A treaty is the only device which is explicitly mentioned by the Constitution. One of the recurring themes of American Politics, however, is institutions looking beyond the “four corners” of the Constitution for power. The president does so in terms of war by his (constitutional) ability to direct troop movements which he can (extra-constitutionally) use to intervene in foreign affairs without the Congressional consent necessary to declare war. The president does something similar with executive agreements. The President has the (constitutional) ability to create treaties—the downside to treaties, however, is that they must be ratified by the Senate. Presidents have maneuvered around that requirement, however, by using an (extra-constitutional) device called the “executive agreement.” An executive agreement is basically exactly what it sounds like—two heads of state agreeing to something. Clearly, however, it must come with more strings attached than just a treaty (because it, unlike a treaty, is not ratified by Congress). An executive agreement cannot supersede existing law, on top of which Congress may pass a law nullifying it, and the courts may strike it down as unconstitutional.

Thomas Jefferson, who served as the nation’s third President from 1801-1809, presided over one the largest expansions of territory in American history: the Louisiana Purchase. Undertaken and finalized in 1803, the Louisiana Purchase ceded a vast expanse of Western lands, including the invaluable port city of New Orleans, from the French government to the United States. Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Emperor at the time, was desperately in need of funds to support his massive army and so he approached Jefferson, offering to sell all of France’s continental North American lands to the United States. Although Jefferson had a few doubts as to the constitutionality of this purchase, he felt that he could not in good conscience, following his duties as President to act in the nation’s best interest, allow such a generous opportunity to slip away. The completed deal drastically increased the size of the young nation, opening up wide new lands to exploration and exploitation.

Ever since Franklin Roosevelt greatly expanded the powers of the Presidency, during the New Deal era of American history, the nation’s policy agenda has more and more often been set by the President. The expanding power of the Presidency is one of the defining traits of twentieth-century American politics.

Devolution as a concept relates to the decentralization of power by offering some powers previously reserved for the Federal government to the states. It’s purpose is to reduce the overwhelming power held by the national government. Because it focuses on reducing Federal power, it should be understood as a conservative policy and therefore should lead you to select Ronald Reagan as the correct answer.

Upon inauguration, the President and Vice President must be natural born citizens, at least 35 years of age, and United States residents for at least 14 years.

The only power listed that is granted to the President is that of pardoning criminals. The rest of these powers are explicitly given to Congress.

While the President has many informal and formal powers, one thing they cannot do is declare war against other countries without the consent of Congress. In order to declare war, Congress must pass a vote to do so.

The Stewardship Theory of the President states that the President is the steward of the people, who must act in their best interests at all times. The theory was promoted by Theodore Roosevelt.

In the event that a special session of Congress becomes necessary after Congress has been adjourned, only the President may summon Congress back into session.

The President is given numerous powers under the Constitution—including Executive Clemency, which allows the President to pardon criminal offenders. The President has many powers related to war and foreign relations. The President may appoint ambassadors, receive foreign ambassadors, and negotiate treaties with foreign nations. The President, however, cannot ratify a treaty. For a treaty that is negotiated by the President to be ratified, it must be approved by a two-thirds vote in the Senate.