Which of these duties does the constitution

Writing to a friend at the time, Jefferson expressed doubts about whether the Constitution enabled him to acquire the extensive new lands streching across the vast middle of the continent.

In the end, however, the Louisiana Purchase was too great an opportunity to pass up. Jefferson's view of federal power became somewhat more expansive: he concluded that the Constitution implicitly allowed the United States to acquire territory. The President shall be 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; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Lincoln first discussed the proclamation with his cabinet in July The final proclamation was issued in January The Proclamation declared as permanently freed all slaves in all areas of the Confederacy that had not already returned to federal control by January Although implicitly granted authority by Congress, Lincoln used his powers as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, "as a necessary war measure" as the basis of the proclamation.

The Proclamation freed the slaves in the areas of the South that were still in rebellion. Practically, it initially freed only some slaves already behind Union lines. However, it effects spread as the Union armies advanced into the Confederacy. The Emancipation Proclamation also allowed for the enrollment of freed slaves into the United States military. During the war nearly , blacks, most of them ex-slaves, joined the Union Army.

Their contributions gave the North additional manpower that was significant in winning the war. Although a six-member majority of the Court concluded that Truman's action exceeded his authority under the Constitution, seven justices indicated that the power of the President is not limited to those powers expressly granted in Article II.

Had the Congress not impliedly or expressly disapproved of Truman's seizure of the mills, the action would have been upheld. Justice Jackson, in a concurring opinion, outlined a tripartite test for determining whether a president is constitutionally exercising his impiled powers.

Yet despite this constraint, Presidents will almost necessarily enjoy a great deal of enforcement discretion. To begin with, using his constitutional power to pardon, the President can forgive offenses even before trial or conviction, meaning that executive officers need not investigate and prosecute every offender of federal law.

Moreover, resource constraints coupled with innumerable violations of federal law preclude complete enforcement of all federal laws. There are too many laws, too many scofflaws, and but limited resources. Given the inevitable tradeoffs, Presidents may allocate scarce enforcement resources after weighing the costs and benefits of investigation, apprehension, and prosecution.

Recognizing that it would be highly impolitic to assert a constitutional power to decline to enforce statutes, modern Presidents carefully avoid embracing such a power. Instead, they invariably argue that the laws implicitly or explicitly convey enforcement discretion. Critics of these presidential measures deny that the statutes in question grant discretion and argue that in declining to enforce a law the President has violated his Faithful Execution duties. Discerning the truth of the matter requires a careful consideration of the relevant statutes, including enforcement resources.

Sometimes there are no easy answers. At the time of the Framing it was assumed that the most powerful branch of government was the legislature. That is one of the reasons why Congress was made bicameral while the executive was unitary—so that legislative power and executive power could be effectively balanced. Today, however, any notion that Congress is twice as powerful as the Presidency would be dismissed as fanciful.

The Presidency is the most powerful branch. Article II, Section 3 has not played a major role in presidential power expansion although as discussed below, it should be interpreted in light of that expansion.

Rather the scope of presidential power has been determined more by how executive power has actually been exercised than by constitutional text. Vast accretions of federal power. There are a number of reasons why the President has become so dominant. First, the Presidency has become the focus of national power and culture, giving the President the unique ability to set the political agenda. In drama, magnitude and finality his decisions so far overshadow any others that almost alone he fills the public eye and ear.

Second, presidential power has expanded because each successive President is able to rely on the actions of their predecessors in justifying their own use of power. In this way, the use of presidential power works as a one-way ratchet with each President building on the actions of those that came before.

Third, presidential power has grown because the size and jurisdiction of the federal government have expanded. The President directs an administrative state that oversees everything from prescription drugs to smoke stack emissions to college sports and from economic development to workplace safety to national parks management.

As a result, the President has the ability to make decisions that reach almost every aspect of American life. Further, as head of the federal government, presidents have unparalleled resources to use in advancing their political agenda. This includes access to military and civilian intelligence, the expertise and assistance of countless federal agencies, and the command of the most powerful military in the world.

No other branch has such resources at its disposal. Fourth, presidential power has expanded because of the need for exigent decisionmaking in the modern world.

The suddenness with which contemporary events demand government response inevitably invests power in the only branch capable of reacting immediately—the Executive. Fifth, presidential power has increased because of the changed nature of politics.

In the current political environment, those elected to Congress often see their political duty as supporting their party rather than protecting their institutional concerns as legislators. Further, and paradoxically, contemporary politics has served to increase presidential power even when the Presidency and the Congress are controlled by different parties.

It is against this recognition of presidential power dominance that specific issues raised by Section 3—and particularly the Take Care Clause—should be analyzed. Given that the Constitution was designed to allow branches to check other branches, one should be cautious in interpreting particular provisions in a manner that would add to the current imbalance. In McCulloch v. Maryland , Justice John Marshall set forth the doctrine of implied powers, stating, that a government entrusted with great powers must also be entrusted with the power to execute them.

Finally, certain powers are called concurrent powers, which the states and the federal government both may exercise. These can include, for example, setting up courts, levying taxes, and spending and borrowing money. Typically, these are powers necessary for maintenance of public facilities. As can be appreciated, one of the difficulties in the federal system is determining which entity, if any, has the power to legislate in a particular realm.

In general, the problem of conflicting laws between the states and the federal government has given rise to what is called the doctrine of preemption. Under this doctrine, based on the Supremacy Clause, if a state or local law conflicts with a federal law, the state or local law must give way unless the federal law is itself unconstitutional , in other words, it exceeds the power of the federal government.

As Justice Marshall put it in McCulloch v. If there is an express provision in the legislation , or if there is an explicit conflict between the state law at issue and the federal law, the state law provision is immediately invalid. Field preemption occurs when Congress legislates in a way that is comprehensive to an entire field of an issue. Impossibility preemption occurs when it would be impossible for someone to comply with both state and federal laws.

Purposes and objectives preemption occurs when the purposes and objectives of the federal law would be thwarted by the state law. Painting by Gilbert Stuart from the U. Library of Congress. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society. National Geographic Society. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher.

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