The Past Three Decades: Years of Crisis - Years of Triumph
Crisis of Political Leadership | Previous | Next |
Digital History ID 3353 |
The Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal had a profound effect on the presidency. The office suffered a dramatic decline in public respect, and Congress became increasingly unwilling to defer to presidential leadership. Congress enacted a series of reforms that would make future abuses of presidential authority less likely. In the process, Congress recaptured constitutional powers that had been ceded to an increasingly dominant executive branch.