Essay On Government Power

How much power should the government in general and the President in particular be given in times of national crisis? The powers and duties of the president are defined in Article II of the Constitution making him commander in chief of armed forces, chief diplomat, nominating judges, presenting state of union to congress and having the power to pardon and veto. However, the Constitution grants far less powers to the nation’s president in Article II than it does to congress in Article I. Throughout history the unclear statements have given countless possibilities for presidents to expand their powers. One president who took many drastic steps to keep our nation together was Abraham Lincoln. Today Abraham Lincoln is known as one of the greatest American presidents, but during the civil war he drew criticism for taking away some civil liberties. The first action that Lincoln took was …show more content…
A nation will always face problems weather its slavery in the past or fears of terrorism in the present. I believe that nothing should limit the government from using its powers to protect its nation and its people. Only during emergency times should the government have unlimited powers, even if means to suspend some rights. Many might argue and state that the government should have limited power even during a crisis because if the government gets stronger the rights of citizens would be violated and that the government is no longer for the people. As of today the biggest topic discussed is the government tapping in to people’s phones, emails and other sorts of personal information, raising questions about privacy and first amendment rights. I agree to this topic on some extent. However, at the time of emergency unless you have something to hide this shouldn’t be a problem because after all most actions of the government during an emergency are made to protect us citizens and our nation from harm’s