Essay 14: On the Federal Constitution – Volume 1 Part 1 Chapter 8 Sub Chapters 7-10 of Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville
Essay Read by Constituting America Founder, Actress Janine Turner
The essays in our study reference the following edition of Democracy In America: University of Chicago Press – 1st edition translated by Harvey Mansfield and Delba Winthrop. Today’s essay references pages 113 (starting at the heading “On the Executive Power”) through 120 (stopping at the heading “On the Election of the President”) of this edition of Democracy in America.
Executive Power; a Summary of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Comparison of the U.S. Presidency and the French Monarchy
“The executive power in France extends to everything, like the sovereignty – the king is one of the authors of the law. The president is only the executor of the law.”
“The president is hindered in the sphere of the executive power – the king is free in it.”
“The president possesses great prerogatives that he has no occasion to make use of – in what he does have occasion to execute, he is weak.”
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, Comte de Tocqueville
It’s helpful to set the stage with the reminder that De Tocqueville was one the 19th century “big thinkers” – A French noble who analyzed political and sociological movements. He had an avid interest in the young United States, particularly its form of government. De Tocqueville was a classical liberal who espoused the governmental form of parliamentary government, wary, though, of the tyranny of the majority when in power. It is difficult, however, to assign a political ideology to De Tocqueville because he straddles the ideals of much of the political spectrum. The time of his visit to America was during the French monarchy (Louis XVIII and Charles X); “between the republics” period – between the First Republic (1792–1804) and Second Republic (1848–1852).
De Tocqueville’s thoughts about the American presidency and the French monarchy
Following are the main points of difference between the U.S. Presidency and the French monarchy that De Tocqueville points out in Democracy in America, starting with what he refers to as the most important difference:
1. Sovereignty in the United States is divided between the Union and the states, whereas among us (in France), it is one and compact. In the United States, the executive power is limited and exceptional, like the very sovereignty in whose name it acts; in France it extends to everything, just like the sovereignty.
2. The king in France really constitutes a part of the sovereign, since laws do not exist if he refuses to sanction them; he is, in addition, the executor of the laws. 3. The king of France participates in the formation of the legislature by naming the member of one house and putting an end to the duration of the mandate of the other at his will. The president of the United States does not concur at all in the composition of the legislative body and cannot dissolve it.
4. The king is represented within the houses by agents who set forth his views, support his opinions, and make his will prevail. The president has no entry into Congress; it is only in an indirect manner that he can influence the legislative process.
5. The power of the king of France has the advantage of longevity over that of the president – this makes the king feared because he wields power for a much longer time. The president is a magistrate who is elected every four years with one exception so far (Grover Cleveland, 1885-89 and 1893-97), while the king of France is a hereditary head – divine right to assume absolute power says it all. Whereas the U.S. president is indirectly elected by the people, the French king is appointed – usually succeeded by an immediate family member.
6. The king of France is the absolute master in the sphere of executive power. The president of the United States is responsible for his actions. French law says that the person of the king is inviolable. Like the Roman Catholic Pope, he is infallible when speaking “ex cathedra” (from the chair). The difference is that while the Pope has only spoken once ex cathedra, the French kings put out many edicts during their reigns. There can be no opposition to his rule.
7. De Tocqueville points out that in France, there must be an accord between the king and the chambers; that anything else invariably leads to an irresolvable struggle. That is not the case in the U.S. but if the U.S. president is of a different political party than the majority in one or two houses of Congress, there certainly is a struggle to get things done.
The framers of our Constitution had placed the utmost importance on the legislative branch and envisioned the executive branch as an action-oriented, puttin-laws-into-force branch of government. They realized that it is one thing to write a law and another to apply it and see that it is obeyed. Basically, the U.S. president is supposed to be a “doer” – an executor. Article II of the Constitution says that the president “must take care that the laws be faithfully executed” and that he must take an oath or affirmation to faithfully execute the Office of President. In our times, there has evolved a notion of the “imperial presidency” which deals with the enlargement of the powers of the office but that flies in the face of the Constitution and is reinforced by the mystique factor of the presidency, especially in recent years. De Tocqueville recognizes that there are “accidental causes that can increase the influence of the executive power – generally that is war because the president acts as the chief of the armed forces.
Summary
Alexis de Tocqueville’s service to our heightened understanding of the U.S. presidency is quite commendable. For example:
“Just now Washington contains the most important men of the whole Union. We no longer seek instructions from them on subjects of which we are ignorant; instead, we reexamine, in conversation with them, everything which we already know, more or less. We settle the doubtful points…”
His service is very valuable because it promotes a prominent level of questioning and “doubt settling” we should be undertaking currently. The nature of our political experiment can be considered as an early form of a complex adaptive system – constantly changing with the identity and the impact of independent variables weighing heavily upon it. That is something that historians do not focus on and something that political scientists should. The U.S. presidency has built up capabilities never imagined in 1832 because our society has become infinitely more complex to manage. Still, many Americans repel the notion of a monarchy as much as they did when King George III was the King of England.
Dr. Robert Brescia is a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), serving as Social Studies Department Chair at Permian High School in Odessa, TX. The Governor of Texas re-appointed him to the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) for a six-year term. Bob has a doctoral degree with distinction in Executive Leadership from The George Washington University. He also teaches ethics to university students and leadership to organizations.
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Brescia discusses the ‘Imperial Presidency’ and expansion of presidential power in modern times and that modern society is now ‘infinitely more complex to manage’. I think that he is implying that this trend is not in accord with the intent of the Constitution and that we should go back to the clear separation of executive responsibilities between the Union and the States. Should the federal government manage modern society?