The Veto: A constitutional protection turned into a political tool

In 1811, Congress passed an act incorporating the Episcopal Church in Alexandria, across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. James Madison saw it as a breech of the First Amendment's guarantee that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion."

Most of the nation's early presidents felt the same way Washington did - that a president shouldn't veto a bill unless the president felt it was unconstitutional. As a result, the veto was not a tool used often for four or so decades.

That changed during the Andrew Jackson administration. The notoriously mercurial Jackson was upfront in declaring Congress should consult with him before it considered legislation and that he had no problem using the presidental veto for political purposes.

Jackson had a deep-seated distrust of banks and paper money. When the Second National Bank charter came up for renewal near the end of Jackson's first term in 1832, Jackson vetoed that renewal and explained why, in a angry missive that ouraged Congress but delighted Jackson's supporters.

As uphappy as Congress was with Jackson's veto, neither chamber could muster the votes to override him.

In 1845, President John Tyler vetoed a bill that would prohibit the president from authorizing the building of Coast Guard ships without the approval of - or money from - Congress. Congress overrode that veto - the first time that had happened to a presidental veto.

Andrew Johnson vetoed the Tenure of Office Act of 1867 that would keep him from changing Cabinet officers without the approval of the Senate. Congress overrode the veto, Johnson fired his subordinate secretary of war anyway and then became the first president to be impeached. The effort to remove him from office failed by one vote.

When the panic of 1873 took hold, Congress passed what it called "the inflation Bill," which would require the U.S. treasury to print extra money. The idea was that this might help the nation's finances. Ulysses S. Grant, a firm believer in currency that was tied to gold reserves, vetoed the bill. This was one of the many bills to which Grant objected. On two occasions, Grant vetoed a bill, changed his mind and asked Congress to send it back to him to sign. Congress complied neither time.

Grover Cleveland vetoed 584 bills over his two nonconsecutive terms in the White House. Most of these were questionable laws that granted Civil War pensions to cronies of members of Congress who never served in the war in the first place.

In 1919, Congress overrode Woodrow Wilson's veto of the Volstead Act, which enabled laws enforcing Prohibition.

In 1927, Calvin COolidge vetoed the McNary-Haugen Famr Relief Act, which would have built a massive federal system of subsidizing crop prices. "Such action would establish bureaucracy on such a scale as to dominate not only the economic life but the moral, social and political future of our people," Coolidge wrote. A year later, Congress passed the act again and again, Coolidge vetoed it once more.

The country's longest-serving president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, issued more vetoes than any other: 635. Congress overrode his vetoes nine times.

In 1971, Richard Nixon vetoed the Comprehensive Child Development Act, a bipartisan effort to create a system of federally funded universal day care.

In 1974, Gerald Ford vetoed the Freedom of Information Act, which would make many classified records public. Ford feared that kind of access might threaten national security. Congress overwhelmingly voted to override his veto.

In 1986, both houses of Congress passed a 20$ billion Clean Water Act with unanimous consent. Ronald Reagan pocket-vetoed the bill.

In 2016, Barack Obama vetoed a bill that would have prevented relatives of the Sept. 11 attacks from suing Saudi Arabia. Congress overrode the veto.