When people first think of the United States, the first thing that usually comes to mind is freedom and democracy. Also, what comes to mind is the President of the United States. The President to the American people is someone who represents the country and has America’s best interest in mind. The presidents are role models, people who we aspire to be like. The presidency began with the intention of being solely the executor of laws passed by Congress. Through time the office of the president has become more than a mere executor of laws. The power of the office of the president has expanded gradually through domestic policies, wartime powers and influence over the American people’s desire for the future of the United States. The presidential
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In the early stages of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln did not hesitate to resort to “otherwise unconstitutional measures.” Lincoln mobilized 75,000 militia, suspended the writ of habeas corpus and blockaded the South. This was an internal affair though only Congress has the power to wage war. In Lincoln’s defense he was looking to past presidents for guidance. Following the example of Andrew Jackson, used his inaugural address to pronounce secession is unacceptable: “I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these states is perpetual … that no state upon its own mere notion can lawfully get out of the Union.” This similar to policy of John Adams. Under the Adams Administration, the Alien and Sedition Acts were past. These Acts meant the president was able to expel foreigners at will and made it a crime to speak about the president in a false, scandalous, and malicious way. In turn, the Supreme Court would overrule Lincoln’s policies after his death in Ex parte Milligan. Though the policies brought forth in Lincoln’s administration showed that power in the hands of the president could be used to wage and win wars more effectively than
In the early stages of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln did not hesitate to resort to “otherwise unconstitutional measures.” Lincoln mobilized 75,000 militia, suspended the writ of habeas corpus and blockaded the South. This was an internal affair though only Congress has the power to wage war. In Lincoln’s defense he was looking to past presidents for guidance. Following the example of Andrew Jackson, used his inaugural address to pronounce secession is unacceptable: “I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these states is perpetual … that no state upon its own mere notion can lawfully get out of the Union.” This similar to policy of John Adams. Under the Adams Administration, the Alien and Sedition Acts were past. These Acts meant the president was able to expel foreigners at will and made it a crime to speak about the president in a false, scandalous, and malicious way. In turn, the Supreme Court would overrule Lincoln’s policies after his death in Ex parte Milligan. Though the policies brought forth in Lincoln’s administration showed that power in the hands of the president could be used to wage and win wars more effectively than