The Presidency 7

9.          The framers agreed to establish a strong, flexible presidency that would be constrained against tyrannical behavior.  They did this by assigning the President with power to execute the laws while also denying the President any opportunity to make laws or act as a judge.

• Article 1, Section 1, asserts that “All legislative powers herein shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” 
  • Article I, Section 8 assigns to Congress the power “to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or any Department or Officer thereof.” 
  • Article 1, Section 7, Section 8, and Section 9 clarify that the legislative powers include the authority to set fiscal policies for revenue collection, expenditures, and borrowing.
• Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution says, “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”
• Article 3, Section 1, says, “The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in the Supreme Court …” 

Image: Andrew Jackson, by Ralph E.W. Earl.

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