The constitutional provisions had considerable limitation regarding presidency following the American Revolution while providing considerable powers to the Congress. From the presidency of George Washington to Abraham Lincoln, it was a period of shaping the nation through sorting out national borders, establishing important precedents and governance principles in a bid to create a national identity. With regard to George Washington, he did not have a high level of education, but known for his manly prudence and wisdom that enabled him to become the head general during the revolutionary war. Instead of seizing power through military means after the revolutionary war, he had to resign as an army commander and did not become a dictator or create a monarch upon ascending to presidency. He presided over a relatively peaceful presidency and avoided being involved in foreign warfare. On the other hand, John Adams was highly educated and his philosophies played an important role in developing national policies. One of his notable successes was avoiding a war with France while many influential Americans were urging him to declare a war. During his presidency, Adams as not powerful considering that he did not command much support from the republicans, democrats, or even his own federalist party. Although Thomas Jefferson was influential, he was not a powerful president and his notable accomplishments as president include developing policies to outlaw slave importation and the Louisiana Purchase.
Accordingly, Andrew Jackson’s presidency was controversial in the sense that he was a white supremacist and presided over the enactment of the Indian Removal Act that forced the Native Americans westwards leading to deaths of thousands of people. Nevertheless, he used his power to protect popular democracy with his support of state rights and managed to pay off all the debts that America had accumulated thus far. Abraham Lincoln became president at the time when the civil war was beginning. He used his presidential powers to perform some legal maneuvers leading to the passing of the emancipation Proclamation and the enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment that abolished slavery. Lincoln also used his presidential powers to gain support from the public and politicians for his agendas. He also played an important role in developing the strategy of the Union fighters during Civil War.
Although the provisions of the Constitution had considerable limitations on the presidential powers, the initial presidents from George Washington to Abraham Lincoln gradually shaped the presidency into an influential position. However, the presidency today has become an increasingly influential position with the president having considerable influence on the Congress and in the development of national and foreign policies. In this regard, the presidency today is stronger than the presidency from the time of George Washington to Abraham Lincoln. Some of the constitutional provisions that have enabled the presidency become considerably powerful include Article II Section 2 of the Constitution that requires the president to be the commander in chief of the armed forces as well as the militia of several States. Accordingly, the constitution grants diplomatic power to the presidency hence the president has the power to sign treaties with foreign countries, and even though the Senate is required to advice and consent to make the treaties valid, the considerable influence that the presidency has over the senate usually makes the senate consent a hopeless formality. Further, the powers of the current presidency regarding appointments is immense given that the president has the power to appoint supreme court judges, public ministers, ambassadors and consuls. As such, the presidency today has become considerably powerful because of evolutionary and constitutional powers.
Work Cited
Baynton, Harold. “Presidential Authority as Commander in Chief of the Air Force”. 26 Aug.
1947. Web. 7 May 2016. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/olc/opinions/1947/08/31/op-olc-supp-v001-p0463.pdf
“Presidential Powers: An Introduction”. Exploring Constitutional Conflicts. n.p. Web. 7 May
2016. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/prespowers.html
