The American Presidency

            So this is it! This is my final blog post of the semester. Well, it has been quite the journey analyzing the role of the presidency. I went into this class not knowing what to expect and take away from it, but I was splendidly surprised by just how fascinating the role and position of the president really is. From looking at the development of the presidency in the 17^th century, the early struggles between the president and the legislature in the 19^th century, to the current day role of the president, I have to say that I learned a lot about this very unique and interesting position.

 I think the first interesting thing that I gained from the class was learning about the development of the presidency. I never knew that there was such a significant struggle between the founding fathers on the development and the role of the president. It was so interesting reading about Madison’s and Jefferson’s struggle over how little or how much power the president should have. It was also very interesting to learn about Jefferson’s take on this issue and how he viewed the president as just another monarch, and even more interesting was the fact that later on he would later become president and go against some of his very own beliefs and convictions by purchasing the Louisiana territory.

 After examining the development of the president, I thought the class would get a little boring, because let’s be honest who actually knows that much about the 19^th century presidents besides information that’s on Abraham Lincoln. But once again, I was delightfully surprised learning about the continuing struggles over how much power the president should have. It was very interesting to see how there were conflicts between the legislature and the president. One specific point that I remember, was how James Monroe helped solidify the president’s involvement in foreign affairs by creating the Monroe Doctrine. Another interesting piece of information that I gained from the course was how Abraham Lincoln declared martial law during the Civil War. We often think of Abraham Lincoln being this great hero who was the “Great Emancipator,” but we don’t think about some of the other issues that occurred during his presidency.

 I think that the more recent developments of the presidency are also very interesting. Learning about the evolution of the presidency in the 20^th century was also very fascinating. I thought the entire concept of the “rhetorical” president was great. We can even see some reflections of the “rhetorical” president today in more recent presidents. I also enjoyed learning more about some of the recent presidents like Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan. I personally loved the lecture on Ronald Reagan, because I think his conservative beliefs are so interesting. Finally, I also enjoyed analyzing our current president’s governing style. After learning so much about the presidency, it has made it very interesting to determine what President Obama could and should do for the future.

 Overall, this class was a wonderful experience and I am extremely glad that I took the class. It is an interesting thing being able to analyze and examine this position in our government, and I think if I have the chance I will continue to examine the role of the president.

Advertisement