INTRODUCTION

“The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who also acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces” (The White House). But what does ‘vested’ mean, and what are the limits of presidential power, if any?

The 1952 Supreme Court case Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer dealt with the issue, with a concurring opinion offering three categories of presidential authority: Category One consisting of those powers granted by Congress, Category Three consisting of those times the President acts unilaterally, and Category Two a “zone of twilight” (Harvard Law Today). Within the three categories are presidential power questions related to areas such as administrative law, pardons, national emergencies, and war powers, among an array of others. Moreover, Article II of the U.S. Constitution places responsibility for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress with the President – but what has this meant in practice historically and what does it mean today?

Harvard Law Today reports that “the limits of presidential power have fluctuated in different circumstances,” such as with “Abraham Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s seizure of a Montgomery Ward department store during a labor dispute that threatened production for World War II.” This ebb and flow of presidential power over time has created ongoing questions related to the scope of the individual’s authority as the leader of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government.

So, what should be done about presidential power in the contemporary era? This deliberation includes fourteen video clips, two articles, and several educational activities to guide students through a review of the history of presidential power and the contemporary arguments for and against reining in such power. After a careful review of multiple perspectives, students will determine whether presidential power should be reined in and be presented with several optional extensions to take an active role in the debate.

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Objectives and Outcomes

• Students will be able to describe key vocabulary terms and concepts associated with the debate on whether presidential power should be reined in.
  
  
• Students will be able to identify and explain aspects of the debate about reining in presidential power, including those arguments related to administrative law, pardons, national emergencies, and war powers, among others.
  
  
• Students will be able to evaluate arguments related to the debate about reining in presidential power and formulate an opinion on this question.

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