Dbq Essay On Presidential Power

An enduring topic of political debate is executive power, the power to enforce the law. Because the Constitution only loosely defines this power (Document A), the presidents themselves define much of their own authority, which has led to inflated presidential power over the past two and a half centuries.
There are many examples of presidents expanding their power in history. For example, Abraham Lincoln broke boundaries no president had before. “Lincoln called for 75,000 military volunteers after Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, and he later suspended habeas corpus—seemingly both congressional powers” (Document E). Lincoln also created new standards of presidential authority by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation and ending the Civil War.

Throughout American history, the public has expected the federal government to take on larger roles to address societal issues. However, in order to do this, the president needs flexibility to take expeditious action in times of crisis. Thus, presidential power has expanded to fill that need.
Social media has also affected the scope of the president’s power by allowing him to reach a wider range of people and amplifying his voice; the internet helps him communicate and interact directly with the public, like FDR did with his Fireside Chats during the Great Depression and WWII. In the modern world, online broadcasting and sharing is the most effective way to reach people. Additionally, the president can communicate with members of Congress through the media in order to push his agenda, bring attention to his ideas, and pressure legislators into making changes in his

An executive order tells the bureaucracy how to do something, usually carrying out one of Congress’s orders. That is, Congress will tell the executive branch that something has to be done, but not how to do it, and the president will use an executive order to guide the bureaucracy through accomplishing it. Often, the president writes hundreds of executive orders during his time in office (Document D5). Because the president creates these on his own and they have the effect of law, executive orders essentially allow the president to create and enforce policy unilaterally. This further expands the president’s power and authority by giving him the opportunity to decide what is appropriate for him to do. Over time, the person associated with policy seems to have shifted from Congress in the first half of history to the president in the second