When the founding fathers created the Constitution they established many powers that the president could use. Previous presidents limited themselves to these powers and didn't do much else. However, the Framers predicted that presidents may need to do more in the future. Therefore, they wrote the vested clause stating that the president could do anything else he thought would improve the state of the nation. Now, modern presidents use many vested powers, which contrasts sharply with the past. The transition shows how the vested powers are able to solve more of the nation's concerns because the scope of the enumerated powers is severely limited. Overall, the president's actions have shifted from using enumerated powers to vested powers because previous presidents focused on enforcing the powers established by the Constitution, while modern presidents have found that they should do what they believe is best for their village. of the nation, presidents have used only the abilities given them by the Constitution. The idea of corruption and a tyrannical king influenced the Framers' decision. They believed that they should not have enough power to regulate things outside of the Constitution. Their point is demonstrated by Howard Taft's quote, "...the president can exercise no power which cannot be fairly and reasonably traced to some specific grant of power or rightly implied and included in such express grant." Taft came after Theodore Roosevelt, and although Roosevelt used many acquired powers, Taft's mentality explains how previous presidents thought. An example comparing the use of enumerated powers by previous presidents and the power given by modern presidents can be shown in the quantity of executive orders. George Washington only used 8 Executive Orders...half of the paper...because the enumerated powers cannot truly meet the needs and desires of the nation. Times have changed for the executive branch. In the past, the president simply served as an errand boy for the Constitution. He could only follow him and had no freedom to do anything but follow him. Therefore, the role of the president was not efficient. As time passed, this brake became increasingly weaker. The people have decided that the president's responsibility is to represent and serve the people. The enumerated powers would prevent the president from representing the wishes of the people. With the use of acquired powers, presidents have gained the ability to solve many problems not related to some laws of the Constitution. When this transition occurred, the modern presidency appeared. Because the president now acts as the main figure of the government and takes responsibility for the nation himself.
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