Presidential Powers: Pardons, Executive Orders, Proclamations, and Signing Statements

Do you know which president holds the record for presidential pardons? The answer may not be as clear cut as you might think. How about which president signed almost as many executive orders as all his predecessors combined? And just for the record, do you know which President implemented the most proclamations? Presidential powers are complex and fascinating; some are enumerated in the Constitution while some are not. Here in Episode 14, we take you on a whirlwind tour of the powers wielded by the Executive branch of our government. 

 Episode Edits:

1. Muhammad Ali was convicted of avoiding the draft in 1967 but did not go to jail due to the appeal process. His conviction was overturned in 1971 by the Supreme Court.

 Episode Resources:

Books:

•  The Black Frontiersman: The Memoirs of Henry O. Flipper by Theodore D. Harris
• My Life in the Ring and Out by Jack Johnson
• The Presidential Pardon Power by Jeffrey P. Crouch
• Executive Order 9066 by Charles River Editors
• The Life of Samuel A. Mudd by Nettie Mudd
• 31 Days: Gerald Ford, the Nixon Pardon and a Government in Crisis by Barry Werth

 Film:

• The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936) – Directed by John Ford
• Unforgiveable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2005) – PBS Documentary
• The Last American Hero (1973) – Jeff Bridges plays Junior Johnson, the NASCAR driver pardoned by Ronald Reagan.