Analysis Of US V. Curtiss

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Many people tend to wonder the actual power of the president. Is it just a title? Or is he secretly the most powerful man; much like a dictator? Well, by going back in time to specific court cases that could have swayed either way, one can easily tell that the president has more powers than everyone thinks. Many think that issues involving wars and foreign relations are solely powers given to the President, but these powers can be tested when problems occur that are not clearly stated in his job description. Through the analysis of Bas v. Tingy, Marin v. Mott, US v. Belmont, and US v. Curtiss-Wright Corporation, these powers can be clearly outlined. Bas V. Tingy began with a discrepancy over that value of lost ships on the behalf of another country. The first congressional law regarding this issue stated that if a ship was lost to France, 1/8 of the value of the ship could be paid for its return to the owner. In 1799, that law was altered and the government exchanged the word “France” for “enemy,” and they raised the value to 1/2. During this court case, Tingy recaptures Bas’s ship three weeks after the French had taken it from them. Bas attempts to pay Tingy 1/8 the original value of his ship, referring to the 1798 law. Tingy believes he should be receiving 1/2 of the ships value, in reference to the 1799 law. The case made its way up to the Supreme Court where they argued whether France was the enemy, therefore agreeing with the 1799 law, or if France was not an enemy of war, in which they would be agreeing with earlier law. Ultimately, the Supreme Court agreed to follow the law passed in 1799, therefore entitling Tingy to 1/2 of the original value of the ship. The question the many thought about was, is France the enemy? There had been no declaration of war with France, and there had been no mention of France ever being an enemy. This questioned the presidential powers in the aspect of he is able to fight an undeclared war. Through the Supreme Court ruling in favor of Tingy, it shows that the President does indeed have that power. Marin V. Mott is another case debates the presidential powers regarding war in the US. In 1827, President Madison called out the state militias due to a danger threat. Mott refuses this order and does not join into the militia. The Court Martial, Martin, fined him for not following presidential orders. After Mott also refused to pay the fine, Martin seized all of his goods. In retaliation, Mott filled a civil suit against the court martial. Once the case made its way to the Supreme Court, they unanimously voted that Mott need to have obeyed presidential orders, and therefore also needs to pay the fine ordered by Martin. The Supreme Court backed up their decision by pulling factual evidence from Article 1; Section 8 of the constitution. In this section, it clearly gives the President the power to be the Commander-In-Chief of all defenses. Article 1 also gives the president sole authority to call out state militias. People begin to wonder if there are any limits on a President when …show more content…
Some believe the President of the United States can make decisions regarding foreign relations without congressional approval. Yet, many believed that only the bank had said on if they were going to cooperate with the Soviet Union. Others believed it should be the decision of a Court. In the end, the recognition of the Soviet Union and all other claims were deemed dependent on one another. The agreement concluded with the fact that States cannot interfere with the inner relations of a country. U.S V. Curtiss-Wright Corporation is yet another case dealing with the Presidential powers regarding foreign relations. President Roosevelt called for an Embargo in 1963, which is a temporary stop to the trading of goods with other countries. But, disobeying Presidential orders, the Curtiss-Wright company continued to sells bombers and planes to Bolivia. The President had a Joint Resolution that disapproved of any weapon sale to Bolivia. The Curtiss-Wright Company still believed they could sell these war devices to

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