Rachel Nelson
Professor Lovecraft
PS F301
September, 10, 2022
We Came, We Saw the Monarchy, We Said Thanks But No Thanks
Why does America have a president? There are many reasons one could choose, but ultimately America has a president because England had a king. From the very beginning of America’s history, whatever your thoughts about it, the desire to have a government without a ruler wielding absolute power over helpless citizens is an ever-present one. The framers got together to solidify this idea, through different perspectives and ideas, in the form of a democracy of the people and for the people.
The issue of how to run a nation according to a nation’s people is a sticky one to be sure: differing ideas, upbringings, and personal beliefs is bound to make a single answer to a question a much more arduous process, especially when one’s populace is largely uneducated in the ways of governmental management. But, overall a good goal to hold. Residing in a nation under a king, even a world away, gave early Americans a piping hot taste of what it was like to be unheard and taken advantage of. Ideals like freedom of speech, the right to vote, freedom of the press, judicial liberties— all of these luxuries we possess now, were what revolutionaries fought and died for and what the framers had in mind when constructing the early government system that has morphed into what we see today. These were not brand new ideas to humanity, however, examples of these can be found in Greek and Roman history and were drawn on by framers whilst crafting the documents, systems, and stations of the early American government. By no means perfect, there was quite a bit of trial and error instituting the newly fashioned system of governance— from lack of funding to trouble getting respect and compliance from citizens, groups, and even each other, setting up the American democracy was no easy feat.
Though it is clear that presidents wield far more power than was ever intended by framers, even to the point some would classify America as an imperial democracy, the separation of powers, checks and balances, voting by citizens, and rights upheld in the constitution are all part of the system of government framers dreamed of creating, with the presidency firmly planted in the executive branch. Living in a world dominated by hereditary secession of absolute power, early Americans and the framers yearned from a system of governance that put officials elected by the people in power, answerable to the people. While this only included white, land-holding men as the “people” being referred to, it was the stepping stool for the democracy we see (for the most part) thriving today.
This question is to ask why a singular executive, for example, and not a council. One had to go back to the Articles and the debate over the nature of the concept of executive power. In particular the new “Americans” had a distinct distaste for singular concentrations of power, and yet they arrive at Hamilton’s suggestion of George Washington as a sole president atop the entire executive branch. Your writing points to several viewpoints during the process of our founding but you don’t address head on why we end up with a president – what happens in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that makes a difference? We didn’t want a king – as you note, that was the British legacy we wanted to act against -and thus an executive council was discussed under the Articles and in the VA and NJ plans.