THE PRESIDENCY

Unit Four

Chapters

13 & 14

The Roots of the Office of President of the United States

• Distrust of the King

• Articles of Confederation & Exec Branch– What did its’ failure mean?

The Philadelphia ConventionQualifications for Office

• The Constitution requires that the president must be:– Age, residency, anything else?

Terms of Office• Big to do, lots of different ideas thrown out

• 22nd amendment

Pay and Benefits

• President– $450,000 (includes benefits)/year

• Any other benefits?

• Retirement plans?– $143,800/year

• What about the widows?– $20,000/year

Removal of a President

• Ultimate check on power!

• What does the House do?– Investigates, drafts “Articles of Impeachment,” and

charges

• What does the Senate do?– Tries the case & if 2/3 say guilty – peace out!

• Who is the judge?

• How many Presidents have been impeached?

• How many Presidents have been removed?

Succession• How many times has this happened?

– Through 20014, 7 presidents have died in office (plus Nixon on resignation).

• Who takes over and where does it say this?• Presidential Succession Act of 1947 that stated the order

of succession after the VP:– Speaker of the House

– President Pro Tempore of the Senate

– Secretary of State, Treasury, Defense, and other Cabinet heads in order of the creation of their department

• 25th amendment

Who takes over?

• 1 – Vice President, Joe Biden

• 2 – Speaker of the House, John Boehner

• 3 – President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, Patrick Leahy

• 4 – Secretary of State, John Kerry

• 5 – Secretary of Treasury, Jack Lew

The Vice President• “I am the Vice President. In this I am nothing, but I may

be everything.” - John Adams• “The Vice Presidency isn’t worth a warm pitcher of spit.”

- John Garner (two term VP to FDR)• Two jobs:

– Take over if needed– Preside over Senate and break ties

• Little power, low profile• Why chose this person?

– Unity (convention), social/cultural balance, overcome candidate’s shortcomings.

Presidential Selection:Electoral College

• Why is it here?– No direct popular vote for Pres– Were independent agents in the selection of the

President.• Was state by state, with each elector casting votes

for 2 candidates.• If there’s a tie…. The House chooses!

• However political parties messed things up. Shoulda listened to G.W.

Then Political Parties Came• The Election of 1800

– When did parties come about???– Parties chose candidate and electors

• Hmm…. How is this going to work out, tie duh!

• 12th amendment

Electoral College Today• Nominated at convention or chosen in state central

committee and chosen by popular vote• Winner take all (except Nebraska and Maine)• Meet Monday after second Wednesday in Dec.• Jan 6 – Congress counts votes – need 270!• Jan 20 – Pres is sworn in!

Commander-in-Chief

AppointmentPower

PardoningPower

LegislativePower

Treaty-makingPower

Veto Power

Chief ExecutiveChief Diplomat

Chief-of-State

Presidential Powers

Presidential Roles

• Head of State• Commander in

Chief• Chief Executive• Chief Diplomat

• Party Leader

• Voice of the People/Chief Citizen

• Chief Administrator

• Chief Legislator

Chief Legislator

• FDR claimed the leadership and agenda setting power for the president and got it

• Shifted Pres powers from executing policy to making it– Hard during divided gov’t

Foreign Policy • Isolationism to Internationalism• Foreign Policy

– Fed Gov’ts statements/actions dealing with foreign countries

• Treaties, alliances, international trade, defense, foreign aid.

• What does the Big Guy have to do with this?– Commander & Chief, and Chief Diplomat– Has tons of departments and agencies to help them

• Sec of State, Sec. of Defense, etc.

The Constitutional Powers of the President

• Article II

• Expressed powers

• Executive Power Clause – Article II, first line– It states "the executive power shall be vested in a

President of the United States of America." • Implied powers

What exactly are the

Presidential Powers?

The President’s

Executive Powers Diplomatic Powers

• Executing the Law– The President must

carry out all laws.

• The Ordinance Power• The Appointing Power• The Removal Power

• The Power to Make Treaties

• Executive Agreements• The Power of

Recognition• Can’t declare war• Military with no war??

– Peace, Vietnam & Korea

The President’s Legislative Powers Judicial Powers

• Gives State of the Union

• Suggests annual budgets

• Recommends special legislation to Congress

• Can veto legislation

• Can call special sessions of Congress

• Can adjourn Congress if the two houses cannot agree on a date

– Grant reprieves and pardons in cases involving federal law.

– Reduce sentences, or fines, imposed by a court.

– Grant amnesty, or a general pardon, to persons who have violated the law.

Don’t forget about the power of public opinion…

Gotta love democracy, baby!

The Federal Bureaucracy

• A bureaucracy is…– Based on principles of hierarchical authority,

job specialization, and formal rules.– A way of organizing people to do work.

• Made up of 3 major groups of admin agencies.– Executive Office of the President – covered it– The 15 Cabinet Departments – covered it– Independent Agencies

The Cabinet• Not in the Constitution (changes with

each Pres)• Heads of major bureaucratic depts.

(State, Defense, Treasury, etc.)– Serve as advisors to Pres

• President appoints members, Senate confirms

The President’s Cabinet

The Executive Office of the President (EOP)

• Created by FDR

• Close inner circle of advisors to President

• Responsible to President alone

• Chief of Staff, Press Sec., National Security Council, Office of Management and Budget, etc.

White House Staff

• Most directly responsible to the President. – Personal assistants, senior aides, administrative

personnel and more.

• No Senate confirmation.– Get the job based on relationship with President.

• Height of 583 members in 1972.– Now it is smaller running around 400 people.

Independent Agencies • These operate outside departments in Cabinet.

• Why are they independent?– Function doesn’t fit with a dept.– Protect officials from political pressure.– More responsive to people (interest groups)– Peculiar/sensitive nature of functions….

• Examples:– Central Intelligence Agency, Environmental

Protection Agency, Farm Credit Administration

3 Different kinds of Independent Agencies

• Independent Executive Agencies– Most Independent Agencies– Single administrator over subunits, operate on a regional

basis.

• Independent Regulatory Commissions– Created to regulate important aspects of the nation’s

economy.– Need Senate confirmation.

• Government Corporations– Within executive dept, under Pres’ control.– Need Senate confirmation.