How has the role of the President changed
over time?
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“Be not afraid of
greatness. Some are
born great, some achieve
greatness, and some
have greatness thrust
upon them.”

--William Shakespeare
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
House of Burgesses
(VA): John Smith led the
colony to form the 1st
representative government in
the English colonies.

Mayflower Compact
(Mass): Pilgrims (Separatists),
led by William Bradford, sign
this document saying the men
did “covenant and combine
themselves into a civil body
politic.” This was the 1st
document of self-government in
the New World.
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Frame of Government
(Penn): William Penn shares
his “Frame of Government” in
which his colony is a “holy
experiment” and guarantees
religious freedom, civil liberties,
and elected representation.

Bacon’s Rebellion (Va)
Nathaniel Bacon leads the
farmers and indentured
servants in a revolt against
Gov. William Berkeley over the
lack of support against the
Indians in the frontier of the
state. This reinforces the idea
that the power comes from the
people.
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
Albany Plan of Union
(1754):Ben Franklin’s plan for
Indian affairs, western settlement,
and other items of mutual interest
be placed under the authority of
“one general government” for the
colonies.

Boston Massacre,
Committees of
Correspondence, Boston
Tea Party, Lexington &
Concord (1770-1775):
Examples of citizens protesting
unfair government practices.
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
2nd Continental
Congress (1775)
Thomas
Jefferson, John Adams, Ben
Franklin et al, wrote out or
statement of freedom from King
George III.

“We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by
their creator with certain
unalienable rights.”
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Articles of
Confederation (1777)
Congress is set up with each
state having a single vote. The
Congress could conduct foreign
affairs, war and peace, and the
armed forces. It could issue bills
of credit, create coinage, and
regulate trade with Indians.

It guaranteed the sovereignty of
each state. It did not create the
office of president, nor did it
give the national government
the power to tax the people.
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
Shay’s Rebellion
(1787) Daniel Shays, a
revolutionary officer, leads a
rebellion over taxes that
threaten to take the land from
the farmers.

“Without some alteration in our
political creed, the superstructure
we have been for 7 years raising, at
the expense of so much blood and
treasure, must fall. We are fast
verging to anarchy and confusion!”
–George Washington letter to
James Madison.
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U.S. Constitution
(1787): The Articles of
Confederation is replaced with a
3 branches of national
government.

Bill of Rights (1791):
Individual rights and limits on
national government are
established.

Judiciary Act of (1789):
Most important piece of
legislation as it implemented the
judicial clause of the
Constitution.
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Washington: “First in war,
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first in peace, first in the hearts of
his countrymen.” –Richard Henry
Lee.
Washington warned of
“entangling alliances with
Europe” and the danger in
political parties.

Adams:
XYZ Affair,
Alienation & Sedition Acts,
Federalist versus AntiFederalists.
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Thomas Jefferson-
Republican Agrarianism (a nation
of small family farms)


Supreme Court Becomes Equal
Partner in Gov. with Chief Justice
John Marshall.
James Madison- War of
1812- President as “Commanderin-Chief”.

Hartford Convention (1814) insists
that states have the right to
“interpose its authority” to protect
its citizens from unconstitutional
laws.
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James Monroe:
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Era of Good Feeling;
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Monroe Doctrine;

creation of 2nd National Bank;
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Rush-Bagot Treaty (1817) that set
the border between U.S. & Canada.
The American System (Henry
Clay) was supported by Monroe- a
national economic plan that would
improve East, West, or South
because it would eventually help
all.
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Jackson: He welcomed
controversy and took on the
Congressional leaders of Henry
Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel
Webster.
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Tariff of 1828 led Calhoun to force
the “Nullification Crisis” in which
states wanted to reject any national
law that the state chose to oppose.
Jackson also killed the 2nd U.S.
Bank (Nicholas Biddle).
He also rejected the Supreme
Court: “John Marshall has made
his decision; now let him enforce
it.”
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After Jackson, the presidents
tend to regress in power
while Congress became the
focal point for these issues:
Expansion of slavery
(Compromises of 1820 &
1850)
Nativism (anti-immigration)
Henry Clay (West), Daniel
Webster (East), John C.
Calhoun (South) led the
Congressional debates.
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Lincoln acted as
Commander-in-Chief.
Main goal: preservation
of the Union.
View on slavery: he
opposed it, but felt it
was the job of
Congress to outlaw it.
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After the plan to kill
Abe Lincoln, William
Seward, Ulysses S.
Grant, and Andrew
Johnson occurred, the
Radical Republicans led
a “power play” that
dominated presidents
until Teddy Roosevelt.
FYI: Robert Redford’s new
movie, “The Conspirator” is
about this incident in history
and was filmed in Georgia.
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The Radical Republicans want to punish the South for
the Civil War and the death of Lincoln.
President Johnson, from Tennessee, is impeached for
In May, 1868, the Senate came within a single vote of
taking the unprecedented step of removing a
president from office. Although the impeachment
trial of Andrew Johnson was ostensibly about a
violation of the Tenure of Office Act, it was about
much more than that. Also on trial in 1868 were
Johnson's lenient policies towards Reconstruction
and his vetoes of the Freedmen's Bureau Act and the
Civil Rights Act. The trial was, above all else, a
political trial.
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
With the Populist &
Progressive
movements pushing
for social reforms,
Theodore Roosevelt
was the President to
re-claim the lost
powers of the
President.
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Trust-buster of monopolies.

Roosevelt Corollary.

Nobel Peace Prize for RussoJapanese war peace
agreement.

National parks created.
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Panama Canal created.

Reaction to The Jungle and
government regulations for
consumers & workers.
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14 Points (including
his plan for the
League of Nations).
Federal Reserve
System was created.
Continued reforms,
including an
emphasis on women’s
right to vote.
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

Warren G. Harding,
Calvin Coolidge, and
Herbert Hoover led
the 1st truly
conservative view
(“hands off”) for
national government.
Result is the Stock
Market Crash and the
Great Depression.
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1st Hundred Days
Creation of SSA, TVA, CCC,
FDIC, WPA, AAA, etc.
greatly expanded role of
government.
New Deal & WWII help to
end Great Depression.
Court-Packing Plan &
Japanese Internment Camps
were excessive “power
plays”.
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Berlin Airlift
China Turns Communist
Korean War
U-2 Incident
Sputnik
Bay of Pigs
Cuban Missile Crisis
Man on the Moon
Détente
Olympic Boycotts
Berlin Wall Comes Down.
Russia Abandons
Communism.
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

President Eisenhower
felt that the Supreme
Court was rushing
Civil Rights.
President Johnson
signs Civil Rights Bill
& Voting Rights Bill,
but he later feels
betrayed by MLK
over Vietnam War
stance.
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“Jimmy Who?” wins
election in 1976 after
Watergate and Ford’s
pardon of Nixon.
Reagan also came in
as an outsider; he
helped the country to
be “Proud to be an
American” again.
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Young presidents
who represented the
next generation of
leaders after WWII.
Presidents who have a
stated plan and push
hard to gain their
objectives.
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For only the 2nd time in
history, a father-son
combo is elected as
presidents.
Both fought Saddam
Hussein in Iraq
George Sr. was former
leader of the CIA.
George Jr. gave us
Homeland Security
after 9/11.
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With the election of
the “Jackie Robinson”
of presidents, his
promise of “Change”
becomes the focus of
today.
He joined Teddy
Roosevelt, Woodrow
Wilson, Jimmy Carter
(after his term) as
winners of the Nobel
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Great presidents rise to
the challenge of a crisis.
Domestic policy and
international policy
must be balanced to
achieve greatness.
Support of a majority in
Congress and the power
to choose new Supreme
Court justices can add
to one’s legacy.
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