The Executive Branch

The Presidency

Content Standard 4: The student will examine the United States Constitution by comparing the

legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government as they form and transform American

society.

1. Cite specific textual and visual evidence to explain the purposes expressed in the Preamble and

how the United

States Constitution preserves those core principles of American society.

2. Examine the makeup, organization, functions, and authority exercised by the executive,

legislative, and judicial branches of government.

A. Identify constitutional qualifications for holding public office, the terms of office, and the

expressed powers delegated to each branch of the national government including the numbers of

members comprising the United States Congress and United

States Supreme Court.

B. Evaluate the extent to which each branch of government reflects the people’s sovereignty

including current issues concerning representation such as term limitations and legislative

redistricting.

C. Describe the process in which public policy is formulated into law including both the

constitutional and operational procedures utilized in the modern legislative process.

D. Explain why certain provisions of the United States Constitutionresult in tensions among the

three branches, and evaluate how the functions of the national government have changed over time

through executive actions and judicial interpretation of the necessary and proper clause.

E. Compare and contrast the structure of the national branches of government to Oklahoma’s state

government.

F. Apply the principles of limited government, federalism, checks and balances, and separation of

powers to the workings of the three branches of government in real world situations including

current issues and events

EQ: How are the roles of the executive branch

defined and practiced in the USA today

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Qualifications

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Formal Qualifications:

• 35 years old

• Natural Born Citizen

• U.S. resident for 14

years

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency What is a natural born citizen?

• Anyone born inside the United States

• Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.

• Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year

• Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year

• Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not provided by age 21

• Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

“Informal” Qualifications:

• Most have shared similar characteristics

White males

Protestant

British ancestry

most attended college (only 9 did not)

had careers as lawyers (24 of 44)

President John Adams

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

“Informal”

Qualifications:

– Evidence of change

1.) 1960: JFK became

1st Catholic President

2.) 1984: Dem. party

nominated Geraldine

Ferraro as the first

female Vice-

Presidential candidate

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

“Informal”

Qualifications:

3.) 1988: Jesse Jackson

became the first African

American to come in a

close second in the

race for the Democratic

Presidential nomination

4) Barack Obama

becomes 1st African

American President

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Salary and Benefits

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

History of Salary:

Position Salary

President

1789 $25,000

1873 50,000

1909 75,000

1949 100,000

1969 200,000

2001 400,000

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency Benefits:

• Receives $50,000/year for expenses and up to

$100,000/year for travel

• Salary cannot be changed during term

• Free lodging at the White House and Camp David

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Benefits:

• President and family receives finest medical care

possible and personal protection (secret service)

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency Benefits:

• President has plane (Air Force One) and a personal helicopter

(Marine One) at his disposal

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Elections and Terms of

Office

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Elections:

• Elections held every 4 years

• President elected by an electoral college

• Candidate with most electoral votes wins the election

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Term of Office:

• 4 years = 1 presidential

term

• Constitution originally

placed no limit on number

of Presidential terms

• George Washington

established a tradition

when he stepped down

after 2 terms

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Term of Office:

• 1940: FDR became the

1st (and only) President to

not step down after 2nd

term – was elected 4

times

• 1951: 22nd Amendment

added to Constitution

Limits President to 2 terms

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Presidential Succession

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency Presidential Succession: • 1841: William Henry Harrison became 1st President to die while

in office

• Vice President John Tyler set a tradition by declaring himself President

1967: 25th Amendment turned tradition into law; says if Presidency is vacant, the VP becomes President and then appoints a new VP

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

• Since ratified, 25th Amendment has been used 3

times:

1.) 1973: VP Spiro Agnew resigned; Pres. Nixon replaced

him with Gerald Ford

2.) 1974: Pres. Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford became

President

3.) 1985: Pres. Reagan was shot and during surgery VP

George Bush became president for 8 hours

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

• 8 U.S. Presidents have died while in office:

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Presidential Succession:

• 1947: Congress passed the Presidential Succession Act

which indicates the order of succession to the

Presidency

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

• The Vice President

• Speaker of the House

• President pro tempore of the Senate

• Secretary of State

• Secretary of the Treasury

• Secretary of Defense

• Attorney General

• Secretary of the Interior

• Secretary of Agriculture

• Secretary of Commerce

• Secretary of Labor

• Secretary of Health and Human Services

• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

• Secretary of Transportation

• Secretary of Energy

• Secretary of Education

• Secretary of Veterans Affairs

• Secretary of Homeland Security

Line of Succession:

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency

Presidential Roles

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency • 7 Major Roles of the President

1.) Chief Executive

Carries out the nation’s laws

Issues Executive Orders (rule or command the

President issues that has the force of law; usually

during time of crisis)

Appoints cabinet members, ambassadors, judges, heads

of govt. agencies

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency 2.) Chief Diplomat

Responsible for making treaties with other countries with

Senate approval

Meets with foreign leaders

Can make Executive Agreements with leaders of other

countries

Has the force of law but does not require Senate

approval

Responsible for appointing ambassadors with Senate

approval

An official representative of a country’s government

The Executive Branch:

The Presidency 3.) Commander in Chief

– President is final authority over all military matters

o Founding Fathers believed in civilian control over the

military; person elected by the people has final say over

all military matters

– President can use military in times of war or peace

1957: President Eisenhower sent Federal

Troops into Little Rock, Arkansas when

attempts to integrate public schools led to

violence between locals and police

The Executive Branch

The Presidency 3.) Commander in Chief , cont..

President Barrack Obama

with his Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Executive Branch

The Presidency 3.) Commander in Chief, cont..

– Stretching of this power by former Presidents

has led to legislation limiting the President’s

power over the military

President Truman sent

troops to fight in Korean

War, but we never declared

War (1950-53)

Presidents Eisenhower,

Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon

sent troops to Vietnam,

but we never declared war (1954-75)

The Executive Branch

The Presidency

3.) Commander in Chief, cont….

– 1973: War Powers Act passed by Congress

President must notify Congress when troops

sent

anywhere

Troops must be brought home after 60 days

unless

Congress declares war, or gives approval for

troops to stay

The Executive Branch

The Presidency 4.) Political Party Leader

– Supports party members in election campaigns

and

helps unify the party

– Appoints members of party to key govt. jobs

President Bush confers w/ Republican

members of Congress

The Executive Branch

The Presidency 5.) Legislative Leader

– Proposes legislation and uses many tactics to get

the bill passed

– Prepares the federal budget

– Approves or vetoes legislation

The Executive Branch

The Presidency

6.) Judicial Leader

– Appoints judges to Federal Courts and the U.S.

Supreme Court

Appoints Justices whose point of view is similar to

their

own

President Obama announces Mrs. Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee to the Supreme Court

The Executive Branch

The Presidency 6.) Judicial Leader, cont…

• Can issue pardons, reprieves and amnesty to

those convicted of federal crimes:

Pardon – declaration of forgiveness and freedom

from punishment

Reprieve – an order to delay a person’s punishment

until a higher court can rule on the case (usually

death sentence

Commutation – substitutes a less severe punishment

for the one originally imposed by the court

Amnesty – same as a pardon; applies to a group of

people rather than an individual

The Executive Branch

The Presidency

456 total pardons. Over 100

on the day before he left office President Carter gave amnesty

to all Vietnam draft dodgers who

fled to Canada

The Executive Branch

The Presidency 7.) Chief of State

– Role is symbolic – President is representing people from all 50 states

– Gives a human face to American govt.

– Can be demonstrated in many ways

Greeting heroes

Throwing first pitches at baseball games

Inviting musicians to perform at White House

Attending funeral of another country’s leader, or past Presidents of U.S.

Speeches and ceremonies

The Executive Branch

The Presidency- Chief of State

President and First Lady

at Pope’s funeral and at

former President Reagan’s

funeral

The Executive Branch

The Presidency

The Vice President

The Executive Branch

The Presidency – Vice President • Qualifications

Same as the President

• Duties and Responsibilities

Serves as President of the Senate (only

Constitutional duty)

President delegates out many responsibilities to

VP:

Taking part in Presidential Cabinet meeting

Helping with Diplomatic relations with other

countries

Advising and helping President make important

decisions

The Executive Branch

The Presidency – Vice President

Vice President’s Duties and Responsibilities

The Executive Branch

The Presidency – Vice President • Salary and Benefits

$198,000/year

Receives $10,000/year for expenses

Benefits similar to President’s

Free Residence

Large Staff

Variety of personal services – Secret

Service protection

The Executive Branch

The Presidency – Vice President

• Elections and Terms of Office

Original procedure for electing a VP was:

- Electoral college members in each state voted for 2 candidates for President – candidate with most votes became President and runner up became the VP

After tie of 1800, procedure changed

12th Amendment: electoral college votes for president and VP on separate ballots

VP term of office is not limited (although no VP has ever served more than two terms)