Chapter 9, Creating the Presidency Summary

The executive branch of the government is formed from the vaguely worded Article II of the Constitution: “The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America” (pg. 244). Nowhere in the Constitution does it define what executive power is. These fifteen words give rise to the most powerful position on earth. But the executive branch, like the other two branches, is a part of the system of checks and balances built in to the Constitution.

Rakove discusses the history of the British system, how it evolved, what parts of it are accepted and what parts are rejected by American thinkers. The British greatly shaped American thinking. They began separating the executive from the legislative in 1777, when New York enacted legislation allowing for the governor to be elected by popular vote, independent of...