What Is Dereliction of Duty?

Every president takes an oath of office to defend and protect the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. But what does that actually mean? Americans, past and present, expect the president to defend the country against physical attacks — but beyond that, we rarely agree, whether it be 1789 or 2021.

In 1787, when the delegates at the Constitutional Convention crafted Article II of the Constitution, they penned the president’s oath of office. Thinking of the British troops that had departed New York City just four years earlier, they certainly expected the president would rally the defenses if a foreign power invaded the country.

They also fully anticipated that the president would lead a response to a domestic insurrection, and they had good reason to create a powerful executive for that very scenario. The previous year, Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays and a group of rebels closed down the local courts in western Massachusetts in response to punitive tax measures. Congress had been unable to raise the funds or forces to suppress the rebellion. Fearful for their own safety, wealthy citizens in Boston finally raised the money to pay for a private military force and restore order.

After the Constitution was ratified, the framers applauded the presidents that defended the Constitution against any type of armed force and condemned those who fell short. For example, protests in western Pennsylvania against a whiskey excise tax turned violent when rebels burned down the home of a local tax collector in 1794. After unsuccessfully pursuing peaceful solutions, President George Washington called up local militias and crushed the rebellion. Most Americans agreed with his decision — even the Republican newspapers that regularly criticized the president. 

On the other hand, when James Madison failed to take an active leadership role in the War of 1812, he was widely criticized. Especially after the British Army sacked Washington, D.C., and burned the White House and the Capitol. While much of the military blame belonged to the field commanders, critics dubbed the conflict “Mr. Madison’s War,” as a nod to the president’s failure to defend the city. The framers made clear, when it comes to military defense, that the buck stops with the president.

Daniel Shays and leaders of his Massachusetts rebellion met at the Pelham Town Hall in 1787 to discuss their grievances against the U.S. government. The town hall is the oldest in the country still in continuous use. (Kidd/Governing)

Beyond military defense, their expectations were much less clear. While they anticipated the president would be a man…