Why did the founding fathers make the President the commander-in-chief of the military?

Answer 1

That was to insure that a military coup was virtually impossible. Washington had been the head of the army, and it made sense to allow him to carry on with that position, and, in the time of crisis a singular voice would be able to act in the national interest.

Along the same lines, it insured that the Civilian Government was the legitimate superior of the military. That is, that the military was legally subservient to the civilian government. This is an important (if often overlooked) design feature of the American government form, whereas the military is discouraged from influencing governmental decisions.

Answer 2

When the aliens invaded colonial America in 1778 and England abandoned their posts effectively making the their colonies independent, someone had to make a move. If there was no president there would be no leader to be taken to when the aliens asked. They had to make a choice fast. In hindsight I think we can all safely say they made a good one too.

Answer 3

The Framers of the US Constitution designated the US president as the commander in chief to assure civilian control of the military establishment. By making the Commander in Chief a civilian, it would allow a president to be subject to recall via the election process. This was a preventive measure to make sure that a military government with power over the US armed forces could be short lived, based on the election process.

Answer 4

They wanted military power to be ruled by the civil government. They wanted to avoid a military coup by giving the president the power to dismiss or demote top generals at will.

Answer 5

Because