§ Power and Duty

§ ≡ A section of Preserve, Protect, and Defend: Faithfully Executing the Office of the President
{Section 2.2 « Section 2.3 » Section 2.4}

 
    Alexander Hamilton

"A national emergency, [from] which this American republic would not be exempt, would be exactly the occasion when the vigorous government, and therefore the strength particularly in the executive that Hamilton and others recommended, would be most certainly required. It is to be doubted that Hamilton or Madison had in mind as the executive to fill that role, when the time came, a gawky self-educated rail-splitter from the untamed woods of the remote interior of the continent." — William Lee Miller, President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman

Most of the framers of the Constitution concentrated their efforts in describing the Legislative Branch — Congress. The legislature was the positive governmental body that they had most experience with during the Revolution and under the Articles of Confederation. Their executive model was mostly based on their negative experience with the British monarchy, albeit their ultimate model was the man who presided over their deliberations — George Washington. Hence, they chose a President as the executive to "check" and "balance" the Legislative Branch.

But, unlike most of the others (James Madison was an occasional supporter), Alexander Hamilton argued strongly in the Federalist Papers for an Executive who could act expeditiously in national emergencies. His brilliant insight into the intrinsic inability of a "numerous legislature" to act with energy and dispatch was stunningly prescient. Imagine the Congress, as we know it to be today, having to contend with situations that could reach crisis proportions in a matter of minutes! How long has our Congress been deliberating issues of National significance, such as our critical dependence on foreign oil, National health care, solvency of Social Security and Medicare, effective education ... ?

It seems like nothing of National consequence is ever resolved in the United States unless there is a palpable crisis, such as the Civil War and World War II, to name just two obvious examples. That is when Presidential greatness emerges; sometimes when it is least expected. Everyone pays tribute to the greatness of Abraham Lincoln in preserving, protecting, and defending our Constitution and our Union. Less well appreciated is Harry Truman's greatness in his unwavering pursuit of victory over, and unconditional surrender from the then evil Empire of Japan. And, in my humble opinion, the greatness of George W. Bush in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 will be acknowledged by future historians.