Expanding Presidential Powers

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Expanding Presidential Powers

• How six presidents changed America

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1. Andrew Jackson

• 7th president, 1829-1837
• First poor president born in a log cabin in
  South Carolina backwoods.
• Taught himself law by reading books

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• Revolutionary War vet
• Fought southern Indian tribes
• Became a war hero fighting against British in War
  of 1812
• Had Anglophobia, hatred of all things British

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• Jackson believed Congress was full of elitist
  upper class men (anglophobia)
• Wanted to return the power of the government back
  over to the people
• Allowed people to come speak with him at his
  office without an appointment
• Also allowed the public to party at the
  Whitehouse on Inauguration night!

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Hordes of people attend Inaugural Party

• -Jackson had to
• escape out of a
• window and
• spend the night
• in a shack out
• back.

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1,400 lbs consumed in 2 hours
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• Jackson was fierce and not afraid to tick off
  Congress
• He refused to reauthorize the charter for the
  National Bank b/c he believed it was corrupt and
  that smaller banks should be allowed to compete
  with it
• He ignored a treaty signed between the Cherokee
  Tribe and the State of Georgia and forced the
  Cherokee to move to Oklahoma-when the Supreme
  Court called him on it, he said, Let them
  enforce it!

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What Andy Jackson thought of the National Bank
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• Other presidents had used the veto power only
  when they thought a law went against the
  Constitution.
• Jackson was the first to use the veto power for
  political purposes, or as a weapon to get back at
  Congress.

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2. Abraham Lincoln

• 16th president, 1861-1865
• One of our most revered, honored former presidents

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Lincolns War-time Acts

• Called forth the militia to fight, increased the
  size of the army and navy, appropriated funds for
  weapons, instituted a blockade (act of war),
  suspended writ of habeas corpus.
• Constitution requires Congressional approval for
  all these things, but Congress wasnt in session
  when Lincoln ordered them.
• Was it war? Or was Lincoln merely suppressing a
  rebellion?
• Supreme court later ruled he had broken the law,
  but most believe it was justifieddesperate
  times call for desperate measures.

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3. Grover Cleveland

• 22nd and 24th president, 1885-1889, and 1893-1897
  (only one to serve two non-consecutive terms
• Ugly honest-known for having a stubborn
  integrity and high morals
• Political scandal almost cost him the
  election-hated the media afterwards

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• First to send the national guard in to break up a
  domestic labor dispute
• Used the veto power 600 times!
• Argued for the right to fire political appointees
  that Congress had approved of

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Cleveland under attack from Susan B. Anthony
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Clevelands wedding to Frances Folsom (28 years
younger than he!)
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4. Theodore Roosevelt

• 26th president, 1901-1909
• Best known for pro-gressive reforms and a strong
  foreign policy
• A mans man-ranched and hunted out west, fought
  in Spanish-American War, went of safari in
  Africa, and explored Amazon River in South America

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With the regiment of Rough Riders after Battle
of San Juan, Spanish American War.
On safari in Africa
Standing with John Muir, conservationist, at
Yosemite National Park
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• He took the view that the President, as a
  "steward of the people," should take whatever
  action necessary for the public good unless
  expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution."
  I did not usurp power," he wrote, "but I did
  greatly broaden the use of executive power."

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Allowed the media lots of access to his
family--his familiarity to the American public
increased his popularity and allowed him to get a
lot of legislation passed.
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Still, there were many who criticized him for
doing too much in the world and for using too
much power.
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5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

• 32nd president, 1933-1945
• Got polio at age 39 and was confined to a
  wheelchair, but he didnt let it slow him down.

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• FDR became highly involved in getting the country
  out of the Great Depression
• His legislative package was called the New Deal
• Increased the number of federal employess from
  30,000 to 600,000!
• Nations confidence increased--so did
  infrastructure

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Roosevelts New Deal Local Results

• Civilian Conservation Corps in Oregon,
  unemployed men went to work building roads and
  trails in national forests, built fences for
  cattle ranchers, laid telephone wires, and built
  forest fire lookout towers
• Works Projects Administration in Oregon, they
  built Timberline Lodge, rebuilt the Oregon
  Capital building after it burned down in 1938
  (hence art deco style and hopeful murals), and
  created Bonneville Dam

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• FDR convinced congress to write laws that made it
  the executives responsibility to regulate the
  economy
• To get public support for all his projects, he
  started Fireside Chats, weekly radio addresses

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6. Richard Nixon

• 37th president, 1969 -1974
• Disliked dealing with people, and insisted on
  having a hierarchy in his staff
• Very secretive, but he got a lot done

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• He opened relations with China, visited the
  Soviet Union (during Cold War), and made and arms
  control agreement with Russia
• During Vietnam, he secretly ordered bombings in
  Cambodia and Laos as well
• Passed many domestic programs as well, such as
  anti-crime laws and an environmental program

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Watergate

• He tried to cover up the fact that he had
  authorized people to break into Democratic
  National Headquarters to spy on his opposition
• Public viewed this as a breach of trust, of
  overstepping his bounds
• Nixon decided to resign over this issue

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In conclusion
The president can be described as a magnificent
lion who can roam widelyas long as he doesnt go
outside the reservation.
The president must keep the publics trust.
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Andrew Jackson
Grover Cleveland
Abraham Lincoln
Teddy Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt
Richard Nixon