It is undeniable that the founding fathers and framers of the Constitution would not recognize the position of the President. The power of the executive branch has swelled to what would be an unthinkable and alarming degree to the Framers. But one must ask, is it just the power of the executive that has changed? Executive power has expanded, but the power and polarization behind American government has also grown to an unrecognizable extent.

The Framers of the Constitution lived in a very different time and were looking at a very different picture. They were inspired by the injustices that they had just fought a war against. They were inspired by the charismatic personality that George Washington possessed. But mostly they did not know how the world would change and how the Constitution would be interpreted. It is difficult to say if political scientists and constitution lawyers from even before the FDR administration would recognize our government today let alone members of the Constitutional Convention. FDR ended the more isolationist politics that the US had operated under since George Washington. The US is now a global economic and military superpower, the police force of the globe, a founding NATO nation, a permanent member on the UN Security Council. I don’t think the Framers would have ever anticipated the power that comes with just handling foreign policy.

If power in the executive was still relegated to being primarily concerned with international relations, the current trajectory towards globalization and the rise of non state actors would still make the presidency very powerful. Another thing that the Framers may never have considered is our current two party system. George Washington warned of the dangers of parties. The extent of polarization in our current system, where one party vehemently supports the President, while the other actively tries to obstruct them, would not have been a scenario to the Framers. Maybe they would have considered a bipolar executive if the Constitution was being written now. This change in situation also effects the powers that the current office of the President holds.

When the Constitution was written there was a specific purpose for the President and for the executive branch. The powers to veto and enforce laws, the power to handle all foreign policy, and the power to grant pardons and elect members to the judiciary are all part of the executive powers ‘vested’ in the President as well as others. The transformation that the Presidency has taken is partially due to Presidents expanding powers, but is also due to the fact that we are a more powerful nation that has encountered events that the Framers did not foresee.