2 Subscribe In this unit, you read a presidential speech, two poems, a memoir excerpt, short
stories, and an editorial. In terms of what it shows about America, being American,
and America's core values, with which work did you identify the most? That is,
which work contained characters, events, or themes that you recognized and
understood because of your own experiences as an American? Why do you think
this work spoke to you as it did? With which work did you identify with the least?
Why? Cite specific examples from the texts and your personal feelings or
experiences to illustrate the points in your response.

in the united states, the president is controlled by the

constitution, and in all respects subordinate to it. insofar

as it deals with presidential power, however, the american

constitution has proved to be a highly malleable document.

with very few exceptions,' the constitutional provisions relating to the president have not been changed at all since

they were ratified in 1787. but in the late twentieth century, those provisions do not mean what they meant in

1787. the constitution is a legal document, and it is enforced judicially; but its meaning was hardly fixed when it

was ratified. in particular, the contemporary president has

far broader powers than the original constitution contemplated. it is remarkable but true that large-scale changes in

the authority of the president have been brought about

without changes in the constitutional text, but nevertheless

without significant illegality.

this is a paradox. is it not clear that constitutional

changes, if not textual, are illegal? the paradox has considerable relevance to our current thinking about the presidency in particular and about constitutionalism in general.

perhaps the framers of the american constitution feared

legislative power most of all; 2 but from well-known events

in the twentieth century, it is possible to conclude that it is

presidential power that holds out the greatest risks to both

liberty and democracy. the president is by far the most visible leader in the nation; he is often the only person in government with a national constituency. moreover, he is

protected civil liberties and outlawed slavery in the new territories.