Expansion of FEDERAL POWER [AP Gov Review Unit 2 Topic 6 (2.6)]
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the expansion of presidential power in the US, focusing on how it has grown since Franklin Roosevelt. It distinguishes between formal powers granted by the Constitution and informal powers exercised by the president. The video contrasts Teddy Roosevelt's broad interpretation of executive power with William Howard Taft's more restricted view. It also covers key moments in history, like Lincoln's wartime actions and FDR's New Deal, which significantly expanded the executive's role. Despite this growth, checks like impeachments and the 22nd Amendment show the president is not all-powerful.
Takeaways
- 📚 The video discusses the expansion of presidential power in the AP Government curriculum, focusing on Unit 2.
- 👤 The power of the U.S. presidency has grown significantly since Franklin Roosevelt, with an increase in both formal and informal powers.
- 📜 Formal powers are those explicitly granted to the president in Article 2 of the Constitution, like the veto or appointing federal judges.
- 📝 Informal powers are not mentioned in the Constitution but are exercised by the president, such as bargaining, persuasion, and executive agreements.
- 🤔 The video explores how presidents interpret and justify their use of these powers, with examples from Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.
- 🦅 Teddy Roosevelt believed the president should act on behalf of the people unless restricted by the Constitution.
- 🏛️ William Howard Taft advocated for a more restricted view, arguing the president can only exercise powers explicitly granted by the Constitution.
- 🔄 The video illustrates the shift in executive power from George Washington's deference to Congress to Andrew Jackson's assertion of the president as the people's representative.
- 🌐 Abraham Lincoln expanded executive power during the Civil War, suspending habeas corpus and taking measures to save the Union.
- 💡 Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal policies and use of executive powers during the Great Depression further expanded the role of the presidency.
- 🚫 Despite the growth of presidential power, there are checks and balances, as seen with Donald Trump's impeachments and the 22nd Amendment limiting terms.
Q & A
What are the two types of presidential powers discussed in the script?
-The script discusses formal and informal powers. Formal powers are those explicitly granted to the president in Article 2 of the Constitution, such as the veto or appointing federal judges. Informal powers are not mentioned in the Constitution but are exercised by the president, such as bargaining, persuasion, and executive agreements.
What was Alexander Hamilton's argument in Federalist 70 regarding the executive branch?
-Hamilton argued for a single executive in Federalist 70, stating that a single person can act more decisively when required and that a single executive would be a protection against the expansion of executive power because they would be closely watched and would be more careful with their power.
How did President Teddy Roosevelt interpret the executive role?
-President Teddy Roosevelt believed that every executive officer, especially those in high positions, should actively and affirmatively do all they could for the people unless it was explicitly restricted by the Constitution or laws.
What was President William Howard Taft's view on executive power?
-President William Howard Taft argued for a more restricted understanding of executive power, stating that the president can exercise no power that cannot be traced to a specific grant of power or reasonably implied within such express grant.
How did Andrew Jackson's conception of executive power differ from George Washington's?
-Andrew Jackson believed himself to be the representative of the people and had a mandate to carry out their will, which was a significant shift from George Washington's conception of executive power, where he basically deferred to Congress.
What actions did Abraham Lincoln take to expand executive power during the Civil War?
-Abraham Lincoln assumed executive powers to save the Union and emancipate the enslaved population of the Confederacy. He also suspended the constitutional right of habeas corpus, allowing people to be arrested without a proper trial.
How did Franklin D. Roosevelt use his executive powers during the Great Depression?
-Franklin D. Roosevelt used his executive powers broadly to pass New Deal legislation, create new agencies, spend federal money to put people to work, and use the veto more than any other president before him.
What was the impact of FDR's presidency on the perception of presidential power?
-FDR's presidency expanded the perception of presidential power significantly, proving Hamilton's point in Federalist 70 that a president could act energetically in times of crisis. Despite concerns about a tyrannical executive, FDR's actions were seen as necessary for the country's recovery.
What checks on presidential power are mentioned in the script?
-The script mentions impeachment as a check on presidential power, as seen with Presidents Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Andrew Johnson. Additionally, the 22nd Amendment limits the president to two terms in office.
How has the debate about the size of government changed since FDR's presidency?
-Since FDR's presidency, the debate has shifted from whether the government should be big or small to whether there should be a smaller big government or a bigger big government, reflecting the acceptance of a larger government role post-New Deal era.
Outlines
📚 Expansion of Presidential Power
This paragraph discusses the growth of presidential power from Franklin Roosevelt to modern times. It explains the difference between formal and informal powers, with formal powers being those explicitly granted by the Constitution, such as the veto or appointing federal judges, and informal powers being those not mentioned but exercised, like bargaining and persuasion. The paragraph highlights how presidents have used these powers over time, leading to an increasingly powerful executive branch. It contrasts the views of Teddy Roosevelt, who believed in an active executive role, with William Howard Taft, who advocated for a more restricted interpretation of executive power. The paragraph also reviews the historical expansion of executive power by presidents like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt, emphasizing how each interpreted and justified their use of power.
🏛️ Checks and Balances on Presidential Power
This paragraph examines the checks on presidential power despite its expansion. It references President Franklin Roosevelt's attempts to expand his power, including his failed effort to change Supreme Court judges. The paragraph also discusses how presidential power has continued to grow since Roosevelt's era but has never returned to the limited scope of earlier presidents like Washington. It mentions the impeachments of President Donald Trump as a modern example of checks on the executive branch. Additionally, it notes the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms, as a structural check on power. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for viewers to engage with the content and support the video series.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡AP Government Curriculum
💡Formal Powers
💡Informal Powers
💡Executive Branch
💡Anti-Federalists
💡Alexander Hamilton
💡Theodore Roosevelt
💡William Howard Taft
💡Andrew Jackson
💡Abraham Lincoln
💡Franklin D. Roosevelt
💡Checks and Balances
Highlights
The expansion of presidential power has grown significantly since Franklin Roosevelt.
Formal powers are those granted to the president in Article 2 of the Constitution.
Informal powers are not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution but are exercised by the president.
Alexander Hamilton argued for a single executive in Federalist 70 to prevent the expansion of executive power.
President Teddy Roosevelt believed it was his duty to act on behalf of the people unless restricted by the Constitution.
President William Howard Taft had a more restricted view of executive power, arguing it should only be exercised when granted by the Constitution.
George Washington's conception of executive power was to defer to Congress.
Andrew Jackson expanded executive power by representing himself as the will of the people.
Abraham Lincoln assumed executive powers to save the Union and emancipate enslaved people during the Civil War.
Franklin Roosevelt used executive powers extensively to pass New Deal legislation during the Great Depression.
Roosevelt was elected four times, breaking the two-term tradition set by Washington.
Roosevelt's presidency is a testament to Hamilton's argument in Federalist 70 about the necessity of a single executive.
Despite the growth in presidential power, there are checks such as impeachment, as seen with Donald Trump.
The 22nd Amendment limits the president to two terms, a check on the expansion of executive power.
Republicans and Democrats argue about the size of government post-FDR, reflecting the reality of an already big government.
The video offers a review packet to help students excel in their AP Government class and exam.
Transcripts
hey there and welcome back to heimlich
history in this video we're going to
continue looking at unit 2 of the ap
government curriculum specifically the
expansion of presidential power over
time since the time of franklin
roosevelt the power and role of the
president has grown by roughly 13 or 14
metric butt loads and we need to figure
out how that happened and why so if
you're ready to get them brain cows
milked well then let's get to it so in
this video here's our objective explain
how presidents have interpreted and
justified their use of formal and
informal powers now to begin let me
remind you of what i said in the last
video about formal and informal powers
of the executive branch formal powers
are those powers granted to the
president explicitly in article 2 of the
constitution things like the veto or
appointing federal judges informal
powers are those powers that are not
explicitly mentioned in the constitution
but that the president exercises
nonetheless things like bargaining and
persuasion and executive agreements now
all presidents have made use of their
formal and informal powers but over time
the president has used more and more of
both powers and the end result has been
a much more powerful executive than we
had when the republic began now let me
remind you that this growth of power in
the executive branch was one of the
chief fears that had anti-federalists
pooping their broadcloth britches during
the ratification debates of the
constitution and the answer to those
fears was laid down by alexander
hamilton and federalist 70 which is one
of your required documents and here i'm
just going to give you a summary if you
want to look at this required document
in more depth i've got a whole video on
it anyway in federalist 70 hamilton
argues for a single executive
anti-federalists were arguing back that
executive power needed to be divided
among a few presidents so that the
executive branch didn't become in their
own words the fetus of monarchy they
were worried that if there was only one
president it would be far too likely
that said president would consolidate
too much power and become a tyrannical
turd not so hamilton argues he says that
a single executive is very much
necessary first because a single person
can act more decisively when required
second a single executive will actually
be a protection against the expansion of
executive power because if the president
tries to grab at power everybody knows
exactly who to blame and thus a single
executive would be much more inclined to
be careful with the power since they
will be watched so closely now i happen
to think that hamilton's arguments are
pretty sound but it's also true that
presidential power has expanded
significantly over time and that change
largely has to do with how the president
understands the role we actually have
illustrations of two opposing
interpretations of the executive role
and the first is from president teddy
roosevelt who said this my view was that
every executive officer and above all
every executive officer in high position
was the steward of the people bound
actively and affirmatively to do all he
could for the people and not to content
himself with the negative merit of
keeping his talents undamaged in a
napkin my belief was that it was not
only his right but his duty to do
anything that the needs of the nation
demanded unless such an action was
forbidden by the constitution or by the
laws in other words roosevelt is saying
that the president ought to act on
behalf of the people in every
conceivable manner unless it is
explicitly restricted by the
constitution the next president william
howard taft had a different opinion of
executive power he said the true view of
the executive functions is as i conceive
it that the president can exercise no
power which cannot be fairly and
reasonably traced to some specific grant
of power or justly implied and included
within such express grant as proper and
necessary to its exercise in other words
taft argued for a much more restricted
understanding of executive power
roosevelt said do anything as long as
it's not explicitly forbidden by the
constitution but taft said do nothing
unless it is explicitly granted in the
constitution and over the course of
american history we can see how those
two perspectives were adopted by
different presidents starting with
george washington we can see that his
conception of executive power was
basically to defer to congress which was
the people's brand but then a huge shift
in that role came with the presidency of
andrew jackson he believed himself to be
the representative of the people and
therefore had a mandate to carry out
their will now think about that for just
a second constitutionally it's congress
that represents the people's will but
jackson took that mantle upon himself
and you can see this change based solely
on the number of vetoes enacted by
jackson for comparison washington vetoed
two bills john adams zero thomas
jefferson zero and then jackson vetoed
12 bills so jackson certainly expanded
executive power to match his conception
of the role then executive power was
further expanded under the
administration of abraham lincoln
although he is generally forgiven for
that since you know he had a civil war
to fight he assumed executive powers to
save the union and to emancipate the
enslaved population of the confederacy
additionally he suspended the
constitutional right of habeas corpus
which means that people could be
arrested without a proper trial that's a
heinous thing but again he's generally
forgiven for it since you know civil war
but forgiven or not lincoln certainly
expanded the power glove into which the
presidential hand fits but that glove
would expand beyond all proportion in
the administration of franklin roosevelt
elected during the great depression
roosevelt made broad use of his
executive powers in order to pass his
new deal legislation aimed at rescuing
americans from their economic suffering
to this end he was able to get scores of
new deal policies passed he created new
agencies he spent butt loads of federal
money to put people to work and he made
use of the veto more than any other
president before him
times to which i say dang additionally
the man was elected no less than four
times breaking the two-term tradition
set by washington and he took his power
so far that he tried to push out supreme
court judges who disagreed with him and
replaced them with judges friendly to
his policies now that didn't work but he
tried nonetheless the thing is despite
roosevelt being the poster boy for the
anti-federalist fears of a tyrannical
executive he kind of proves hamilton's
point in federalist 70. in the 1930s the
nation was in crisis and fdr came in and
got to work quick fast in a hurry to
handle and whether you agree or disagree
with roosevelt's new deal policies
nobody can disagree that he was an
energetic executive now since fdr's
presidency presidential power has
expanded and contracted somewhat but it
has never gone back to the smaller scope
of power that we had in a president like
washington i think it's kind of funny
how today republicans and democrats
argue about how big or small the
government should be after fdr the
government was big full stop no
equivocation what they're really arguing
about today is whether there should be a
smaller big government or a bigger big
government anyway despite this almost
constant growth in the power of the
presidential role there are some checks
on that power that you should know just
because the president has become more
powerful doesn't mean the president is
immune to the checks and balances of
other branches case in point president
donald trump was impeached twice during
his four years in office joining the
ranks of two other presidents who had
been impeached bill clinton and andrew
johnson now trump was not removed from
office but the impeachments serve as a
reminder that the president is not
all-powerful additionally another check
you should know is that after
roosevelt's four terms in office we
ratified a new amendment namely the 22nd
amendment which limited the president to
two terms okay that's what you need to
know about unit two topic six of the ap
government curriculum you can click
right here and grab review packet which
will help you get an a in your class and
a five on your exam in may i myself am
invested with precisely zero executive
power but if you want me to keep making
these videos then you can let me know
that by subscribing heimler out
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