Following Washington's Lead, Part 1
This lecture explains why Article II's vague presidency was intentionally underspecified, drafted around George Washington. It demonstrates how much executive power stems from Washington's precedents, not explicit text, using the recognition of foreign governments and secret envoys as key examples.
Article II is short and vague, yet presidents do far more than it lists. Akhil Reed Amar argues the missing details were left for one man to fill in: George Washington.
This lecture explains why the framers under-specified the presidency: they had no clear model between a governor and a king, the job resists a tidy description, and they were drafting Article II around the man everyone expected to hold it first. Amar shows how much of executive power rests on Washington's precedents rather than the text, using the power to recognize foreign governments and to send secret envoys as examples.
Remembering the Ladies, Part 2
Next · Lecture 16Following Washington's Lead, Part 2