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Judicial Synthesis Essay

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After the Revolution, the new American country wanted nothing to do with anything that looked like a monarch or strong central figure. However, the weakness of the Confederation government and the incredibly powerful state legislatures caused many to reconsider the need for an executive. During the Constitutional Convention, a debate rose over the strength of the executive, and whether or not it should be subservient to the legislature. During the convention, the faction that favored a weak executive came out ahead, with the convention agreeing on a leader that would serve for a single seven-year term and be appointed by the legislature, however the executive would have a veto power. Trough savvy navigating during committee action, Gouverneur …show more content…

By making the tie breaker go to Congress, he was able to get the rest of the framers to agree with his plan. He also used extremely vague language in the vesting clause, which left a lot a leeway for future presidents. Interestingly, the framers spent no time debating or clarifying this language like they did with both the legislative and judicial branches. There are three predominate theories about the power of the president and executive branch; constitutional theory, stewardship theory, and prerogative theory. Constitutional theory argues that presidential power is strictly limited to the powers enumerated in the constitution and those granted by Congress. Stewardship theory on the other hand holds that presidents can do anything not explicitly forbidden by the constitution or laws passed by Congress under its constitutional powers. Prerogative theory is the most expansive, and argues that the president may act according to their discretion for what they feel is best for the common good, without heeding laws and sometimes breaking them. One of the clearest example of this theory is Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War, when he took steps like suspending the writ of habeas corpus around the nation’s capital to help the war

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