Tench Coxe on the Executive Branch: President, not a King
American presidents behave almost like elected kings, exercising vast powers with very little accountability. But that wasn’t the plan. Tench Coxe was a key figure in the ratification debates, and he argued the presidency was designed to be a far cry from a...
Deciphering the Commander-in-Chief Clause
The Constitution designates the president as the commander in chief of the “Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.” A common view is that this gives the president...
What The Constitution Means By “Declare War”
In the 2000 film Thirteen Days chronicling the Cuban Missile Crisis, John F. Kennedy tells General Taylor, “I’m the president of the United States, and I decide when we go to war.” That’s how presidents have done things for decades. The problem is, that’s not...