Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- Prologue: The Affordable Care Act and Other Vignettes
- Introduction
- Part I Individual Rights under the Constitution
- Part II The Constitutional Separation of Powers
- 7 The Powers of Congress
- 8 Executive Power
- 9 Judicial Power
- Part III Further Issues of Constitutional Structure and Individual Rights
- Appendix: The Constitution of the United States
- References
8 - Executive Power
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2013
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- Prologue: The Affordable Care Act and Other Vignettes
- Introduction
- Part I Individual Rights under the Constitution
- Part II The Constitutional Separation of Powers
- 7 The Powers of Congress
- 8 Executive Power
- 9 Judicial Power
- Part III Further Issues of Constitutional Structure and Individual Rights
- Appendix: The Constitution of the United States
- References
Summary
Energy in the Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government. It is essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the steady administration of the laws.
– The Federalist No. 70TODAY, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IS ROUTINELY described as the most powerful person in the free world. It was not always thus. For one thing, the United States did not initially occupy a large space on the world stage. For another, the significance of the President's position within American government has changed enormously over time.
In 1789, fewer than one thousand people worked for the federal government. The State Department had only nine employees; the War Department began with just two. The government’s primary day-to-day concerns were collecting taxes and delivering the mail. Without a proper staff, the first President, George Washington, relied on just four men to advise him: the members of his Cabinet. Although that group was notably able, considerable duties often fell on Washington alone. Today, by contrast, the President has a staff of more than 1,800 people and oversees a bureaucracy with roughly 2.7 million employees.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Dynamic ConstitutionAn Introduction to American Constitutional Law and Practice, pp. 253 - 274Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013
References
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