qualified veto (unlike King)
Can only adjourn Congress if they disagree about when to
adjourn
Only occasional command of military, cannot declare war or
raise armies
Can pardon but not in impeachments
Can make treaties with 2/3 of the Senate (unlike the King, who
can make treaties and alliances on his own)
Receiving ambassadors (more dignity than authority)
Nominate govt officers, with advice and consent of Senate
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How to elect the president (and how long will
he serve)?
Will there be one or several presidents?
What will the president’s power over
appointments be?
What will the president’s veto power be?
Other minor debates: war powers, the
“executive” power
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Advantages of a plural executive?
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Advantages
Stability?
 No problem of succession
 Less risk of usurpation of legislative/judicial power
or individual liberty in pursuit of ambition and glory
 Others?
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Disadvantages?
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The states all have single executives
Other countries all have single executives
One person can execute laws consistently,
decisively, quickly
One person should be the focal point in
government
A council would necessarily be aristocratic
A Constitution will prevent the executive from
accumulating too much power
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“Energy in the executive is…essential to the
protection of the community against foreign
attacks; it is not less essential to the steady
administration of the laws; to the protection of
property against those irregular and highhanded combinations which sometimes
interrup the ordinary course of justice; to the
security of liberty against the enterprises and
assaults of ambition, of faction, and of
anarchy.”
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Feeble executive = Feeble execution of laws =
bad government
Single executive=energetic executive
“Decision, activity, secrecy, and dispatch will
generally characterize the proceedings of one
man in a much more eminent degree than the
proceedings of any greater number.”
Plural executive=disagreement, faction,
lawlessness
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How to elect the president (and how long will
he serve)?
Will there be one or several presidents?
What will the president’s power over
appointments be?
What will the president’s veto power be?
Other minor debates: war powers, the
“executive” power
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How to elect the president (and how long will
he serve)?
Will there be one or several presidents?
What will the president’s power over
appointments be?
What will the president’s veto power be?
Other minor debates: war powers, the
“executive” power
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Colonial experience:
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King corrupted Parliament by buying off legislators
with titles, offices, and pensions
King/Governors created offices to bribe colonists to
support him
Colonial legislatures also had some important
appointment powers (SC, PA)
State Constitutions:
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Only one state gave governor appt of judges
Most governors could not appoint militia officers
Most prohibited legislators from holding other
offices
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Who appoints judges?
Senate appoints: Pros and Cons:
 Wilson, Madison (2), Gorham, Sherman, Bedford,
Gorham, Randolph, Ellsworth, Morris (2)
 Executive appoints (after Brearly revision):
 Wilson, Pinckney, Morris, Gerry
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What restrictions will be placed on legislators’
holding other offices?
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Mr. Randolph’s proposals
Gorham, Madison (2), Mason, King, Morris,
Pinckney, Mercer, Sherman, Baldwin, Wilson
Adams’ letter to Sherman (pts. 1, 2, 5, 6, 8)
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How to elect the president (and how long will
he serve)?
Will there be one or several presidents?
What will the president’s power over
appointments be?
What will the president’s veto power be?
Other minor debates: war powers, the
“executive” power
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Colonists very angry about King & Governors’
absolute vetoes
In 1776, only ONE state gave the governor a
veto power
NY Constitution lodged the veto power in
Council of Revision
MA Constitution of 1780 gave governor a
qualified veto
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Madison’s plan
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Wilson & Hamilton’s plan
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Council of Revision (lost 4 different times)
Absolute veto (lost unanimously)
Winner: Qualified veto with 2/3 override
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Proposing a council of revision, and
contrasting that with an absolute veto:
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Gerry (3), Franklin, Wilson (2) , Butler, Bedford,
Mason (2), Madison, Gorham, Martin, Rutledge
Weighing a 2/3 vs. ¾ threshold for override
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Williamson, Sherman, Gerry, Mason, Madison
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The executive Power shall be vested in a
President of the United States of America.
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Article II, Section 1
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be
vested in a Congress of the United States
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Article I, Section 1