Travis Lee LBST 2101-Q17 Inquiry Project 12/03/13 The United States started off with the presidency

of George Washington. From his term to many other presidents, power has changed. The effects of the presidential power on the society of the United States changed rapidly. From president to president the ways of running our country and the amount of power from the start up to Theodore Roosevelt has varied. As a president it was set up to allow that current president no more power than the one before it. But in the beginning there were no laws or restrictions that held back the president from doing anything it was all made up in the first few years. Being that power has constantly changed over time, how has the presidential power changed from George Washington era to Theodore Roosevelt? The power was a large effect on the economy setting up our people for success and sometimes what was thought to be success ended in failure. So what effects did the presidential power have on the economy? When was the power used correctly and incorrectly? From Washington to Roosevelt the presidents political party changed, their ways of the countries structure and political ideas changed as well. With the changes in political parties, thoughts, ideas, and ways of going about things are done differently in office. Many of the presidents had different ideas which effected the power of each individual and effected the society with problems such as debt and war. Problems wasnt all just problems that the presidents brought upon this country. They also brought new culture and changed the society allowing different laws to be passed or denied. Such as the power of the presidents allowing laws

to be passed about slavery and the difference between blacks and whites. Power of the presidents has made the United States what it is today. The research done in the time period of these two presidents is around the 1800s. Much happened in the 1800s that brought our country to its stand today. George Washington was a founder of our country and was the first president of the United States. Theodore Roosevelt was the twenty-sixth president of the United States and was a very important part of our countries history. The time period between these two was very crucial to our upbringing of the United States. War, slavery, fighting for rights, changes in presidency, changes in power and much more were a big role in our countries up rise. The first article that I used was a journal about the book Failure of the Founding Fathers: Jefferson, Marshall, and the Rise of Presidential Democracy by Bruce Ackerman. I found this article quite intriguing, in that it supplied the information needed for the understanding of the history in the 1800s. The article talks about how the book explains the Marbury v. Madison case and how the Stuart v. Laird case is evidence that the Marshall Court was maneuvered into grafting elements of the Revolution of 1800,1 or what Ackerman calls the plebiscitarian presidency, onto the principles of 1787.2 As Ackerman explained that these two cases happened in the 1800s. They were conflicts between the people and the government in which if not resolved the country could face larger controversies in the future. The Marbury v. Madison case was brought to court because, Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional and appeared expand the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court beyond what was permitted by the Constitution. This lead the Congress to the decision that they cannot pass laws that are contrary to the Constitution, and it is the role of the judicial system to interpret what the
1 2

Onuf, Peter S., Journal of Southern History; Aug2007, Vol. 73 Issue 3, p687-690, 4p Onuf, Peter S., Journal of Southern History; Aug2007, Vol. 73 Issue 3, p687-690, 4p

Constitution limits are. This all happened in the time period of 1803 in the very beginning of the century. This case happened right after the election of Thomas Jefferson in 1801. This was only the start of events for the 19th century. The next president to be elected was James Madison in 1809. He was in office until 1817 giving him the opportunity to govern over the people during the time when the British troops burned down Washington D.C. This took place during the War of 1812 which was fought because of trade restrictions brought about by Britain's continuing war with France, the forcing of American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy, British support of the Indian tribes against the expansion of the United States, and possible interest in the United States annexing Canada. The War of 1812 was also known as the Second War of Independence. The United States won and this granted the U.S. with full independence from Britain, but didnt solve all problems in the future. Another event that occurred in the 1800s happened in 1870. At the time Ulysses S. Grant was president when the U.S. Department of Justice was created along with Congress adopting the fifteenth amendment. The acceptance of the fifteenth amendment allowed everyone to vote no matter what color or race you were. This opened up a whole different perspective for the United States citizens because they had never respected African Americans like that before. In the article Reconstruction Reengineered: Or, Is Doubting Black Suffrage a Mistake? said Adam Fairclough contends that black suffrage was a political error whose failure was foreordained, and the damaging consequences of that error far outweighed any lasting benefits.3 Being that Fairclough felt that black suffrage was a political error I would agree. If the government would have handled it earlier then the slavery problem would have never happened.
3

Fitzgerald, Michael W., Journal of the Historical Society; Sep2012, Vol. 12 Issue 3, p241-247, 7p

If the government would have had more control and said no to slavery from the start it would have solved all problems. The 19th century was a time period of many important events that shaped our country into what it is today. The presidency, power, culture, and people changed throughout the 1800s and developed the United States. Many people would say that these were mistakes but I would disagree and say that they were learning steps to make us who we are today. The Civil War was a large part of the 1800s. Also known as the War Between the States effected our presidents power greatly. The effect of the power upon the people was larger than modern day presidents power. Lincoln brought on the power to bring the states together and end slavery. To say that the situation facing Lincoln during the Civil War constituted a difficult political position would be an understatement. As James G. Randall stated, No president has carried the power of presidential edict and executive order (independently of Congress) so far as he did . . . . it would not be easy to state what Lincoln conceived to be the limit of his powers.4 The quote states that Lincoln had great power during the time of the Civil War. His powers were not limited as much as the presidents now and he shows that by providing the states with the Emancipation Proclamation. President Abraham Lincoln presented the emancipation proclamation which started the route to abolish slavery. Lincolns push for the end of slavery brought for the American Civil War. This war was fought between the separation of the states, also known as the Union and the Confederates. The Civil War was used to help free the slaves but was not the only reason it was fought. The Confederates (South) wanted separation of states but the Union (North) wanted they states to be joined all as one. With this and many other

Williams, Frank J., OAH Magazine of History; Jan2007, Vol. 21 Issue 1, p24-27, 4p

reasons brought forth the Civil War. Lincolns power was thought of as great until the assassination that brought his power to an end in 1865. After the assassination of Lincoln, Andrew Johnson became president. This was during the Reconstruction Era also known as the time period after the Civil War. During this time Johnson favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union. His plans did not give protection to the former slaves. This brought forth conflict with the Republican Congress, which resulted in his impeachment by the House of Representatives. He was the first American President to be impeached. Then came Theodore Roosevelt at the end of the 1800s. Theodore was part of the Progressive Movement. The Progressive Era was a period of social activism and political reform in the United States during the 1890s to the 1920s. Roosevelt wanted to expand his powers and make the country a global power. Roosevelt wanted to expand his powers to a larger government. The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine of 1904/05 constitutes a landmark in the United States foreign policy. However, the 1902/03 Venezuela Crisis in particular, the arbitration process between the South American country and Germany, Great Britain, and Italy that settle the crisis led to President Theodore Roosevelts decision to amend the Monroe Doctrine.5 Here in this article it states that Roosevelt used his power to add on to the Monroe Doctrine. The Corollary constitutes the foreign policy in which the Monroe Doctrine states that efforts by Europeans to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring the United States to intervene. The corollary states that the United States will intervene if conflicts are created between European countries and Latin American countries to enforce the foreign policy. As you can see Theodores
5

Maass, Matthias, Diplomacy & Statecraft; Sep2009, Vol. 20 Issue 3, p383-402, 20p

power was used to add on to the policy or use reassurance that the Europeans wouldnt try to colonize on American soil. As the years passed you can see that the powers of the presidents have varied. They continue to develop more powers and add to previous powers to create a stronger government. You can see that power between each presidents has changed slightly but nothing to dramatically like the Nazi irruption in Germany. Our checks and balances have led us to follow on a track and take steps toward creating a better country and not have on president over throw government and take all the power.