“Wilson’s defining achievement as president was his legislative agenda, the “New Freedom.” He had written in 1908 that the president was “the political leader of the nation.” Wilson took it upon himself to be a new type of executive, a… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share Image
“Southerner Tom Watson, a populist Jeffersonian from Georgia, faced potential prosecution under the law because his newspaper often opposed Wilson’s war aims and policies.… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share Image
“The Supreme Court upheld the law in the 2012 decision of National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, but not because it believed the Congress had the power to force people to buy insurance under the Commerce Clause or the Necessary and Proper Clause. Congress, the 5–4 majority decided, had the power to mandate that people buy health insurance because… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share
“Violating the presidential oath, in whatever fashion, constitutes a “high crime and misdemeanor”—according to the founding generation’s definition.” — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share Image
“Madison suggested that the president should have “power to carry into effect the national laws, to appoint to offices in cases not otherwise provided for, and to execute such other powers ‘not legislative nor judiciary in their nature’ as may from time to time be delegated by the national legislature.”4 The phrase “not legislative nor judiciary in their nature” is… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share
“If Cleveland had only used the bully pulpit to harangue congressional leaders and rammed his “agenda” through the halls of Congress, he might have accomplished something, but Cleveland let Congress legislate and his recommendations ended up in the Senate waste receptacle. In reality, Cleveland should be admired for this stance. According to the Constitution, the president has no power to… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share
“Roosevelt had usurped constitutional power from Congress and bullied the American people into giving up their hard assets for pieces of paper. King Midas… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share Image
“Wilson also made regulating information and speech a top priority. Less than two weeks after his request for a declaration of war, Wilson nationalized the “wireless” industry (radios) in order to control information. He established a Committee of Public Information charged with advancing the correct interpretation of the War for schools, the press, and the public at large and promoting… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share
“His first term is a model in executive restraint; it turned around an American political system that had deviated widely from the promises that the proponents of the Constitution had made when it was ratified in 1788. Jefferson was not perfect—his second term was a disaster constitutionally—but he set the stage for twenty-four years of executive authority that generally coincided… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share
“According to the Constitution as ratified, the legislature was to be the most powerful and important branch of government. Jefferson echoed this theme in… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share Image
“But George Mason still had concerns; he reasoned that though Congress would have had to call up the militia and the army, the president… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share Image
“By 1937, Roosevelt realized that the New Deal was on life support. Many of the programs did not work as intended, and the economy… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share Image
“Alexander Hamilton’s proposal for a First Bank of the United States met resistance from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison because the power to charter… — Brion T. McClanahan Copy Share Image
