The Process of Developing Policies: The President and Foreign Affairs

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Harry Truman was once asked ‘who made US foreign policy’ he simply replied ‘I do’ . The United State president has always put the issue of foreign affairs to the fore front in order to retain the superpower America is. Although the President is viewed as the key decision maker in foreign policy the executive branch is not the only branch involved in determining the course of American foreign policy. The process of developing policies is of great importance to the branches involved because the United states government has the power to influence the lives of many people through the polices. While it’s believed that the president determines foreign policy, it has been said my many scholars who work in the field of constitutional law that Congress is giving a ‘Preeminent role in the formulation of foreign policy’ by the Constitution and the ‘Presidents role is in the execution of foreign policy’. While it has been established that there is a difference in the role of Congress and executive branch in regard to foreign policy, there has been a significant rise in the role of the State Department which is overseen by the some of the key personalities in the US Government such as the Secretary of state. This developed during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison. James G Blain, secretary of state, successfully put trade between the US and Latin to the limelight while also calling for a renegotiation of the Bulwer Treaty which would allow the US to construct the panama canal without the intervention of Britain, it is now seen that the secretary of state possess a bigger role in foreign policy than was thought. The way in which I would present a president’s influence in regards to foreign policy would be to analyse past event such as the Pa... ... middle of paper ... ...lladay Latane. This source proved to provide a detailed understanding of the history Monroe doctrine which helped a great deal. I found it useful because I was able combine my new knowledge with my old knowledge to help me develop this essay. Furthermore, During the Cold War, there was scandals and secrecy developing and ‘Secrecy- the American experience’ by Daniel Patrick Moynihan presents the secrecy that was going on during in American governments as was seen during Reagans Presidency. It provides a view of how it shaped American foreign policy. However, it did not provide an insiders of the government but a historical appraisal of the culture of secrecy. Overall, I found researching about the American presidents, events and polices etc. somewhat easy as there was a wide range of sources available in which I used to help me develop this essay. 344 words

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