ing the inauguration. He presides over the deliberations of the Senate, but he is not a member of that august assembly. He cannot appoint its committees, neither can he influence its actions except through the force of his personality. Were it not necessary to have some popular representative who may take the place of the President if the presidency should become vacant for any reason, the Vice President would be a very superfluous national official. But, as five Vice Presidents have been called upon to assume presidential duties, the value of the office is apparent.1 In case both President and Vice President die during the Presidential Succession term for which they were elected, the office of President Act. will be filled by the members of the Cabinet, in the following order: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, Attorney-general, Postmaster-general, Secretary Constituof the Navy, Secretary of the Interior. Previous to 1886, tion, Art. II, § 1, cl. 5. when the present law was passed, the president pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House would have succeeded to the presidency had that office become vacant. The chief objection to the older law was the possibility of having as President a man whose policy was the exact opposite of the former chief executive. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT Stanwood, By peaceful and military means. 325. Executive and Military Powers. The execution of law is ordinarily a peaceful process in which the executive officers deal directly with individuals. Occasionally, persons may break a national law, or openly resist the execu tion of a particular act. It is then necessary for the Harrison, executive officials to arrest the offenders, and secure their conviction by the courts and subsequent punishment. If 113-118. 1 John Tyler became President in 1841 at the death of W. H. Harrison. Millard Fillmore,in 1850, took Zachary Taylor's place; and Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, and Theodore Roosevelt were elevated to the presi dency when Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, and William McKinley were assassinated in 1865, 1881, and 1901, respectively. This Country of Ours, Constitu the resistance is active and widespread, the President may tion, Art. II, find it necessary to use the regular army or the militia to § 2, cl. 1. Great power in time of war. Schouler, Presidential offices. suppress riots. This can be done very effectually, because the President is both the chief executive and the commander-inchief of the army. On several occasions the regular troops have been called out to protect the mails and interstate commerce.1 Especially during the great railway strikes of 1877 and 1894, the arrival of the United States troops at the scene of disorder had a very wholesome effect upon the rioters, with whom in some instances the local authorities were unable to cope successfully. The real military power of the President can be exercised only in case of actual war. Theoretically, an army can be raised and war actually declared by Congress alone (§ 237), but as military commander-in-chief the President may really begin war, and Congress will then have no alternative but to vote men and money for carrying it on, or risk loss of national prestige by an unseemly withdrawal from hostilities. In the prosecution of a war a President may become a military dictator, continuing to increase his power until within vast territories there is no government except that under martial law. During the Civil War, for example, the President, by virtue of his position as military commander, suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in a large part of the North, and issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the States then in insurrection. During that struggle, according to Mr. James Bryce, "Abraham Lincoln wielded more authority than any single Englishman has done since Oliver Cromwell." 326. The Power of Appointment.-The President has the right to appoint "with the advice and consent of the Senate” all ministers to foreign countries, consuls, national judges, and all other United States officials and employees whose 1 The President may direct the movement of the army in order to protect any State from invasion, or from domestic violence, on application of a state legislature or executive. § 2, cl. 2. Hart, Actual Gov't, § 125. appointment is not left to heads of departments or the Civil ConstituService Commission. As a matter of fact, the President tion, Art. II names persons for only the most important positions, including those abroad, the chief places in Washington, collectorships throughout the United States, and first-, second-, and third-class postmasterships—in all something over eight thousand offices. This power of appointment is one of the most valuable given the President, although it undoubtedly causes him very great annoyance. The throngs of office seekers have made the life of many a President a burden, and an unwise or unpopular appointment often alienates large numbers of a President's supporters. Common wealth, The practical working of the system leaves the President Practical most of the discomforts, with only a fair share of the bene- working of the system. fits, that accompany the right to select subordinates. This is caused by the necessity of consulting the Senate in mak- Bryce, Am. ing appointments. The senators who belong to the same party as the President insist that their wishes be respected abr. ed., when any appointments are made to offices situated within 44-48. their States. If the President does not nominate the man selected by a senator or choose one from two or three whom Harrison, This Counthe senator names, his appointment is likely to be rejected try of Ours, in executive session. The Senate upholds the right of a senator to make these selections, and each senator is accustomed to vote for any appointment made by another senator, a practice called senatorial courtesy. Appointments of this character are in reality made not so much with the consent of the Senate as upon its advice. The President is really free to consult his own wishes in making but a small proportion of his appointments, the chief of which are to Cabinet positions and foreign offices. The general system of appointment, it can readily be seen, leaves to the Senate the lion's share of national patronage. 107-112. Minor appointments were formerly left entirely to the heads of Civil service bureaus or departments, who were in turn appointees of the President. appointSince 1883 a constantly increasing percentage of these employees have ments. |