When Presidents Have Claimed the Power to Take an Action

When presidents have claimed the power to take an action not enumerated in the Constitution, as Lincoln did when suspending the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War or Truman did in sending American military forces into the Korean conflict, they have been more likely to do so by claiming that these actions are justified by the president's inherent powers, as stemming from:

A) the president's elastic, or necessary and proper, powers.
B) the Constitution's admonition to the president to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed."
C) "the rights, duties and obligations of the presidency," demanding or allowing extraordinary measures in national defense, war, or emergencies.
D) a series of early Supreme Court rulings that dealt with the president's executive power, suggesting that it was a broad grant of power.