Richard Henry Lee Quotes
Joint committee to consider what STYLE or TITLES it will be proper to annex to the OFFICES of President and of Vice President of the United States--if any other than those given in the Constitution.
The issue of how to address the President and Vice President was very controversial. To much respect and the President would appear to be a monarch; to little and he might not be taken seriously enough. See {586768}.
Richard Henry Lee, 1732-1794, Member of the Continental Congress, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Senator (VA), Proposed Congressional Committee in the First Congress, 1789
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Adams was one of those who felt that the President and Vice President should have some Title of official respect like “Your Highness.” That was a very controversial issue at the time. See {586769}. However, most public opinion thought that was a throwback to monarchy. Adams was thereafter derided for being a monarchist.
The view that the Supreme Court was the final arbiter of constitutional controversies was not held in early America.
On why the President should not be given the right to go to war without the approval of Congress:
Powell was the Secretary of State and Addington kept advising the administration that as long as the President was acting in defense of the country in his capacity as Commander in Chief, he did not have to obey any existing laws that had been Constitutionally passed which in the opinion of the President restricted or limited the President or the executive branch. Addington was an attorney and Assistant to the Vice President, but he was given much responsibility for administration policy. Powell the Secretary of State of the Administration could not have disagreed more and although most politicians including Republicans disagreed with the Addington thesis, Powell was one of the few Republicans to criticize the Addington position.
Alberto Gonzalez, White House Counsel and later Attorney General who was forced to resign and David S. Addington, Counsel to the Vice President, had come up with a novel view of the powers of the presidency. They argued that since the President is the Commander in Chief, in a war situation or intelligence gathering thereto, has the Constitutional responsibility for that function, he need not obey any laws of Congress as in the conduct of the war Congress would be impinging on the Constitutional separation of powers which itself was prohibited by the Constitution. The argument did not find any significant legal support but for a while the George W. Bush White House behaved as if this were the law, despite the fact that even in the American Revolution and the War of 1812 Congress passed laws regulating the conduct of the armed forces as is provided for in other parts of the Constitution. Yet even Goldsmith would allow the President some powers that many think are unconstitutional and/or belong to Congress. See {32436}.
Vidal, a staunch liberal held this view along with many ultra conservatives end extreme liberals. The constitution requires the Congress to declare war, but they have not done so for any of the wars since WWII. The President assumed the war power. And the only coherent budgets began.
His role was the equivalent of the Mayor of Washington DC. Even though the Congress had generally been the most powerful branch of the government, public opinion on this was beginning to shift at the turn of the 20th century.
Upon the death of President William Henry Harrison a month after he took office, John Tyler, the Vice President, assumed the Presidency according to the Constitution. This Vice President assuming the Presidency was shocking to many.
The title infuriated many who thought is was too much like a monarchy. For an example, see {586765}.
This quotation was the beginning of a struggle between Congress and the Presidency over war powers. In this case, President Jefferson had sent a squadron of American ships to protect American Shipping from Arab Corsairs who preyed on shipping and captured crews and passengers of all nations to hold for ransom or put into slavery. The American ships, instead of only providing defense, attacked some of the ships of the Bey and freed a captured American frigate and crew. Jefferson acknowledged that the act was a grey area and asked for authority more authority for the Executive Branch to initiate action. The balance of authority for war and/or defense has been struggled over ever since.
- Born: January 20, 1732
- Died: June 19, 1794
- Nationality:
- Profession: Law
Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain leading to the United States Declaration of Independence, which he signed. He also served a one-year term as the President of the Continental Congress, was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation, and was a United States Senator from Virginia from 1789 to 1792, serving during part of that time as the second President pro tempore of the upper house.
