Реферат: Imperial Presidency Overview Essay Research Paper Imperial

Imperial Presidency: Overview Essay, Research Paper

Imperial Presidency: Overview

In his book, The Imperial Presidency, Arthur Schlesinger recounts the

rise of the presidency as it grew into the imperial, powerful position that it

is today. His writing reflects a belief that the presidency is becoming too

powerful and that very few people are making a real effort to stop it. He

analyzes the back and forth struggle for power between Congress and the

Presidency. Schlesinger breaks up the first half of the book chronologically. He

begins by discussing the areas concerning the presidency where the founding

fathers agreed and also the areas where they disagreed. He then goes on to

analyze the rise of the imperial presidency through war and recovery, with

emphasis on the events of the twentieth century. After the war in Vietnam,

Schlesinger divides the book based on the specific nature of the events that had

an impact on presidential power. He divides it based on domestic policy, foreign

policy, and the affairs that go on in secrecy.

Schlesinger provides an incredible amount of evidence to recount the ups

and downs of the imperial presidency. He provides a base for his argument with

an in-depth view of what the framers intended and how they set the stage for

development over the next two centuries. An issue that Schlesinger focuses on is

the presidents ability to make war. The decisions of the founders in this area

would have a huge impact on the power contained in the office of the president.

The consensus amongst the framers was that the president, as Commander in Chief,

had the ability to defend the United States and its interests, but the ability

to declare war was vested in the Congress. This decision set the stage for the

struggles between the president and congress. He also discussed the debate over

the power institutionalized in the presidency. At the time, there were two

schools of thought on the subject. Hamilton supported an active president, while

Jefferson argued in favor of a passive president. The final draft included a

compromise of the two theories. There was also some debate over the power of the

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