The Executive Branch Powers listed in Article II Main duty: Enforce Laws Includes: The President Vice-President President s s Cabinet
Qualifications To be the President or Vice President: At least 35 years of age Born in the U.S. Resident for 14 years
Qualifications Article II of the Constitution -3 Requirements -At least 35 years old -Born in the U.S. -Live in the U.S. for 14 years -Historical Characteristics -White college-educated males -Protestant Christians -Won elections before -From states with large populations John F. Kennedy is the only Catholic President ever to be elected. Female Hillary Clinton and African American Barack Obama were contenders for the presidency in the 2008 Presidential Election.
Perks $400,000 per year $50,000 a year allowance Lives in the White House (132 rooms, 18.3 acres) Air Force One Camp David Presidential retreat in Maryland If your lucky, meet Elvis!
How much is the Presidency worth? Date established Salary Salary in 2008 1789 $25,000 $566,000 1873 $50,000 $865,000 1909 $75,000 $1,714,000 1949 $100,000 $875,000 1969 $200,000 $1,135,000 2001 $400,000 $471,000
Executive Branch -One of the three branches of government -Duty is to carry out the laws of the Nation Make sure Congress laws are being followed -Executive Branch is the largest of the branches with millions of employees Federal bureaucracy
President -Considered the leader of the United States Because the President is the leader of what is considered the most powerful nation in the world, he is often considered the most powerful person in the world. For this reason, the Executive Branch works to ensure strong diplomatic relations with foreign nations. Sometimes, this means that our President will meet with foreign leaders, and he will help work out the problems for their nation. -Often considered the most powerful person in the world Leader of the most powerful nation of the world -Cannot run the nation alone
Vice-President -Main responsibility is to be ready to replace the President -Official head of the Senate Only votes in a tie Rarely attends -Is usually heavily involved in the policies pursued by the President -Must meet same qualifications
Presidential Terms Electoral College Set up in Article II -elected through the electoral college system -Process of electing the President each state is assigned a number of electors equal to its representation in Congress and a majority of electoral votes is required to be elected otherwise the House chooses the President 538 votes in a winner-take-all system Must get 270 votes -serve 4 year terms Or a total of 10 years -limited to serving two 4 year terms -22 Amendment
Electoral College The Constitution established a system by which the president would be popularly elected. However, a group of officials called electors meet after the popular vote and cast their ballots for president. Each state gets the total number of representatives in Congress (at least 3). The Electoral College was designed to keep the more populated states from having too much power.
Presidential Election of 2008
23 rd Amendment (1961) Allowed people in Washington, DC the right to vote in national elections. Up until 1961, DC could not vote for the President because it was not a state. Our nation s capital is now worth 3 Electoral votes.
Terms 22 nd Amendment Limits the President to 2 terms or a maximum of 10 years. If the president dies, resigns, or is impeached the VP becomes president. He can serve as much as 2 years and then be elected twice. FDR was elected 4 times!!!
Franklin D. Roosevelt Elected in 1932 Was President during the Great Depression and World War II.
Bush v. Gore (2000) Bush v. Gore is the US Supreme Court decision that effectively resolved the dispute surrounding the 2000 presidential election in favor of George W. Bush 5 to 4. The state of Florida disputed the election results.
Presidential Succession -What happens if a President dies or is unable to do his job??? -25 th Amendment President Vice-President According to the Presidential Succession Act, or the 25 th Amendment, the Secretary of State, currently Condoleezza Rice, would be fourth in line to be President if the President died. Speaker of the House President Pro-Tempore Secretary of State
Succession of the President The Vice President Joseph Biden Speaker of the House John Boehner President pro tempore of the Senate Daniel Inouye Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Secretary of the Treasury Timonthy Geithner Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Attorney General Eric Holder Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shensiki Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano
President s Job -As the nation has grown so has the job of being President -Examples: More people need more services Be provided by government
Chief Executive -Head of the Executive Branch -Bureaucracy (all the people who work for the government) Needs people to help him rule -Duties -Carry Out the Laws As the Chief Executive, it is the President s responsibility to make sure that all people in America are following Congress laws. Doing this, though, requires a lot of work and a lot of people. Therefore, MILLIONS of people work in the Executive Branch as part of the Federal Bureaucracy. Makes people follow Congress laws -Issue Executive Orders--Term for orders given by the President in order to carry out his duties as Chief Executive the orders have the same force as law -Appoint Government Officials Cabinet, judges, ambassadors
Chief Diplomat -Deals with Foreign Governments -Duties -Appoints Ambassadors w/senate Approval People who represent the U.S. in foreign nations -Make Treaties w/senate Approval Formal agreements with other nations -Act as Mediator between Nations Solves problems between nations President George W. Bush shows President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of the Republic of Liberia the view of the White House South Lawn and the monuments beyond, following their meeting in the Oval Office. President Sirleaf is Africa s first elected female head of state.
Commander in Chief -Leader of the Armed Forces Used to back up the nation s foreign policy goals -Duties -Command Our Troops Only President can order troops into battle War Powers Resolution: President must notify Congress within 48 hours of battle Troops sent home in 60 days without Congressional approval Although the President is Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, making him the highestranking officer of the U.S. Military, he must share his military powers with Congress. -Picks Military Leaders
Legislative Leader -Tries to get laws passed that benefit the nation as well as his Party outlined in platform/state of the Union Address -Economic leader in legislative role Describes what programs he wants nation s money spent on -Uses Presidential Influence --State of the Union Speech-- Speech given by the President each year to describe the situation of the nation and the speech is required by the Constitution -Uses the media As the Legislative Leader, the President s main goal is to get the laws that he and his political party want passed through Congress. The President also tries to influence the budget to get money for his programs and laws. He outlines these goals every year for Congress during his State-of-the-Union address.
Party Leader -Is the Visible leader of his political party and Pursues policies favorable to his party goals Platform, State-of-the-Union -uses patronage system the patronage system gives out gov t positions to those people who gave support to the candidate and share their ideas As the Party Leader, the President can use his political power and political fame to endorse other candidates from his political party. Here, President Bush endorses Elizabeth Dole for Republican Senator from North Carolina. -gives endorsements in campaigns-- Process where famous or influential people give their support to someone who is seeking office President endorses other members of his political party
Judicial Leader -Head of the Law Enforcement System -Power to appoint Federal and Supreme Court Judges with approval of the Senate -Has certain Judicial powers: immunity making someone free from prosecution pardon--forgiving someone for a crime reprieve-- delaying the punishment given to someone commutation reducing a person s sentence amnesty legal term for granting pardons to a group In his role as judicial leader, the President nominates all federal and Supreme Court judges, with Senate approval. "During the confirmation process, the American people saw a man of character and legal brilliance. Like our fellow citizens, I was impressed by the dignity Sam -- by the dignity Sam Alito and his family displayed during the Senate hearings, and by the thoughtful scholarship and reverence of the Constitution that have always defined his approach to the law." --President George W. Bush February 1, 2006
Chief of State -Is the symbolic leader of the nation -Meets foreign leaders -Make patriotic speeches and visits 4 th of July Christmas -mostly symbolic gestures The President made telephone calls to members of the Armed Forces who are stationed overseas, or who have recently returned from overseas locations, to wish them a Merry Christmas, and to thank them for their service to our Nation.