Unit 4a: The Executive Branch From Washington to Obama and beyond….

Some presidential trivia… Youngest: Theodore Roosevelt (42) Oldest: Ronald Reagan (69) Longest Inaugural Address: William Henry Harrison (105 minutes) Shortest Term: William Henry Harrison (32 days) Longest Term: Franklin Roosevelt (12 years) Tallest: Abraham Lincoln (6 feet, 4 inches)

Trivia, continued…. The ‘Teddy Bear’ was named for Theodore Roosevelt Largest feet: Warren Harding (Size 14) John F. Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic President Father-Son combos: John Adams and John Quincy Adams and George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush

….and more trivia…. President with most Grammy Awards: Barack Obama (2, both for Spoken Word performance) Shortest and lightest President: James Madison (5 feet, 4 inches and +/- 100 pounds Only President to not belong to a political party: George Washington President who regularly went skinny dipping in the Potomac River: John Quincy Adams

The Roles of the President Chief of State Chief Executive Chief Administrator Chief Diplomat Commander in Chief Chief Legislator Chief of Party Chief Citizen

Chief of State The ceremonial head of the government and the symbol of all Americans “…the personal embodiment and representative of their dignity and majesty”

Chief Executive The President has broad powers to carry out and enforce the laws of the United States

Chief Administrator Head of government offices 2.7 million employees 2.5 trillion dollar budget

Chief Diplomat The President conducts foreign policy and is the nation’s spokesperson to the rest of the world

Commander in Chief The President is the head of the armed forces The Constitution says this person must be a civilian and not an active military member Washington, Grant, Eisenhower

Chief Legislator The President is the main source of public policies and for the most part sets the agenda for what Congress works on

Chief of Party The President is the leader of his or her political party. Parties are not mentioned in the Constitution

Chief Citizen The moral leader of the nation and the person who protects the interests of the people

President Barack Obama Born August 4th, 1961. Columbia University Graduate. Law Degree from Harvard University. Civil Rights attorney in Chicago. Served 3 terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 – 2004. Married with 2 children. Elected as the United States’ first African American President. 44th President

Term and Compensation The President serves a FOUR year term. According to the 22nd Amendment, he or she may only serve two full terms (or ten years in case he or she took over during another person’s term) Some Presidents have called for a repeal of the 22nd Amendment. What do you think?

So you want to be President, eh… What are the formal qualifications? A “natural born citizen” of the United States Be at least 35 years of age 14 years a resident within the United States At least 100 million Americans meet these requirements!

$$$ 1789: $25,000 2011: $400,000 + $50,000/yr expenses A nice house, big staff, protection, cars, Air Force One, Camp David, travel and entertainment funds and great health care!

Are you sure you want to be President?

The Vice President “I am Vice President. In this I am nothing, but I may become everything.” --- John Adams “ The Vice Presidency isn’t worth a pitcher of warm spit.” --- John Nance Garner

The Vice Presidency Vice President must meet all the same qualifications as the President VPs take over if President dies, resigns, or is incapacitated (25th Amendment) Duties: Presides over Senate (breaks ties) and helps to decide if the President is incapacitated

Vice President Joe Biden Born November 20th, 1942 in Scranton, PA. US Senator from Delaware from 1973 – 2008. Attended the University of Delaware. Doctorate from Syracuse University. Became the 47th Vice President of the United States on January 20th, 2008.

Order of Succession to the Presidency Vice President Speaker of the House President pro tempore of the Senate Secretary of State Secretary of 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

The Powers of the President Veto Bills from Congress Call Congress into special session Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Pardon federal criminals Make treaties with other countries (with Senate approval) Appoint ambassadors, federal court judges, Supreme Court justices, top government officials (all with Senate approval)

The State of the Union The Constitution requires that the President report annually to Congress about the state of the country; this has become known as the “State of the Union Address”

Executive Orders -A rule or command that the President issues that has the force of law Only Congress can make laws President can issue Executive Orders to ensure laws are being carried out properly

Criminal Matters The President can assist those being charged with federal crimes in 3 ways: Pardon ~ a declaration of forgiveness and freedom from punishment (Ex: Richard Nixon was pardoned by Gerald Ford) Amnesty ~ a pardon toward a group of people (Ex: Jimmy Carter gave amnesty to Vietnam era draft dodgers) Reprieve ~ order to delay a person’s punishment until a higher court can hear the case (Ex: in the case of a person on death row)

Military and War Powers Only Congress has the power to declare War Only the President has the power to order American troops into battle The Five ‘Declared Wars’: The War of 1812, Mexican American War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II Many military actions (including Vietnam and the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) have been authorized by Congress without a formal declaration of war

Why has the President’s power grown so much in the past 100 years? The unity of the Presidency One President, 535 in Congress As the nation becomes more complex, the executive branch has had to take on more powers Crisis Points War, the Depression, natural disasters, terrorism Mass media The President is one a truly ‘public’ figure

The Executive Branch (aka The Bureaucracy) Executive Office of the President “The West Wing”… The Cabinet Secretaries of… Independent Agencies From the CIA to the Postal Service…

The Executive Office of the President (EOP) The President’s closest Advisors who work in the west wing of the White House Chief of Staff: most powerful in White House Press Secretary: speaks to the press on behalf of the President every day Several Councils and groups, including: National Security Council Office of Management and Budget

Most powerful and critical office in the EOP for the President Most powerful and critical office in the EOP for the President. This White House Office contains the President’s top advisors. The Chief of Staff is the most powerful.

National Security Council Advise the President on all matters dealing with the nation’s security President Vice President Secretaries of State, Treasury and Defense Head of the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Director of National Intelligence

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) The OMB prepares the federal budget, which the President presents to Congress The OMB oversees that the spending is carried out properly Based on a ‘fiscal year’ (a year that doesn’t follow the calendar) US Govt. fiscal year is October-September

The Cabinet 15 specialized departments Leaders are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate The President can fire Cabinet members Cabinet members are there to advise the President in their area. They are also in line for succession to the Presidency

Cabinet Departments State – foreign policy Treasury - $ and taxes- IRS Defense – military Justice – Enforce fed law- prisons Interior – public lands & parks Agriculture – farm and USDA- food stamps Commerce – Census, trademarks, trade Labor – workplace safety, enforces labor laws- unemployment

Cabinet Departments (cont.) Health and Human Services – health research, FDA, Medicare and Medicaid Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – public housing, fair housing laws Transportation – highways, mass transit Energy – Nuclear plants, energy research Education – aid to schools, educational research Veterans Affairs – benefits for Veterans Homeland Security – Borders, preparedness and response, FEMA

Department of State Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Department of Justice Eric Holder is the first African American Attorney General This is the only position not known as a ‘Secretary’ These are the attorneys who prosecute federal crimes

Independent Agencies These agencies are not part of the President’s cabinet. They operate independently of who is President Office of Personnel Management NASA CIA FCC USPS

The Electoral College States’ Electoral votes are based on number of Reps + number of Senators Ex: NC has 13 Reps and 2 Senators = 15 Electoral Votes The candidate who gains the majority vote in the state gets ALL of that state’s Electoral votes A candidate needs 270 to gain the Presidency out of 535 total

Electoral Map of 2008 Obama: 365 Electoral Votes, 53% of popular vote McCain: 173 Electoral Votes, 46% of popular vote

Election of 2000 Electoral Vote Popular Vote Bush: 271 50,456,002 Gore: 266 50,999,897