Why was George Washington called Chief Magistrate?
Upvote:6
There is a bit of confusion here over the meaning of the word "magistrate".
Although "magistrate" is often the title of a judicial official in English-speaking countries, it once meant an executive official.
The English word "magistrate" ultimately derives from Latin magistratus.
Magistratus, derived from magister, was an overarching term to refer to the elected administrative offices in the ancient Roman republic: aediles, consuls, praetors, quaestors, tribunes, etc.
From A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, (1890) William Smith, LLD.
Magistratus is properly the abstract form of the concrete magister, but it comes to be used indifferently to indicate the office and the person who holds it.
Following that, there is as concise a description of the powers of an executive as you can get in ancient Rome:
The powers of the municipal magistrates are discussed elsewhere [see COLONIA]; the following remarks apply to the magistrates of the populus and of the plebs. Every such magistrate has coercitio, the power within his proper sphere of duty to compel the citizens by force of punishment to obey him, and to avenge any act which argues contempt of his magisterial authority (in ordinem cogere magistratum). He has likewise the power of addressing the people by word of mouth (jus contionis) and by written proclamation (jus edicendi).
The founders of the American republic, who were often classically educated, took inspiration from the ancient Roman republic.
So when they referred to the President as "Chief Magistrate" they actually meant "Chief Executive", a term you may be more familiar with.
Such a reference may have been a form of prestige signaling, i.e. using a fancier word to show off (to those in the know) how well-educated you were.
More post
- 📝 Where did Medieval Europe's gold come from?
- 📝 How important was the role played by the US in rebuilding Germany post-WWII?
- 📝 When did Abu Bakr agree to lower taxes for the Arabs living under the rule of Byzantine and Sassanid Empire?
- 📝 Have any kings ever been serving admirals?
- 📝 Did Catherine of Aragon use the title Princess of Wales before she was married to Prince Arthur?
- 📝 What are the dimensions of this pomerium marker?
- 📝 Was there a period in history predating the 15th century where being bald was not looked upon negatively?
- 📝 Are there precedents of 'I am not a racist' from US Presidents?
- 📝 What was said about Vermont in the Paris negotiations of 1782?
- 📝 Why was the US army slow to adopt the use of radar prior to Pearl Harbour?
- 📝 When did cultures start to emerge in ancient Peru?
- 📝 Were NC, IL, and VA's latest concurrent constitutions' effective dates coincidental?
- 📝 Why did the Royal Society in 1771 believe that a continent further south than Australia should exist?
- 📝 Were mounted soldiers really an advancement during the Middle Ages?
- 📝 Has the drought also revealed ancient structures in France as it did in Ireland?
- 📝 How have the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki affected Japanese culture and language?
- 📝 Why did the French nobility adopt Calvinism?
- 📝 What does this Samurai crest mean?
- 📝 When is the first recorded instance of someone dying for a principle?
- 📝 Who was the sitter for John Everett Millais's painting "The Somnambulist"?
- 📝 Evolution of United States' world role?
- 📝 Did Soviet Influence Improve Women's Rights in the Middle East?
- 📝 Why is literacy difficult?
- 📝 Why did the United States Army force Nez Perce to give up their own land?
- 📝 Why is the Maya civilization not considered one of the cradles of civilization?
- 📝 Primary annalistic sources for ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt
- 📝 Did Native-Americans Have Horses?
- 📝 During the American Civil War, were cavalry units issued horses?
- 📝 Why did American Abolitionists believe slavery to be immoral?
- 📝 Did the discovery of zero affect our calendar and how we count days? Are we off by a tenth?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why was George Washington called Chief Magistrate?
- 📝 Why did a young George Washington sign a document admitting to assassinating a French military officer?
- 📝 Why was Washington State an attractive site for aluminum production during World War II?
- 📝 Why was the Spanish kingdom in America called New Spain if Spain didn't exist as a country back then?
- 📝 Why was old Shanghai called "Whore of the Orient"?
- 📝 Why was Salzburg called „Stadt der Lebensforschung“ by the Nazis?
- 📝 Why was the first production PzKpfw V (Panther) called the Ausf.D, and the second production version called the Ausf.A?
- 📝 Why did Robert E. Lee say that George McClellan was the best general he ever faced?
- 📝 Why in the 70s and 80s was the United Kingdom called Great Britain in the international naming conventions?
- 📝 Why could George Washington and the revolutionaries not stop Governor Tryon in New York Harbor?
- 📝 Was there a time when George Washington discovered some of his soldiers absolutely refused to swear loyalty and obedience to the Continental Congress?
- 📝 Is it true that George Washington was Offered Kingship?
- 📝 Was George Washington the thirteenth president?
- 📝 What was Texas called after gaining its independence and why was it called that?
- 📝 Why was Troy also called Holy Ilios?
- 📝 Why did Hitler attack the Soviet Union when he was still busy fighting the United Kingdom?
- 📝 Why was France granted an equal status among victors of World War II?
- 📝 Why did archery not make a comeback when armor was phased out in the 18th century?
- 📝 Why was Poland spared from the Black Death?
- 📝 Why China was able to unify and not Europe?
- 📝 Why was Africa colonized last of the continents in the Age of Discovery?
- 📝 Why was Britain willing to return Hong Kong but not Gibraltar?
- 📝 Was England called England in the days of King Arthur?
- 📝 Why was Spanish Fascist dictatorship left in power after World War II?
- 📝 Why was the Scout movement so successful?
- 📝 Why was the Council of Nicea held in Nicea rather than Rome or Constantinople?
- 📝 Why was it "acceptable" for Prince Charles to marry a divorced woman, when Edward VIII had to abdicate for marrying divorcee Wallis Simpson?
- 📝 Why was World War I ended on Nov 11 11:00, rather than immediately upon signing the armistice?
- 📝 In the Soviet Union, why was the Cheka renamed so many times?
- 📝 Why was "leaping into the river" a valid trial outcome to prove one's innocence?