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	Expanding Power: A Study in Extension of Power by Four Presidents By Larry Gann Overview The Constitution gives a brief and limited perspective as to the powers of the President of the United States. Through the years, some presidents have sought to extend and expand those powers. As Hugh Sidey states in the introduction to The American President segment titled "Expanding Power," "Most feel they never have enough power." What the Constitution gives them "doesn't add up to the actual power needed to get most things done." This lesson examines the expansion of presidential powers in general, and specifically examines how four presidents (Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon) attempted to achieve this goal. Objectives Students will: Recognize the powers of the office of president as outlined in the Constitution Review and analyze the actions of these four presidents to extend these powers Analyze and examine the need for the extension of presidential power Evaluate the methods used by these presidents to expand their power Summarize the actions and historical significance of these presidents with regard to the office Determine how these actions helped to shape the legacy of these presidents Time Required This lesson will require about one hour for the showing of the "Expanding Power" video and a minimum of an additional hour for the supplementary activities. Materials Needed "Expanding Power" video from The American President series The American President website biographies of Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon Study guide questions Constitution of the United States Initial Motivation Examine with the students the powers granted to the President of the United States by Article II of the United States Constitution. This could be done by textbook, overhead, handout, or online. Be careful to point out the "skeletal" nature of the Constitution in that it is only a framework, not a rulebook. This would perhaps be a good place for a brief discussion of the strict and loose construction debate. Summarize the president's powers using the outline provided here for Article II and reinforce Hugh Sidey's statement that, taken strictly, the powers provided are not enough to get the job done. Plant this question with students: How does a president get things done if he is strictly bound by these constitutional guidelines? List the following on the board if it is not available in the school's text: Powers of the President Serves as commander-in-chief of all United States armed forces Commissions officers of the armed forces Grants pardons and reprieves from federal offenses (except impeachments) Convenes special sessions of Congress Receives foreign ambassadors Takes care that federal laws are faithfully executed Wields the "executive power" Appoints officials to lesser offices Powers of the President Shared with the Senate Makes treaties Appoints ambassadors, judges, and higher officials Powers of the President Shared with Congress as a Whole Approves legislation Procedures 1. Divide the class into four groups with each group assigned to one of the four presidents covered in the video (i.e., Jackson, Cleveland, T. Roosevelt and Nixon). This could also be done with each student examining all four presidents or randomly assigning students to a particular president. 2. Give out study guide questions for the particular presidents. 3. Have students take notes and answer their respective questions during and following the video presentation. 4. Following the video, join students in groups or begin individual work on the study of the particular president assigned to them. 5. At this point, the teacher needs to make a decision as to direction for closure and evaluation of this lesson. For your consideration, there are two options covered below. The first is a method that may be used for lower-level classes covering a normal 8 ^th grade setting as well as regular and lower-level high school settings. In addition, there is a more advanced option for higher level-learning skills and the more advanced class. Option #1 Following the video and the group compilation of the study questions, each group should write an encyclopedia entry for their particular president. The entry should (1) give some background and biographical information about their president and (2) take a position as to his importance and significance as a president based upon his actions as president. This entry would, by necessity, focus on his activities as president that expanded the role and office. Students should be reminded that this is not a research paper, biography, or a historical monologue, but an encyclopedia entry, which would briefly state the facts about their particular president. The groups could then do a compilation of all the information or give oral presentations on their president. An additional activity might be to rate not only their four presidents, but all the presidents, as to which was the best, most effective, most popular, or whatever guidelines the students and teacher might wish to use. Option #2 In his article "Perspectives on Presidential Power," Louis W. Koenig presents four theories on presidential power. Have students use the information gained from the "Expanding Power" video to determine into which category their particular president would be classified. Key excerpts from Koenig's article are offered online at http://www.udayton.edu/~polsci/koenig.htm. They should, by either written or oral means, be able to support their assumption based on the actions and activities of their particular president. It would also be interesting to debate the validity of these theories, the strengths and weaknesses of each type, and the overall effectiveness of each style of president. (For debate guidelines, see Jeff Harris's "Classroom Debate" lesson plan.) Note: The American President website biographies will help students with facts on the presidents they are researching. Assessment Assessment could be done through a variety of methods including grading of encyclopedia entries, oral presentations, class participation, debate, or objective testing. Here is a sample rubric for option #2: Mastery (Superior Performance) Student is able to associate president with a theory of power Student is able to cite a minimum of three examples supporting his placement of the president Student is able to support his argument effectively in classroom debate and discussion Competence (Excellent Performance) Student is able to associate president with a theory of power Student is able to cite a minimum of two examples supporting his placement of the president Student has some problems and weak supporting evidence in classroom debate and discussion Average Student is able to associate president with a theory of presidential power Student is able to cite one to two examples supporting his placement of the president Student has little ability to support his decision in class discussion and debate Unacceptable Student has difficulty in associating president with a particular theory of presidential power Student is unable to cite more than one supporting example for his decision Student has no ability or desire to support his decision in classroom debate and discussion Additional Resources There is an interesting article on Teddy Roosevelt's use of presidential power produced by PBS. It is available on the Web at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/nf/featured/tr/trle.html Larry Gann is a history teacher at Clinton High School in Tennessee. Expanding Power: A Study in Extension of Power by Four Presidents Study Guide Questions Andrew Jackson What personal characteristics helped to shape Jackson's attitude about the presidency and its powers? What powers did he use to deal with Indian removal? How did he use his powers to deal with the Bank of the United States? How was Jackson's use of the veto power different from that of previous presidents? How did he justify his use of the veto and the expansion of his powers? How was Jackson publicly perceived as a result of his expansion of presidential powers? Grover Cleveland What personal characteristics helped to shape Cleveland's attitude about the presidency and its powers? How did Cleveland deal with the office-holders that he felt needed to be removed? How did he justify these actions? What was the central argument in his battle with Congress? What was Cleveland's definition of "executive privilege"? How did Cleveland deal with the Pullman strike? What was Cleveland's concept of federal intervention? Teddy Roosevelt What personal characteristics helped to shape Roosevelt's attitude about the presidency and its powers? How did he use the press to extend his powers? What role did Roosevelt's family play in his presidency? What significance did the idea of "anything for the good of the people" hold in Roosevelt's presidency? How did TR deal with the coal strike? What was Roosevelt's role as a trustbuster? How did Roosevelt justify his actions in Colombia? As president, what did TR do to promote his conservationist ideals? Richard Nixon What personal characteristics helped to shape Nixon's attitude about the presidency and its powers? What was the significance of the term "imperial presidency"? How did Nixon extend his presidential involvement in arms control? What foreign relations advances did Nixon spur in China? How did Nixon extend his powers as commander in chief in Vietnam? What was Nixon's role in "d�tente"? How did Nixon as president attempt to stall investigation of the Watergate affair? What was congressional reaction to Nixon's Watergate activities?