Book contents
- The US Presidency
- The US Presidency
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Presidential Power
- 1 The Vesting of Executive Power
- 2 The President and the Administrative State
- 3 The President as Commander in Chief
- 4 The President in the Lawmaking Process
- 5 Presidential Pardons
- 6 Presidential Emergency Powers
- 7 Other Presidential Powers
- 8 The President and the Alien Enemies Act
- 9 Does the President Have the Power to Void Birthright Citizenship?
- Part I Conclusion
- Part II Responsibility
- Part II Conclusion
- Part III Accountability
- Part III Conclusion
- Epilogue
- Index
3 - The President as Commander in Chief
from Part I - Presidential Power
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 November 2025
Book contents
- The US Presidency
- The US Presidency
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Presidential Power
- 1 The Vesting of Executive Power
- 2 The President and the Administrative State
- 3 The President as Commander in Chief
- 4 The President in the Lawmaking Process
- 5 Presidential Pardons
- 6 Presidential Emergency Powers
- 7 Other Presidential Powers
- 8 The President and the Alien Enemies Act
- 9 Does the President Have the Power to Void Birthright Citizenship?
- Part I Conclusion
- Part II Responsibility
- Part II Conclusion
- Part III Accountability
- Part III Conclusion
- Epilogue
- Index
Summary
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states that “[t]he President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.” Unlike the vesting clause discussed earlier, which had significant debate during the Constitutional Convention, the Commander in Chief clause was an occasion for little debate at the Convention. Because the Founding generation recently and personally had fought a war to gain their independence from Great Britain, the Founders were acutely aware of the need to vest military command in a single civilian individual.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The U.S. PresidencyPower, Responsibility, and Accountability, pp. 75 - 116Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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