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Abraham Lincoln: Inaugural address, March 4, 1861
Declaration of the immediate causes which induce and justify the
secession of South Carolina from the federal union
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HIS 303 Week 2 DQ 2 A Symbolic Figurehead (Ash)
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DQ 2 A Symbolic Figurehead. Americans tend to pay more attention to
the president than to any other government official, blaming him when
things go wrong, even in areas over which the president has little control,
and crediting him with successes which stem from the legislature instead
of the executive. In many ways, the president serves as a symbolic
figurehead of both the government and the nation, with the consequence
that the executive often overshadows the other branches of government.
Review the powers and responsibilities which the Constitution grants to
the president. Then explain how presidents from, George Washington
through Abraham Lincoln, have wielded and expanded those powers.
How did the role of the president change from 1789 to 1865? Which
presidents were most responsible for those changes? How did the
judiciary and the legislature encourage or seek to curtail the expansion
of executive power?