CHAPTER 13:1. EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "CHAPTER 13:1. EXECUTIVE BRANCH"

Adam Hawkins
5 years ago
Views:

1 CHAPTER 13:1. EXECUTIVE BRANCH

2 Chapter 13:1 Objectives: o We will examine the many roles a President must play. o We will examine how the President s roles are interrelated. o We will examine the guidelines, qualifications, and terms of the President.

3 (Num 12:3) (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

4 Job Description of the President. o Chief of State: o The ceremonial head of the government of the United States, the symbol of all the people of the nation. o Both reigns and rules. o Is the chief representative of the country, similar to a monarch.

5 Job Description of the President. o Chief Executive: Given the executive power of the United States. o The power is measurably broad in both domestic and foreign affairs. o Is described as the most powerful office in the world.

6 Job Description of the President. o Chief Administrator: o Chief administrator of the federal government, heading one of the largest governmental machines the world has known. o The President directs an administration that employs nearly three million civilians and spends nearly $2 trillion a year.

7 Job Description of the President. o Chief Diplomat: o The main architect of American foreign policy and the nation s chief spokesman to the rest of the world.

8 Job Description of the President. o Commander In Chief: o Of the nation s armed forces. o The one and a half million men and women in uniform and all the nation s military arsenal are subject to the President s direct and immediate control.

9 Job Description of the President. o Chief of party. o The president is the acknowledged leader of the political party that controls the executive branch. o As you know, parties are not mentioned in the Constitution, yet they play a vital role in the function of American government.

10 Job Description of the President. o Chief Citizen: o The office also makes it occupant the nation s chief citizen. o The president is expected to be the representative of all the people, the one to work for and represent the public interest against the many private interests.

11 Job Description of the President. o Chief legislator: o The main architect of its public policies. o Most often it is the President who sets the overall shape of the congressional agenda initiating, suggesting, requesting, insisting, and demanding that Congress enact much of the major legislation that it does. o These six presidential roles all come directly from the Constitution.

12 FORMAL QUALIFICATION: o The President must be: o A natural born citizen. o Maybe that someone born abroad as an American Citizen such as in the grounds of a military base or embassy.

13 FORMAL QUALIFICATION: o Be at least 35 years of age. o JFK youngest to be elected president at 43. o Teddy Roosevelt became president by succession at the age of 42.

14 FORMAL QUALIFICATION: o Have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.

15 THE PRESIDENT S TERM: o Framers settled into a four-year term. o Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Federalist No. 71, that this was a long enough period for a President to have gained experience, demonstrated his abilities, and established stable policies.

16 THE PRESIDENT S TERM: o Not until 1951, did the Constitution place a term limit for president. o There was a unwritten traditional precedence where the President would only serve two terms, starting with President Washington.

17 THE PRESIDENT S TERM: o After Franklin D. Roosevelt broke the tradition by winning a third term in 1940, and then a fourth in 1944, the unwritten custom limiting presidential terms became a part of the written constitution. o Now a president can only run for two terms in office.

18 ALTERNATE SCENARIO: o But a president who has succeeded to the office beyond the midpoint in a term to which another person was originally elected could possibly serve for more than eight years. o In that circumstances, the President may finish out the predecessor s term and then seek two full terms of his or her own. o However, no President may now serve more than 10 years.

19 ALTERNATE SCENARIO: o Some like Reagan and Truman argue that it is undemocratic to have term limits because it keeps an arbitrary limit when the people should decide. o Some critics also say that the amendment undercuts the authority of a two term president, especially in the latter part of his second term.

20 ALTERNATE SCENARIO: o Supporters of the amendment defend it as a reasonable safeguard against executive tyranny. o Some like Carter and LBJ wanted one six-year term so the President did not have to encounter the grind of the reelection campaign and just focus on the Presidency.

21 ALTERNATE SCENARIO: o The pay of the President is currently $400,000 per year with Congress providing a $50,000 expense allowance that will allow the President to spend the money however they want and is a taxed part of his income.

22 Amenities: o Also provided is the White House, a magnificent Mansion set to a 18.3 acre estate. o Sizable site of offices and a large staff:

23 Amenities: o A yacht, a fleet of automobiles, o A lavishly fitted Air Force I, and several other planes and helicopters. o Camp David, the resort hideaway in the Catoctin Mountains in Maryland; o The finest medical, dental, and other health care available; generous travel and entertainment funds; o and many other fringe benefits.

25 Amenities: o Since 1958, former Presidents have received a lifetime pension of $143,800 a year and a presidential widow is entitled to $20,000.

27 o Do you think the United States should allow citizens not born in the U.S. to run for president? o Do you think the president should be able to run for reelection more than two terms? o What characteristics are important to you for President of the United States? Good looks? Good Education? Good character/moral lifestyle? Good communicator?

American Citizenship Chapter 13 The Presidency

American Citizenship Chapter 13 The Presidency Section 1 a. The President s Description B. The President s Roles a. i. Ceremonial head of the government of the United States b. Chief Executive i. Vested