Imperial Presidency Essay Example for Free

Imperial Presidency EssayThe Imperial Presidency The Imperial Presidency is a term that was created and made known by Arthur Schlesinger. The term is defined as a belief that the administration is becoming too conditionful. The modern chairwoman has many powers that the founding fathers did non intend for them to yield. This increase in power has started ever since the formation of president Franklin Roosevelts New Deal, and World War II. The term conveys a president that has violet powers and is authoritarian. The president can straighten out many decisions that the founding fathers did not intend for him to have the power to make.This includes calling a state of emergency, and declaring state of war without putting it through congress first. These powers ar not necessarily bad but they can be taken advantage of. This violates the role the founding fathers think congress to have. They intended congress to be the center of decision-making. The modern president also has a big Executive module. It is the presidents ply making big decisions on his behalf that has caused the president to become more powerful. Presidents also have the indemnify to secrecy and they can withhold any information they want from the public. champion historical example of Imperial presidency would have to be the role of Colonel Oliver North in the supporting to the Contras in Nicaragua, under the presidency of Reagan. This was a huge contravention of a United States tellingional ban, and exemplifies serious how much influence and power one member of a large White House staff could have. This was a huge disaster for Reagan and the Government of the United States since it had been illegally financing a civil war of the Contra guerrillas against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. According to the constitution, the president is Command and Chief of the military forces of the United States. Therefore he is able to declare war at any time, without the consent of con gress. This is one of the most powerful powers that the president holds. The president also has the power to sign or veto all legislative bills passed by the congress. thus giving him more power than congress, which is not what is ideally supposed to be, unless Congress over-rides the veto by a two-thirds vote. These are two formal owers that the president uses in order to promote imperial presidency. There are many informal powers that the president uses to expand his role as an imperial president. One of them is the fact that the president has more access to information, knowledge, or expertise than Congress does. This once again puts the president in earliest of congress in being the most powerful. Another informal power the president has is the power to make an executive agreement. An Executive Agreement is the pact made by the president with heads of foreign nations.They do not need congressional approval. So congress would not have a say in these agreements. Personally, I d o believe that the imperial Presidency does exist. It is no news that the presidents executive staff has gradually increased since Roosevelt. These staff members that hold personal loyalty to the president, have powers that they were never intended to have. The power that the White House Chief to Staff position holds is nothing that ever was in the past presidents of the earlier centuries.The large number of officials surrounding the president and only listening to him, along with many other examples, suggests that an imperial presidency certainly does exist. I do believe that an imperial presidency is very necessary right now in the 21st century. The world is becoming more and more powerful, and our country needs a kinglike leader to lead it or else congress will never decide on anything. Congress is now a party based body of government. Their actions tend to focus of what is best for their party quite an than what is best for the country.