The Oldest Debate in Constitutional Law and Why It still Matters Today
The Oldest Debate in Constitutional Law and Why It still Matters Today
This chapter concerns the scope of the president's power to remove subordinates in the executive branch or to direct their actions, which is one of the oldest and most venerable debates in U.S. constitutional law. This debate arose during the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the Constitution, and it flared into a huge public controversy in the so-called Decision of 1789 during the First Congress. Proponents of presidential power argued then and argue now that the Constitution gives and ought to give all of the executive power to one, and only one, person: the president of the United States. The Constitution's creation of a unitary executive eliminates conflicts in law enforcement and regulatory policy by ensuring that all of the cabinet departments and agencies that make up the federal government will execute the law in a consistent manner and in accordance with the president's wishes.
Keywords: president's power, executive branch, U.S. constitutional law, Philadelphia Convention, Decision of 1789, First Congress, unitary executive
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