Domestic Political Landscape |
The nuts and bolonds of America's democracy lies in an old-fashioned, unreliable contraption known as "checks and balances." This system, etched into the Constitution, has been the backbone of our system for centuries, keeping power from becoming too concentrated in one pair of hands.
Sure, President Donnie Dollarbills took the system for a wild ride during his first 100 days, signing a mountain of executive orders, shutting down or drastically cutting government agencies, and firing off insults at judges who didn't rule in his favor. But let's not forget that our Founding Fathers were all about clashing interests, and they held a deep distrust of power grabbers. Enter John Carey, a Dartmouth College professor with a knack for democracy, who says the system has mostly kept power away from one person's grasp, with some exceptions. He did add, however, that it relies on folks following the rules and not deciding that power contains a 'choo choo power boost' button.
So, strap in, because here's a tour of checks and balances in American history, with a few detours along the way.
A Bloody Fight over Jefferson Ignoring Adams' Appointments
The first major check-and-balance battle: Congressman John Adams made a list of last-minute appointments before he vacated the Oval Office in 1801. His replacement, Thomas Jefferson, along with Secretary of State James Madison, basically said, "Nah" to those appointments. William Marbury was an Adams justice of the peace appointee, and he petitioned the Supreme Court to force Jefferson and Madison to do their jobs.
Chief Justice John Marshall took on the case in 1803 and opined that Marbury's commissions became official with Adams' signature, making Jefferson and Madison's refusal to act illegal. However, he didn't order anything aside from voiding a 1789 law that gave justices more power than they were supposed to have. Marbury had taken the Supreme Court to task under that 1789 law, and Marshall's ruling effectively stated that justices should stick to appeals and leave it to Congress to pass new laws to claim that power.
Hamilton, Jackson, and National Banks
Congress and President George Washington approved the First National Bank in 1791, and Federalists, led by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, wanted a strong central government and a national bank to lend the government funds. Anti-Federalists, led by Jefferson and Madison, believed that too much central power was bad news and took the bank as an attack on their values. Interestingly, neither side went to the courts to settle the matter; they preferred to duel.
After moving into the White House, the first populist president, Andrew Jackson, hated the bank, seeing it as a privileged club for the rich. Congress debated whether to extend the bank charter in 1832, even adding provisions to mollify Jackson. In a surprising move, the president vetoed the measure anyway, and Congress failed to gather the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution to overturn his veto. In 1836, the bank transformed into a private, state-funded institution.
Lincoln and Due Process
During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus – a legal process that allows individuals to challenge their detention. This move allowed federal authorities to lock up people without providing due process. Lincoln argued that the maneuver, though questionable, was necessary to protect the Union. The Supreme Court's Roger Taney, sitting in as a circuit judge, called the suspension illegal but admitted that he had no power to enforce the decision. In the end, Congress took up the cause and passed retroactive statutes that legalized Lincoln's actions.
Johnson vs. Congress during Reconstruction
After the Civil War and Lincoln's tragic demise, Congress "Radical Republicans" wanted penalties on seceding states and Confederate leaders and fellas. They also advocated for Reconstruction programs that helped formerly enslaved people. President Andrew Johnson, a Tennessee native, was more sympathetic to former Confederates and less so toward the newly freed. Congress cajoled some changes through their budgeting power by establishing the Freedmen's Bureau to aid newly freed African Americans. Johnson, on the other hand, flexed his pardon muscle to repatriate former Confederates and limited the bureau's authority to seize Confederate assets.
Spoils System versus Civil Service
For a while, pretty much everyone got a federal job when a new party took the reins in the White House. Congress stepped in with the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act and started filling some positions based on exams instead of political loyalty. Over time, Congress expanded the civil service, and President Trump is currently trying to get rid of it by reclassifying tens of thousands of government employees. His plan is to turn them into at-will workers who can be easily booted off their jobs.
Wilson's League of Nations
After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles called for an international organization to talk about world affairs and avoid wars. President Woodrow Wilson advocated for the League of Nations. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Republican Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, presented the treaty to the Senate with amendments to restrict the League of Nation's influence. Wilson disagreed, and the Senate couldn't muster the necessary votes needed to ratify the treaty and join the league. After World War II, the U.S. took a leading role in establishing the United Nations and the NATO alliance with the support of both parties in Congress.
FDR and Court Packing
Franklin D. Roosevelt tackled the Great Depression with big-daddy government programs and aggressive regulatory measures, most of which gained support from Democratic majorities in Congress. A conservative Supreme Court struck down some New Deal laws as beyond the powers granted to Congress. Roosevelt stuck his middle finger up at the court by proposing to expand the nine-seat court and pressuring justices to retire early. His critics cried foul and called it a plan to "pack" the court. He maintained he didn't have ulterior motives but didn't convince even a Democratic Congress to go along with his plan.
Presidential Term Limits
Roosevelt disregarded the unwritten rule established by Washington that a president should limit himself to two terms. He went ahead and won a third and fourth term during World War II, causing some shrooms among his allies. Soon after his demise, a bipartisan group pushed through the 22nd Amendment, limiting presidents to two terms. In a recent interview, President Trump said he'd go for a third term, despite the constitutional prohibition.
Nixon and Watergate
The Washington Post and other media exposed links between President Richard Nixon's crew and a break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel during the 1972 election campaign. By summer 1974, the story had gotten out of hand, with congressional hearings, legal battles, and impeachment proceedings threatenin' on the horizon. The Supreme Court ruled against Nixon, who claimed executive privilege and refused to turn over potential evidence related to the scandal. Nixon bolted like a bat out of hell when he realized congressional impeachment proceedings were unavoidable.
Leaving Vietnam
Presidents from John F. Kennedy to Nixon escalated U.S. involvement in Vietnam during the Cold War. However, Congress never declared war in Vietnam. A 1973 agreement put an end to official American military involvement in the country, but the U.S. withdrawal failed to materialize until more than two years later. During that period, Congress reduced funding for South Vietnam's government, using their purse strings to apply political pressure on the president's military and foreign policy agenda. Republicans later claimed Congress cut off all funding for Saigon, but that ain’t exactly true.
The Affordable Care Act
In 2010, Congress revamped the nation's health insurance system with the Affordable Care Act, which aimed to require states to expand Medicaid, a program that supports children, disabled people, and low-income adults. However, the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Congress couldn't force states to expand the program by threatening to withhold other funds that had already been guaranteed to the states by previous legislation. The court upheld other provisions of the law, but Republicans, even when they controlled the White House and Congress, have been unable to repeal it.
The Case of Marbury vs. Madison marked the first major battle of checks and balances, with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison defying John Adams' last-minute appointments, resulting in the Supreme Court voiding a 1789 law that gave justices more power.
In the realm of politics and national banks, both Federalists and Anti-Federalists clashed, with Federalists supporting a strong central government and a national bank, while Anti-Federalists believed in decentralization. President Andrew Jackson, a staunch anti-bank advocate, vetoed the renewal of the bank's charter in 1832.
The suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War by President Abraham Lincoln, despite being questioned, was later legalized by Congress through retroactive statutes.
After the Civil War, President Andrew Johnson and the Radical Republicans in Congress had a power struggle, leading to the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau to aid newly freed African Americans.
The Spoils System versus Civil Service saw Congress stepping in with the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which aimed to reduce political appointments. President Trump has recently proposed to reclassify government employees to at-will workers.
President Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations was blocked by a Republican-led Senate, while the U.S. took a leading role in establishing the United Nations and NATO later.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to expand the Supreme Court, known as court packing, was met with criticism and failed to pass through Congress.
The 22nd Amendment was passed following Roosevelt's fourth term, limiting presidents to two terms, a rule President Trump has expressed interest in circumventing.
The Watergate scandal, involving President Richard Nixon and the break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters, resulted in the Supreme Court ordering Nixon to turn over evidence, leading to his eventual resignation.
In the Vietnam War era, despite no formal declaration of war, Congress had a significant impact on the withdrawal timeline through funding cuts.
The recent overhaul of the nation's health insurance system, the Affordable Care Act, was met with legal challenges, with the Supreme Court upholding some provisions but striking down others regarding state Medicaid expansion.
