Why The Articles Of Confederation Were Weak

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Pages: 4

1. The most important soft power is the Presidents use of the bully pulpit. It allows Presidents to push their agendas to the public and control the message that people receive. Franklin Roosevelt used “fireside chats” which was the use of the radio to reach the public and address the nation. On the other hand, John F. Kennedy used television to speak directly to the people without his words being altered by the Washington press corps.
2. The Articles of Confederation were weak because power was separated too much and it was difficult to accomplish anything in government. Laws were difficult to pass, no executive to enforce any acts that were passed by Congress, and Congress did not have power to tax. The Federalists wanted to have a strong central
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This trend toward “Presidentialization” is a good thing because Presidents are able to break up many tasks they have to deal with amongst the executive staff. It gave the President the ability to give out assignments and accomplish more with the help of a large staff verses doing everything by himself or with a small group. Franklin Roosevelt used the staff to increase his flexibility and sources of information. He gave his staff general assignments and conflicting ones so that it kept them off balance. This stopped any staff from getting to much power and gave complete control of everything that was going on in the White House to the President. He saw them as his “chore-boys, troubleshooters, checker-uppers, intelligence operatives, and magnets for ideas, gripes, and gossip.”
Essay Question
I. Introduction
A. Barack Obama and Donald Trump have different strengths and weaknesses using the bully pulpit in both formal and informal circumstances.
B. Barack Obama was better at using formal ways of communication through speeches.
Donald Trump is better at using informal ways of communication through twitter.
II. Barack Obama A. President Theodore Roosevelt as Model for his way of using the bully