The power of the executive branch has expanded over time to become the most authoritarian division of government. Unlike the Constitution's fundamental designer, James Madison, who predicted that the legislative branch would dominate because of its power to legislate and regulate taxes and spending, the executive powers have proven superior and ever-expanding. Since the birth of the Republic, the President has sought to protect his rights and go beyond the restrictions on his power. Setting a precedent as early as 1795, George Washington refused to transmit documents relating to the Jay Treaty to the House of Representatives and considered his actions a justified act of "executive prerogative." Additionally, throughout the 19th century, presidents such as Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln designed and added functions, such as the extensive use of the veto and the president's direct, active role as commander in chief, to their executive tool belt. The Constitution provides very few details about the President's use of the veto power and his role as commander in chief, but it is these presidents who established the major authority of the executive branch in these areas. During the birth of the new nation, the Founding Fathers sought to build a system of checks and balances catalyzed by the common fear of tyrannical government and based on Enlightenment ideologies. In 1787, with the fledgling nation teetering on the shaky foundation of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention adjourned and conflicts over power and representation gave rise to new plans for the future. Although the Convention had intended to revise and rework the Articles, James Madison, alongside...... middle of paper ...... appointed the justices to the Supreme Court with the approval of the two-thirds of the votes of the House, was transformed into reverse. Mitch McConnell, a senior U.S. senator, blocked Obama's liberal nominee, Merrick Garland, from even being considered. The refusal to hear, or even consider, Obama's nominee is a bold move by the legislative branch to regain lost executive power. In Federalist Paper No. 51, Madison wrote: “In defining a government to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and at the next glance, force him to control himself. It was the founders of the Constitution who attempted to prevent abuse of power, but the executive branch has continually exceeded its limits and the legislative branch is now following in the president's footsteps..