Presidential Policies on Integration of the Military
Abstract
The genius of the government our Founding Fathers designed was based on one central theme: the profound mistrust of power. Consequently, this nation's government was conceived with an intricate system of checks and balances to ensure no single entity could grow too powerful and subvert the will of the people. An interesting case study of checks and balances involves the President and his use of executive orders. Case in point, some might imagine the President of the United States could make a policy decision concerning the armed forces and have his decision implemented. After all, the Constitution appoints the President as the commander-in-chief. However, therein lies the genius of how our system of government was designed. Despite making the President the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, the Constitution entrusted the Congress "to raise and support armies&to provide and maintain a navy; to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces." A practical example of this deliberately designed cumbersome relationship, may be found in two presidential attempts this century to integrate the armed forces of the United States of America by executive order. President Harry Truman was successful when he integrated blacks in the military in 1948. President William Clinton failed in his attempt to integrate homosexuals in 1993. To be sure, both decisions were extremely controversial. Why did one president succeed and the other fail? I believe the key to success or failure is understanding the role of Congress. Truman did. Clinton did not.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA441840
Entities
People
- Alan C. Ekrem
Organizations
- National War College