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    Commander in Chief: Presidents of the United States, #2
    Commander in Chief: Presidents of the United States, #2
    Commander in Chief: Presidents of the United States, #2
    Ebook266 pages1 hour

    Commander in Chief: Presidents of the United States, #2

    By Raymond C. Wilson

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    About this ebook

    It would be easy to assume that an American President (as Commander in Chief) must have some background in military service. But the reality is that military service is NOT a prerequisite to hold the highest office in America. In fact, 14 Presidents did not serve in the military. The United States Constitution specifies civilian control of the armed forces, and no sitting general may also hold the office of President. But a former military member can, and many did. The actual number of sitting Presidents who have served in the military may surprise you. Of the 45 men who have occupied the White House, a total of 31 had military service. This book examines the President's role as Commander in Chief and looks at the background of each of the occupants of the oval office.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRaymond C. Wilson
    Release dateJul 1, 2021
    ISBN9781005851316
    Commander in Chief: Presidents of the United States, #2
    Author

    Raymond C. Wilson

    Raymond C. Wilson is a military historian, filmmaker, and amateur genealogist. During his military career as an enlisted soldier, warrant officer, and commissioned officer in the U.S. Army for twenty-one years, Wilson served in a number of interesting assignments both stateside and overseas. He had the honor of serving as Administrative Assistant to Brigadier General George S. Patton (son of famed WWII general) at the Armor School; Administrative Assistant to General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley at the Pentagon; and Military Assistant to the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon. In 1984, Wilson was nominated by the U.S. Army Adjutant General Branch to serve as a White House Fellow in Washington, D.C. While on active duty, Wilson authored numerous Army regulations as well as articles for professional journals including 1775 (Adjutant General Corps Regimental Association magazine), Program Manager (Journal of the Defense Systems Management College), and Army Trainer magazine. He also wrote, directed, and produced three training films for Army-wide distribution. He is an associate member of the Military Writers Society of America. Following his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1992, Wilson made a career change to the education field. He served as Vice President of Admissions and Development at Florida Air Academy; Vice President of Admissions and Community Relations at Oak Ridge Military Academy; Adjunct Professor of Corresponding Studies at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; and Senior Academic Advisor at Eastern Florida State College. While working at Florida Air Academy, Wilson wrote articles for several popular publications including the Vincent Curtis Educational Register and the South Florida Parenting Magazine. At Oak Ridge Military Academy, Wilson co-wrote and co-directed two teen reality shows that appeared on national television (Nickelodeon & ABC Family Channel). As an Adjunct Professor at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Wilson taught effective communications and military history for eighteen years. At Eastern Florida State College, Wilson wrote, directed, and produced a documentary entitled "Wounded Warriors - Their Struggle for Independence" for the Chi Nu chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Since retiring from Eastern Florida State College, Wilson has devoted countless hours working on book manuscripts.

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      Book preview

      Commander in Chief - Raymond C. Wilson

      Article II Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the Commander in Chief clause, states that [t]he President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.

      What kinds of power does the President of the United States actually have? This has been a hotly debated question for much of the history of the United States; starting with George Washington’s rejection of royalty and refusal to be named King while in office.

      There are some people today who are confused by the separation of powers. They have difficulty grasping how the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court), the Legislative Branch (House and Senate) and the Executive Branch (office of the President) co-exist and are meant to work together.

      There are some people who believe that the President, by virtue of being Commander in Chief, can exercise executive privilege without restriction. However, federal law has a reality check for this concept.

      What the President Is Legally Authorized To Do In Office

      Article Two of the United States Constitution authorizes the President of the United States to exercise the following authority, which includes but may not be limited to, the following below.

      The President shall:

      Be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.

      The President may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices.

      The President may veto or approve laws passed by the House and Senate. The President must veto the entire measure or pass it.

      The President is authorized to grant pardons and reprieves (except in cases of impeachment).

      The President has the power to make treaties, as long as a two-thirds majority of the Senators present agree.

      The President appoints ambassadors, Supreme Court judges, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law. However, Congress may by law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

      The President may fill all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

      The President will inform Congress periodically of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them.

      Limits To Presidential Power

      One of the recent formal limitations to Presidential power was connected to the Line-Item Veto Act of 1996, which was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1996. The President of the United States cannot line-item veto a measure passed by the House and Senate; the entire measure must be approved or denied.

      But there are other limits. Even as the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States cannot make a formal declaration of war without the approval of Congress.

      One area of debate over Presidential power involves the very definition of the term Executive Branch or executive power. The official site of Cornell Law School points out that the historic interpretation of the nature of executive power in the Oval Office is that while the President is in charge of the Executive Branch, he or she is still subject to limits within that Branch (i.e., if the President fires members of the Executive Branch, Congress would have oversight and would be able to investigate the firings.)

      But there are conflicting interpretations of this; some believe the President has full power over the entire Executive Branch according to Cornell Law, which adds that under this particular interpretation:

      …any decision that the President makes regarding the Executive Branch would not be subject to any sort of review or oversight (i.e., Congress would not be able to investigate the President’s firings of any members of the Executive Branch)."

      The Supreme Court has not ruled on this interpretation, sometimes referred to as the Vesting Clause.

      What The President Of The United States Cannot Do

      The President can issue an executive order without approval from the House or Senate, but those orders can be overridden by a two-thirds majority. Executive orders can also be nullified by the Supreme Court or modified.

      The President cannot issue an executive order to change the U.S. Constitution, and executive orders must be supported by the Constitution.

      It is one thing to have your powers restricted or subject to limitations, but there are some areas the President of the United States is simply not allowed by law to do. One example of this is known as ‘Posse Comitatus’, which restricts the use of United States active duty military troops on American soil for the purposes of law enforcement.

      The name of the federal law that imposes this restriction is known as the ‘Posse Comitatus Act’, passed in 1878, by President Rutherford B. Hayes. One key aspect of this law is that it does not presume that the President of the United States is the only person who may be tempted to order the use of American active duty military members for domestic law enforcement.

      The actual text of the law says that ANYONE responsible for using any part of the Army or Air Force for domestic law enforcement will be punished by fines, imprisonment, or both.

      Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a ‘posse comitatus’ or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

      A published report by the Rand Corporation notes that the Air Force portion of the law was added in 1956. Some may note the absence of the United States Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy, but these two branches of military service are made subject to the ‘Posse Comitatus Act’ thanks to a Department of Defense regulation.

      The phrase posse comitatus can be interpreted to mean the power of the state and the original use of the act itself is (according to the Rand report) "to end the use of federal troops to police state elections in former Confederate states, among other things.

      National Guard troops are exempted from the ‘Posse Comitatus Act’, and Congress has in the past allowed an exception for drug enforcement operations. The Secretary of Defense is allowed to provide any military equipment and personnel necessary for operation of said equipment for law enforcement purposes.

      That means the United States Army, for example, may provide equipment and other support for civilian law enforcement agencies engaged in the so-called war on drugs.

      War Powers Resolution

      The questions of whether and to what extent the President has the authority to use the military absent a Congressional declaration of war have proven to be sources of conflict and debate throughout American history. Some scholars believe the Commander in Chief Clause confers expansive powers on the President, but others argue that even if that is the case, the Constitution does not define precisely the extent of those powers. These scholars tend to construe the Clause narrowly, asserting that the Founders gave the President the title to preserve civilian supremacy over the military, not to provide additional powers outside of a Congressional authorization or declaration of war.

      After the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon Administrations spent nearly a decade committing U.S. troops to Southeast Asia without Congressional approval, Congress responded by passing the War Powers Resolution in 1973. The Resolution sought to halt the erosion of Congress's ability to participate in war-making decisions, an aim furthered by the Resolution's requirement that the President communicate to Congress the commitment of troops within 48 hours. Further, the statute requires the President to remove all troops after 60 days if Congress has not granted an extension.

      Presidents have typically considered the War Powers Resolution to be unconstitutional, and so they have tended not to follow it. This unwillingness has never been challenged by another actor (congress, civilians, etc.), so the Supreme Court has never taken up the issue. In one way, the resolution takes an unprecedented action by allowing the President to unilaterally put American troops into conflict. Although the War Powers Resolution imposes a check on the President (by imposing a limit on the amount of time the troops can be deployed without Congressional consent), the act has not appeared to pose any practical checks on Presidential actions.

      And even though the War Powers Resolution exists, Congress is still largely deferential toward the President with regard to military authorization. For example in 1995, regarding the sending of U.S. troops into Bosnia, Bob Dole (Republican Senate Majority Leader) said that President Clinton (a Democrat) had the authority and the power under the Constitution to do what he feels should be done regardless of what Congress does.

      Commander in Chief Powers (Post-9/11)

      The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 created new complications for the separation of powers within the war powers sphere. After September 11th, the United States Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Terrorists. While the AUMF did not officially declare war, the legislation provided

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