1. Was there ever a time when the veto power was used only to arrest unconstitutional legislation, not just because the bill in question is disagreeable to the sitting president?
2. Was the purpose of the veto power strictly defined and discussed in the conventions?
3. If there was a switch, when did that take place?
4. What’s the best book on how the Executive Branch slipped its reigns? Constitution Not a Suicide Pact?
1. Yes, during the first six presidencies.
2. Yes.
3. The chief document marking the shift was Andrew Jackson’s Bank Bill Veto Message of 1832. It’s full of political and sociological arguments, besides the constitutional one.
4. For this issue specifically, Ketcham, Presidents Above Party.
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