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Declaration of Independence Signed
2 of the founding father's main concerns when creating the office of the president were minimizing the opportunity for a monarchy or anarchy to be created. The Declaration is an indication of the desire to be separate from a monarchy. -
Constitution is Ratified by Last State
In the constitution the founding fathers diminished a president's ability to hold office either by bribery, force, or secret planning. One way they did this was with the electoral college, another way was through the checks and balance system, and also by giving the legislative branch the ability to impeach the president and remove them from office. -
1st Peaceful Transfer of Power IN THE WORLD
Another thing the founding fathers wanted to make sure would was a peaceful transfer of power. In their creation of the constitution they were successful in creating a government where this could happen. The 1st power transfer went from a Federalist (John Adams) to a Democratic-Republican (Thomas Jefferson). -
Andrew Jackson Becomes President
Andrew Jackson was the first president to in a way use the full power of the president. He vetoed more bills than all of his predecessors combined. He saw himself as the only elected official and was a tyrannical leader. He appointed government officials using the spoils system so all of his loyal followers were in the government. His presidency is also when common people started becoming interested in politics and the 2 party system became grounded. After him the Senate regained power though. -
Abraham Lincoln Becomes President
Abraham Lincoln used a broad interpretation of the constitution. He combined his position as commander in chief of the armed forces with his duty to see that "the laws be faithfully executed." Abraham Lincoln used these powers to start the Civil War that eventually led to the freedom of slaves. Lincoln showed how powerful a president could become in an economic emergency. -
Civil War Begins
See Abraham Lincoln -
Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President
Theodore Roosevelt expanded the powers of the president and showed what a strong-willed leader could do/accomplish even without an emergency like war or hard economic times. He was known as having an "Iron Fist" and was very controlling in his use of the presidential power. -
Woodrow Wilson Becomes President
Woodrow Wilson was another president who showed what a popular and strong-willed president could do. He was the first president since John Adams to give the State of the Union Address. Before it had been just a written document. He was also the first president to develop and argue a presidential legislative program. Both of these actions are now expected actions of a president. -
Stock Market Crashes
Indicating the Beginning of the Great Depression -
FDR Becomes President
FDR was elected in the midst of economic emergency. As a result congress gave up much of their power and allowed many bills to pass without much argument. Change needed to happen and it needed to happen quickly, as a result FDR had a great amount of power. Also during FDR's presidency WW2 began. It does not make a lot of sense to change a president in the midst of war, and so the people continued to reelect him. FDR's presidency shows the amount of power a president can have during a crisis. -
FDR Dies in Office
Just after winning his unprecedented 3rd reelection and 4th overall election. After FDR's presidency it became common and expected for a president to be responsible for not just military and political affairs, but also economic and social. The shift to how the office of the modern president operates starts with FDR and the Great Depression.
