Is the American President an Elected King?

In 1787, during the debate over ratifying the newly-proposed Constitution of the United States, a group of Americans we now call Antifederalists were opposed to this new Constitution, citing among other things the danger that the President would become an elected king. In this talk, we will reconsider the Antifederalists’ fears and discuss whether or not the presidency has become an elective monarchy. Among the topics we will cover are the early debates over the presidency and its powers, the growth of presidential power over time (particularly in war), and the ambivalent nature of executive power itself: the most influential founders argued that a strong president is essential for good government, but when does this strength cross a line and become a danger to the American people and their government?

Patrick F. Campbell, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Salve Regina University, where he is also an affiliated professor of political science. He has taught at Skidmore College, Ashland University, and the United States Military Academy at West Point, on the U.S. Presidency, American Political Development, and Advanced American politics. His scholarship includes the book, “Democracy and Democratization: Challenges and Opportunities.” Prior to academia, he was a member of the U.S. Department of Justice, serving in three DOJ agencies across the Bush and Obama Administrations as Special Assistant in the Bureau of Justice Statistics and in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General – OJP, where he coordinated anti-human trafficking efforts.