The Evolution of the Presidency

Parliament or President?  Parliamentary systems with a Prime Minister as chief executive are more common than directly elected president  Prime Minister chosen by legislature, then he/she chooses cabinet from the parliament  Prime Minister remains in power as long as his/her party maintains a majority

Presidents and Prime Ministers  Differences  Presidents could be outsiders, prime ministers always insiders  Sitting members of Congress cannot simultaneously serve in the cabinet, members of parliament can  Presidents have no guaranteed majority in the legislature, prime ministers always do  Presidents and Congress often work at cross-purposes  Even when one party controls both  Consequence of separation of powers

Divided Government  Presidents and Congress often working against each other  Divided government happens when one party controls the White House and the other controls Congress  Happens all the time (split ticket voting, everybody wants to block a policy at some point); unified government something of a myth  Causes gridlock: But… Does it matter?  Divided govt does about as well as a unified one in passing laws, conducting investigations, ratifying treaties, etc  Parties themselves are ideologically diverse  Unified governments really require same ideological wing of the party to control both branches

Evolution of the Presidency  Concerns of the founders: both anarchy and monarchy  Fear military power of the president (overpower states)  Fear of presidential corruption by Senate (b/c they shared treaty-making power  Fear of presidential bribery to ensure reelection  Principal concern: balance power of legislative and executive branches

The Electoral College (yay, compromise!)  Each state to choose its own method of selecting electors  Electors would meet in their own capital to vote for president and vice-president  House would decide the election if no candidate won a majority  Electoral votes determined by adding the number of a state’s Senators to their Representatives

The President’s Term in Office  George Washington set the precedent/tradition of 2 terms  22 nd amendment (1951) legally limited pres to 2 terms (thanks FDR)  Founders also provided for the orderly transfer of power

The First Presidents  Office was made legitimate by men active in independence and founding politics (founders worried over this)  Minimal activism of early govt also lessen fears of the presidency  Appointed people of stature in the community (rule of “fitness”)  Relations with Congress were reversed: few vetoes, no advice from Congress to the pres.

Requirements  35 years old  Natural born citizen  14 years of residency in the United States  Term = four years, says Constitution  Washington and his Amazing Precedent  Codified by Twenty-second Amendment in 1951 (sorry, FDR)

The Jacksonians  Jackson believed in a strong independent president  Helped increase the power of the president through great veto use (none overridden)  Demonstrated what a popular president could accomplish

Reemergence of Congress  With brief exceptions, the next 100 years were a period of congressional dominance  Intensely divided public opinion- partisanship, slavery sectionalism  Only Lincoln expanded pres power  Asserted “implied powers” and the express authorization of the president  Justified by emergency conditions created by Civil War  Congress again dominant until New Deal (T. Roosevelt and Wilson also strong)  Even today: popular perception is that the president is center of govt. Contradicts reality of Congress being the public leader

Compensation  $400,000 (plus perks)

“The Mansion”

“The West Wing”