Following Washington's Lead, Part 2 | America's Unwritten Constitution with Akhil Reed Amar

Washington's precedents settled powers the text left blank, but even he overreached once. Akhil Reed Amar marks the line between a gloss on ambiguity and a clear textual violation. This lecture works through Washington's neutrality proclamation, which established the president as the nation's voice in foreign policy, and the point where it went too far by implying a presidential power to create criminal law, later rejected in Hudson and Goodwin. Amar then turns to the removal power: the Decision of 1789 confirmed that presidents may fire cabinet officers at will, a rule the text never states plainly but everyone now accepts. Chapters: 00:00 When Washington's precedent controls 03:37 The Neutrality Proclamation 05:35 Where Washington went too far 07:58 The power to fire cabinet officers 12:13 The Decision of 1789 16:30 Washington's First Inaugural 📚 Learning objectives: After watching, you'll be able to: - Explain how the neutrality proclamation established the president as the voice of foreign policy - Identify where Washington overstepped by implying a power to create criminal law - Trace the presidential removal power to the Decision of 1789 - Assess how early precedent settles questions the text leaves open 📺 Watch the full playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLABHWcbOLwlY 🎓 Enroll on Coursera for assessments and a certificate: https://www.coursera.org/learn/unwritten-constitution 🌐 Explore more learning opportunities on Yale Online: https://online.yale.edu/courses/americas-unwritten-constitution