article II of the constitution
A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its theory, must be, in practice, a bad government. |
Article 2 of the Constitution is split up into 4 sections with separate clauses each that describe the roles of the President and Vice President, their electoral processes, their powers to appoint of judicial and administrative offices as well as Commander in Chief.
-Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury, The Federalist Papers
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THe president
Under Article 2 Section 1, the Constitution designates the roles given to the president and the Vice President. The clauses included in the section are as follows:
- Clause 1: Establishes a 4 year term for the President and the Vice President holds their office for the same amount of time
- Clause 2: The electoral college chooses the President and Vice President. These electors are usually chosen by the state legislatures for a number as high as the combined amount of senators and representatives.
- Clause 3: The electors meet once chosen, to elect the President and Vice President. Before the 12th amendment the winner is the President and the runner up is the Vice President.
- Note: This usually led to conflict because the second place could have a completely polar opposite ideology than the President creating an ineffective and disjointed administration. Therefore now the President and the Vice President are elected separately by the electors.
- Clause 4: "Congress has the power to decide when Election Day will be held. Currently, the states choose their electors on the Tuesday after November’s first Monday. The electors then vote on the second Wednesday of December" (Laws.com)
- Clause 5: This clause sets the demographic requirements to be President and Vice President. They must be at least 35 years of age, born in the United States or natural born citizen, and have lived for 14 years in the US
- Clause 6: In the case of the death of the President, the Vice President replaces the President. If the Vice President dies, then Congress chooses a suitable temporary holder of office until the next election.
- Clause 7: The President's salary cannot come from any state or federal government and must stay constant during their term.
- Clause 8: The President has to take an oath before entering into their office and term.
Images and list of the 45 presidents of the United States.
Credit: Amazon.com
The Electoral college
Many have called against the electoral college because of issues that come with redistricting and gerrymandering in which districts are drawn to represent the interests of select groups, usually white affluent people over that of minorities. In addition, many times, the electoral college represents small mostly white states over more urban and minority populated states proportionally. Therefore, many call for a take down of the winner take all system and advocate for a more proportional and equitable system that better represents the popular vote. To read more on the corruption present in the Electoral College visit our page below.
Commander in Chief
Under Article 2 Section 2, the power of Commander in chief is assigned to the president (Clause 1). In addition, he can establish a cabinet. But using his powers as Commander in Chief, requires approval and support from Congress as a check on the executive branches' power (Clause 2). Finally the officers appointed by President happen during Court recesses, but expires with the next session of the Senate (Clause 3).
Vietnam War
WG600; PHOTOS: ASSOCIATED PRESS; BETTMAN ARCHIVE; CORBIS; FRED W. MCDARRAH; GETTY; HORST FAAS; KEVIN SCHAFER; MICHAEL OCHS; PHOTOQUEST / The Atlantic
During the Cold War, many proxy wars were fought especially in Asia and Latin America. Many of the Presidents, from Kennedy to Nixon, built decades long distrust between the President and the public and consequently Congress. This was due to many hidden war actions carried out secretly by secretaries of state or military advisers ordered by the President without approval from Congress including a large one of a secret bombing of Cambodia ordered by Nixon that prolonged the war. This led to the War Powers Act of 1973 that required Congress to declare war and raise and support armies. The article from The Atlantic below further explains the ensuing mistrust between the President and their constituents when entering foreign conflict.
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The Middle East
Marines arriving on a beach outside Beirut, Lebanon, on July 15, 1958. BETTMANN / GETTY / The Atlantic
The Cold War Presidents policies followed a motif of "containment" taken after George Kennan's long telegram describing the containment of communism. This pushback against "international communism" that Eisenhower followed led the United States into engaging in the Middle East. Without the presence of Britain in Egypt and the ensuing potential nationalization of the Egyptian President Nasser, Eisenhower wanted to stop the presence of any sort of potential communist influence by the Soviet Union. The United States in turn entered into the region to protect regional strategic and economic interests but ignored the complicated sectionalism within Islamic states between Sunni and Shia that furthered tensions to this day between Middle Eastern states like Iran and the United States with its regional allies.
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