미국형 대통령제의 역사적 기원

Historical Origins of the U.S. Presidential System: Presidential Qualifications and Constitutional Powers Key Debates from the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia

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이 논문은 미합중국헌법 중 대통령의 자격요건과 헌법상 권한에 관한 조항의 역사적 기원을 필라델피아 제헌회의에서 논의된 기록을 통해 규명한 것이다. 미합 중국헌법 중 연령·거주·국적 등 대통령 자격요건조항을 두게 된 것은 정치이론적 인 고려 외에 다양한 정치현실적인 고려까지 상호작용한 결과였다. 미합중국헌법 의 대통령의 법률안거부권, 공직자 임명권 및 군사권·외교권에 관한 조항은 큰 주 와 작은 주 사이의 입법부 구성 및 집행수반 선출방식에 대한 두 차례의 정치적 타협을 반영하여, 대통령과 의회 간 각각 그 구체적 권한배분의 내용이 결정된 것 이었다. 대통령 자격요건조항이 제헌 당시의 원의(原意)가 오늘날까지 변함없이 유 지된 경우라고 한다면, 대통령의 법률안거부권, 공직자 임명권 및 군사권·외교권 에 관한 조항은 변화하는 헌법현실에 부응하여 그 의미하는 바의 헌법변천이 극적 으로 진행된 경우에 해당한다.

The provisions of the U.S. Constitution concerning the qualifications and powers of the presidency have resulted not only from the theoretical perspectives on government and power, but also are the outcomes of historical experiences and political compromises. In this Article, I traced the origins of the U.S. Constitution’s provisions concerning the qualifications and powers of the presidency back to the debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, and found some significant features. On September 7, just ten days before the Convention ended, the delegates finally approved a list of qualifications for president: at least thirty-five, a natural-born citizen or a citizen at the time of the Constitution’s adoption, and fourteen years a resident. Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 5 of the Constitution, the presidential qualifications clause, owes its origin to the dynamic interplay between political philosophy and political pragmatism that characterized the entire Convention. The late insertion of the presidential qualifications clause is not only because the delegates turned against election of the president by congress, but also because they did not want to raise unnecessary doubts about a foreign leader being imported to rule. The provisions of the U.S. Constitution concerning the president’s powers to veto laws and to make appointment to federal office, as well as the traditional power of the executive over war and peace, reflected the two main political compromises of the Convention—how to allocate representation in congress and how to select the president. After the Connecticut Compromise(“the first main compromise”) altered the expectations of the delegates as to whether small or large states would dominate the Senate, they finally arrived at a grand package of interrelated compromises on presidential election(“the second main compromise”) and presidential powers. As the result, the Convention settled on giving the president much more policy independence in specific issues such as the veto, appointment, and foreign policy. Moreover, the powers of the presidency, unlike the qualifications of it, have been expanded and strengthened beyond the Constitution’s original meaning, reflecting the changing historical circumstances.