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Discuss in depth the expansion of power obtained by Congress, the presidency and the judiciary paying close attention to the original outlines...

The powers of the three branches have expanded dramatically since the ratification of the Constitution. These changes have been the result of a number of different factors (including the addition of formal amendments mentioned in the question,) but they generally have stemmed from the establishment of precedents. From the earliest actions of George Washington, for example, presidents have acted in ways that expanded the powers of the presidency. When Thomas Jefferson gave his approval to the Louisiana Purchase, for instance, he acted outside the formal boundaries of the Constitution, which does not give the executive the power to conclude such land purchases. Subsequent presidents, however, could draw on this example to do so. Jefferson also sent naval forces to the Mediterranean to combat pirates there, and subsequent presidents could cite this as a precedent for committing troops to combat without a congressional declaration of war. The Supreme Court has expanded the powers of the judiciary by asserting the power of judicial review, which claimed for the court the ability to rule acts of Congress unconstitutional. This power, not expressly granted in the Constitution, is nevertheless a major source of power for the Court. Congress expands its powers simply through making laws, each of which entails an expanded interpretation of the Constitution. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, for example, which banned segregation, was based in part on Congress's expressed power to regulate interstate commerce. The Framers could have envisioned no such intent for the law, and Congress thus expanded its powers by passing it. Future Congresses could look to this law to justify others.

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