Mindy Yan Block 3 3/19/12 Role of the Modern President Over time, the role of the president has

changed for the country of America. His ultimate job was to protect the country and execute its laws, but it has been debated what the full extent of a presidents powers should be. Unfortunately, the constitution never fully stated what the presidents role must be. It did, however, give some outlines of presidential power in the government. Eventually it became up to the president to determine how to interpret these powers and decide how to use them. The powers which are stated specifically in the constitution are known as enumerated powers; these are used more frequently by the earlier presidents. But as time went on, presidents used more vested powers, which are powers that are implied in the constitution. The role of the modern president is significantly different from what it first started out as. As shown through the examples of Abraham Lincoln and Woodrow Wilson, the use of vested and enumerated powers has shaped the role of Americas modern presidents. Lincoln was one such president that used vested powers throughout his presidency. First of all, when the southern states succeeded the Union in 1861, Lincoln started the Union Blockade, which blocked trade from the southern states. This was to prevent any aid from coming into the Confederacy and to block communication. Technically, this wasnt stated in the constitution as a power of the president, but Lincoln decided to do what was best for the country instead of follow the law word for word. Also, during this time, when Virginia seceded the Union on April 27, 1861, Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus at any military railway line between Philadelphia to Washington if it was beneficial to the public safety. The writ of

habeas corpus made it possible that a prisoner can be released if there isnt enough evidence to say theyre guilty. This became very controversial because many people said it wasnt within the presidents power to suspend this writ, but Lincoln supported his decision with Article 1, Section 9 of the constitution, which states that "the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion and invasion the public safety may require it. By seceding the Union, the southern states are rebelling against the country. The constitution never specifically mentioned this, but through the use of vested powers, Lincoln was able to accomplish this. Finally, Lincoln passed the Second Confiscation Act during the time of the Civil War. This act freed the slaves of any southerner who was taking part in the Confederations rebellion against the Union. Once again, this power was never specifically stated in the constitution, but Lincoln did so anyways because it would be beneficial to the country. All in all, Lincoln used a lot of vested powers, implying them from the constitution. This caused a lot of controversy, but in the end, Lincoln was able to accomplish many achievements to better the country. In order to do what was best for America and its people, Lincoln opted to use the presidents vested powers. On the other hand, Woodrow Wilson used mainly enumerated powers, choosing to interpret the constitution literally. First, he created the Federal Reserve Act of 1914, which gave the Federal Reserve System the power to issue money. The United States was suffering because there wasnt a national banking system, so Wilson established the Federal Reserve System. This is an enumerated power because the federal government is in charge of coining money and setting standard weights and measures. Wilson used this power to his advantage and helped the country. Also, during his presidency, Wilson pardoned a total of 2480 people. He is one of the presidents who gave the most presidential pardons. By pardoning criminals from their crime,

Wilson is using the enumerated power stated in Section 2 of Article 2 in the constitution. He had the ability to utilize this power, so Wilson employed it whenever he felt it was necessary. Finally, Wilson established the Mandate Theory, which stated that it was the presidents responsibility to listen to the people and communicate with them. It wasnt the presidents power to decide what was best for the people; it was up to the people to decide what was best for themselves. The president was only the channel in which the peoples wishes could be carried out. Because of this belief, Wilson used mainly enumerated powers which gave him less freedom in making decisions in government, but he could better carry out the peoples plans this way. As a result, Wilsons idea of presidency was being the spokesperson for the people, not the main-decision maker for the country. The role of the modern president is a mixture of vested powers and enumerated powers. As time went on, the president had a much larger role in government, but he is still considered the representative for the nation and its citizens. The powers of the president have expanded, but the use of enumerated powers is still a large part of the presidents influence. There is a balance between vested and enumerated powers within the presidency. This way, the president still has some freedom with the decisions that he makes, although there are some controlling factors on his power. But no matter what it comes down to, the most important task of the president is to protect the country and do what is best for the citizens, no matter which method he uses.