StandardsGOV.8B: analyze the structure and functions of the executive branch of government, including the constitutional powers of the president, the growth of presidential power, and the role of the Cabinet and executive departments;
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Vocabulary
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Qualifications
- Born in the United States
- 35 years old
- Lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years
- The President can be a man or woman of any race or any religion.
Terms
- The President and V-P. are elected to four year terms
- The 12th amendment established that Presidents and Vice Presidents would be elected together.
- The 22nd amendment limits the president to two terms or no more than 10 years
- Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected for 4 terms before the 22nd amendment was in place.
Presidential Powers
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1. Chief of State
This role requires a president to be an inspiring example for the American people. In some nations, the chief of state is a king or a queen who wears a crown on special occasions, celebrates national holidays, and stands for the highest values and ideals of the country. As the American Chief of State, the president is a living symbol of the nation. It is considered a great honor for any citizen to shake the president's hand.
Examples of Responsibilities:
2. Chief Executive
The president is the "boss" for millions of government workers in the Executive Branch. He or she decides how the laws of the United States are to be enforced and chooses officials and advisers to help run the Executive Branch.
Examples of Responsibilities:
3. Chief Diplomat
The president decides what American diplomats and ambassadors shall say to foreign governments. With the help of advisors, the president makes the foreign policy of the United States.
Examples of Responsibilities:
4. Commander-In-Chief
The president is in charge of the U.S. Armed Forces: the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. The president decides where troops shall be stationed, where ships shall be sent, and how weapons shall be used. All military generals and admirals take their orders from the president.
Examples of Responsibilities:
5. Legislative Leader
Only Congress has the actual power to make laws, but the Constitution gives the president power to influence Congress in its lawmaking. Presidents may urge Congress to pass new laws or veto bills that they do not favor.
Examples of Responsibilities:
6. Chief of Party
In this role, the president helps members of his or her political party get elected or appointed to office. The president campaigns for those members who have supported his or her policies. At the end of a term, the president may campaign for reelection.
Examples of Responsibilities:
7. Guardian of the Economy
In this role, the president is concerned with such things as unemployment, high prices, taxes, business profits, and the general prosperity of the country. The president does not control the economy, but is expected to help it run smoothly.
Examples of Responsibilities:
This role requires a president to be an inspiring example for the American people. In some nations, the chief of state is a king or a queen who wears a crown on special occasions, celebrates national holidays, and stands for the highest values and ideals of the country. As the American Chief of State, the president is a living symbol of the nation. It is considered a great honor for any citizen to shake the president's hand.
Examples of Responsibilities:
- Awarding medals to the winners of college scholarships
- Congratulating astronauts on their journey into space
- Greeting visitors to the White House
- Making a patriotic speech on the Fourth of July
2. Chief Executive
The president is the "boss" for millions of government workers in the Executive Branch. He or she decides how the laws of the United States are to be enforced and chooses officials and advisers to help run the Executive Branch.
Examples of Responsibilities:
- Appointing someone to serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- Holding a Cabinet meeting to discuss government business
- Reading reports about problems of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
3. Chief Diplomat
The president decides what American diplomats and ambassadors shall say to foreign governments. With the help of advisors, the president makes the foreign policy of the United States.
Examples of Responsibilities:
- Traveling to London to meet with British leaders
- Entertaining Japanese diplomats in the White House
- Writing a message or a letter to the leaders of Russia
4. Commander-In-Chief
The president is in charge of the U.S. Armed Forces: the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. The president decides where troops shall be stationed, where ships shall be sent, and how weapons shall be used. All military generals and admirals take their orders from the president.
Examples of Responsibilities:
- Inspecting a Navy yard
- Deciding, in wartime, whether to bomb foreign cities
- Calling out troops to stop a riot at the request of the state’s legislature or governor
5. Legislative Leader
Only Congress has the actual power to make laws, but the Constitution gives the president power to influence Congress in its lawmaking. Presidents may urge Congress to pass new laws or veto bills that they do not favor.
Examples of Responsibilities:
- Inviting members of Congress to lunch in the White House
- Signing a bill of Congress
- Making a speech in Congress
6. Chief of Party
In this role, the president helps members of his or her political party get elected or appointed to office. The president campaigns for those members who have supported his or her policies. At the end of a term, the president may campaign for reelection.
Examples of Responsibilities:
- Choosing leading party members to serve in the Cabinet
- Traveling to California to speak at a rally for a party nominee to the U.S. Senate
7. Guardian of the Economy
In this role, the president is concerned with such things as unemployment, high prices, taxes, business profits, and the general prosperity of the country. The president does not control the economy, but is expected to help it run smoothly.
Examples of Responsibilities:
- Meeting with economic advisors to discuss ways to reduce unemployment
- Meeting with business and labor leaders to discuss their needs and problems
Joint Powers with Senate
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Joint Powers with The House
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State of the Union
Once a year the President is required by the constitution to inform congress on the "State of the Union." This can be found in Article 2 Section 3. Many Presidents did this by submitting a report, however, over time this has developed over time into an annual speech in which the President gives information about what his administration has accomplished and things he wants to get done in the upcoming year also known as his Agenda.
Granting Pardons
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution says that the president “shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” There are two exceptions to the notion of “complete” pardon power. Presidential pardons cannot derail or overrule the impeachment process, and they can be used only for federal crimes, not for crimes that violate state law.
Executive Orders
Executive Orders are presidential directives issued by United States Presidents and are generally directed towards officers and agencies of the U.S. federal government. Executive Orders may have the force of law, if based on the authority derived from statute or the Constitution itself.
Article 2
SECTION 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representatives from each State having one Vote; a quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall choose from them by Ballot the Vice-President.
The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:-"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
SECTION 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
SECTION 3
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
SECTION 4
The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representatives from each State having one Vote; a quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall choose from them by Ballot the Vice-President.
The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:-"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
SECTION 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
SECTION 3
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
SECTION 4
The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Compensation
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Impeachment
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body formally levels charges against a high official of government. Impeachment does not necessarily mean removal from office; it is only a formal statement of charges, akin to an indictment in criminal law, and is thus only the first step towards removal. Charges are brought by the House and the President is then tried in the Senate.
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25th Amendment
1967
Section 1
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon
confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3
Allows President to temporarily remove himself/herself by sending a letter to the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore
until another letter is sent reinstating him.
Section 4
Empowers the Vice President and his/her cabinet to declare a president “incapacitated”
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon
confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3
Allows President to temporarily remove himself/herself by sending a letter to the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore
until another letter is sent reinstating him.
Section 4
Empowers the Vice President and his/her cabinet to declare a president “incapacitated”
Line of Succession
The Presidential Succession Act (1947) established the current order of succession should the president die, be removed from office or is otherwise unable to fulfill his/her duties as president.
1. Vice President
2. Speaker of the House 3. Senate President Pro Tempore 4. Secretary of State 5. Secretary of the Treasury 6. Secretary of Defense 7. Attorney General 8. Secretary of the Interior 9. Secretary of Agriculture |
10. Secretary of Commerce
11. Secretary of Labor 12. Secretary of Health and Human Services 13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 14. Secretary of Transportation 15. Secretary of Energy 16. Secretary of Education 17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs 18. Secretary of Homeland Security |
Chief of Staff
The highest ranking employee of the White House. He is often responsible for managing the Senior Staff and making sure all of the departments of the White House work well together. He is appointed by the President, does not need Senate confirmation, and works at the pleasure of the President (Which means he can be fired at anytime).
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Senior Staff
The Senior Staff of the White House help the President carry out his duties, represent him, and advise him on policy and politics. Some of the positions are listed below.
First LadyFirst Lady is a title given to the wife of the President. This is not an elected position. However, due to her high profile statues, the First Lady often takes on Ceremonial Roles. Over time first lady's have been more involved with informing the public about issues the President is trying to enact and in modern administrations, First Ladies have pushed for their own issues to be addressed by legislatures.
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Other Resources
The White House www.whitehouse.gov Try your hand at Being President https://www.icivics.org/games/executive-command
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