Overview
From the start, Americans have regarded their government with a mixture of reliance and mistrust. The founders of the republic understood the importance of government. "If men were angels," observed the 51st Federalist Paper, "no government would be necessary." But men are not angels.The delegates who gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 to write the Constitution had two purposes in mind: They wanted to establish a strong central authority and to limit that central authority's capacity to abuse its power.
The series Your Government: How It Works provides an in-depth examination of our government and its processes and makes clear how our informed participation is crucial to government's serving both the individual and the American people as a whole.
The Presidency surveys the evolution of the office throughout our history, from the Founding Fathers' fears that a president might assume the powers of a king to the expanded role of the presidency in the 20th century, as America's participation in foreign wars has continued to grow.
The Founding Fathers would probably be shocked at the power of the U.S. presidency today. But they could not have predicted how large, wealthy, and powerful a nation America would become. Wars and other national crises have expanded the scope of the presidency and demanded more of our presidents. These events continue to determine how important presidents are and how much power they will have.
Discusses the history, duties, powers, and traditions of the office of the president and how presidents from Washington to Clinton have handled crises during their terms in office.