the presidents

THE PRESIDENTS

Increasing the Power of the Office of the President

• Powerful and influential presidents:

Washington, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan and Bush

• All dominated because of perceived leadership during times of national emergencies – war, economic hardship or domestic development.

WASHINGTON

• Set the tenor of the institution – virtually everything he did set precedent.

i. The appointment of a Cabinet

ii. Establishing a working relationship with Congress.

iii. Warning to stay neutral in world affairs

• Set the tone of the presidency for years.

LINCOLN

• By resolving the issue of state’s rights (Civil War) the office of the President really grew in power and influence.

Theodore Roosevelt

• Square Deal- An agreement that is made fairly between businesses

and consumers and workers.- Railroads were no longer allowed to give rebates or

kickbacks to favored companies. Meat had to be processed safely with proper sanitation. Foodstuffs and drugs could no longer be mislabeled, nor could consumers be deliberately misled to make a profit

• Trust busting policies – ‘bad’ trusts had to be curbed, ‘good’ ones encouraged. He wanted executive agencies to make the decisions, not courts.

• Latin American Policy of “walk softly, but carry a big stick.”

Woodrow Wilson

• Successfully piloted the country through the first World War

- failure to achieve Senate approval of the Versailles Treaty and the League of Nations weakened his overall performance

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

• Leadership during the Great Depression and World War II changed the presidency.

• Leadership in the new age of electronic media, the growth of executive agencies under the New Deal, his Brain Trust Advisors, and the creation of the Executive Office of the President in 1939 led to a transformation of the presidency.

• Many say the first imperial presidency.

Kennedy

• New Frontier: “We stand at the edge of a New Frontier – the frontier of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. It will deal with unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.”

- intended to boost the economy, provide international aid, boost the space program, control monopoly prices

- created the public perception that he was creating change for the country.

• Standing up to USSR during the Cuban Missile Crisis• Advocate of civil rights and managed to increase the

minimum wage.

Lyndon Johnson

• Great Society programs.

- goals were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice.

- 4 Civil Rights Acts were passed

- Economic Opportunity Act

- Job Corps

- Social Security Act

- Medicare . . . . . . .

Nixon• Foreign Policy Accomplishments

i. Ending of the Vietnam War

ii. Détente with the USSR

iii. Diplomatic recognition of China

Reagan and Bush• Credited with being catalysts in ending the

cold war.• In office during the demise of the USSR• Bush’s vision of a New World Order- Gorbachev and H.W. used the term to try to

define the nature of the post Cold War era, and the spirit of great power cooperation that they hoped might materialize.

- The First Gulf War.

Clinton

• Balanced budget agreement

• Longest period of economic prosperity in United States history.

Chief Executive

• “faithfully execute the laws” of the nation.

• The president has developed and organized the executive department into three areas:

i. The cabinet

ii. The executive office

iii. The White House staff• The administrative responsibilities of these

departments increase the size and scope of the executive department as a whole.

The Cabinet

• There are 18 cabinet positions

• Americans scrutinize the cabinets to see whether they represent a cross section of the population

• Bush’s cabinet appointments signaled an attempt to unify the country after the divisive election of 2000

Bush’s Cabinet

• First African-American Sec. Of State

• First African-American NSA

• Rod Paige (African-American) Sec. Of Ed.

• Mel Martinez – Housing Sec, Alberto Gonzales – White House Counsel

• Women: Christie Whitman – Dir. Of EPA; Ann Veneman Sec. Of Agr.; Elaine Chao – Labor Sec.

Executive Office of the Pres.

• 4 policy making bodies:

i. NSC

ii. Council of Econ. Advisors

iii. OMB (oversees congressional appropriations)

iv. Office of Nat’ll Drug Control

Use of Presidential Powers

• The skills and ability of the person in office will increase or decrease the power of the presidency

• Examples:- Johnson, having the experience as Senate

Majority Leader, already had the skills of working with Congress.

- Result: achieved a great deal of success with his Great Society programs

• Carter, Georgia Governor, was unable to work with congressional leaders and did not implement his agenda

• Clinton, former governor, used his support staff and developed a working relationship with his own party leaders.

Party Leader

• Only nationally elected official – has much influence in setting his agenda. (especially if he is a member of the majority party – ‘your support will make or break the presidency’) Clinton used this pressure when he lobbied for the passage of his first budget

• Can impound funds:

- Nixon used this to curb congressional spending. (1974 C.B.I.A. set limits on this practice.

Chief Diplomat

• Can make treaties and appoint ambassadors.

Influence Over Judiciary• Appoint Supreme Court Justices, grant

pardons, reprieves and amnesty, executive privilege (power to resist certain search warrants and other encroachments). Nixon v U.S.

- Ford pardoned Nixon, Carter granted draft evaders amnesty

Public Approval

• Every president talks about a ‘mandate for change.’

• Use their bully pulpits – the ability to use the office of the presidency to promote a particular program – to influence Congress.

• FDRs fireside chats, Clinton’s town meetings.

• Once support is obtained, the president must use it as a wedge to get Congress to approve his agenda.

- Clinton’s ‘buscapade’ for his Health Security Act. Reagan’s media blitz for his tax cuts.

- Staged events such as bill signings solidify support for the next agenda item.