Title: The Presidency: The History of the Presidency | SparkNotes
Headings: The Presidency
The Presidency
US Government and Politics
The History of the Presidency
The Framers’ Views of the Presidency (1789)
King Caucus (1789–1830s)
Clerk in Chief (1840s–1900)
Assertive Early Presidents

Content: For most of the nineteenth  century, political leaders believed that political power should center on  Congress and that the president’s job should be to execute decisions made by  Congress. Some scholars have referred to the presidency during this era as a  “clerk in chief” because the president was not expected to initiate or guide  national policy. Many nineteenth-century presidents acted more like clerks in  chief, exercising little initiative or independent power. Assertive Early Presidents
Despite the general trend of weak presidents, several early presidents  stand out for their assertiveness and importance. George Washington  (president from 1775 to 1783) established the character of the office that  nearly all his successors would emulate. Washington carried himself in a  statesmanlike manner and set the standard of serving no more than two terms. He also created an indelible image of what a president should be: strong,  capable, honorable, and above partisanship. Thomas Jefferson (president from  1801 to 1809), in contrast, acted without congressional approval a number of  times, such as when he made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Andrew Jackson  (president from 1829 to 1837) was another assertive president and was the  first to appeal directly to the average voter as a means of building  support.