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What is meant by the term imperial presidency? The Imperial Presidency is a term which has been used from the 1960s to describe the presidency of the United States and the President's aides. It was based on a number of observations and was coined by the historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. The term "Imperial" President is meant to convey a president that is king-like, it also refers to the gradual accumulation of power gained by the president. This means that the president is authoritarian and may create war like activities. An imperial Presidency can be seen as a good thing in some respects, as in states of emergency a president may make a fast concise decision to protect the American society; rather than wait for congress to make a decision. This type of presidency can also be seen as negative because a President can declare war without putting it through congress first. This is violating the founding fathers will of having congress at the centre of decision making. To effectively stop what we are letting happen now. The Imperial Presidency came about from the increasing number of staff that a president has. FDR had few staff and most of them were based in the capitol, but at the time of Nixon he had ten times as many exe