U N I T 4

AMERICANGOVERNMENT

LESSON 23PAGES 161-170

What is the role of the President in the American Constitutional System?

• Objective: Explain the president’s constitutional responsibilities and how the office of the president has evolved. Identify various constitutional and political checks on the president’s power. Explain the fundamental differences between the office of the prime minister in a parliamentary system and the American presidency.

What are the President’s constitutional responsibilities?

• Article II gives the Presidents executive powers- authority to carry out and enforce law. • Commander in Chief• Heading the executive departments (cabinets)• Granting reprieves, postponements of punishment, and

pardons• Making treaties – subject to consent of Senate• Nominating :• Ambassadors, public ministers, consuls and federal judges.

• Recommending legislation to Congress• Reviewing legislation presented by Congress and returning

that which he objects to• Chief diplomat

What are the President’s constitutional responsibilities?

• “Take care that the laws are faithfully executed”

• Take an oath to “faithfully execute the Office of President and ….preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

• Presidents have asserted many reasons to justify a broad definition of executive powers: • National Emergencies • Great Depression • War

How did the Framers envision in the presidency?

• An official above partisan politics.

• Person that had earned the esteem and confidence of the entire nation.

• Ability and virtue.

How did the Framers envision in the presidency?

• They did not expect campaigning.

• Did NOT want the President to have the powers of a monarch.

• Wanted someone who brought ‘energy’ to the office. – Act efficiently and vigorously on behalf of the nation.

• Feared a “feeble executive”.

How has the presidency evolved?

• Some presidents have been great. • Some presidents have been mediocre. • Some presidents have been failures.

• Some of the most powerful: • George Washington• Thomas Jefferson • Andrew Jackson • Abraham Lincoln • Theodore Roosevelt• Woodrow Wilson• Franklin D. Roosevelt• Ronald Reagan• John F. Kennedy• Bill Clinton

How did the Framers envision in the presidency?

• Andrew Jackson:

• Vetoed charter of 2nd national bank• Appealed directly to the public for support• Vetoed 12 times• Gave rise to the powerful modern presidency

How did the Framers envision in the presidency?

• Abraham Lincoln:

• Contributed significantly to the growth of the office.• Asserted unprecedented executive power. • Suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus• Saved the Union.

How did the Framers envision in the presidency?

• Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson:

• used the presidency as a position of visibility and great influence.

How did the Framers envision in the presidency?

• Franklin D. Roosevelt: • Most influential president in the 20th century• Elected during the Great Depression • Served until almost the end of WWII (he died)• New Deal- wide range of reforms (Social Security,

employment progress, etc) • Commander-in-Chief during WWII- helped establish

America’s preeminence in the international arena. • 1st president to make extensive use of public opinion polls

(Gallop Poll) • “fireside chats”– personal, trust, confidence

How did the Framers envision in the presidency?

• Ronald Reagan: • The Great Communicator

• JFK and Clinton: • Personal charisma

What is the President’s role in foreign policy?

• Article II- 4 powers that when taken together establish the President as the nation’s leader in foreign policy.

• Congress- has a lot of power, but largely those powers are reacting to the President. • Declare war• Pledge credit of the US• Regulate foreign commerce• Funding and rules governing the military.

What is the President’s role in foreign policy?

Presidential Powers- Foreign Policy: • 1. Commanding the armed forces:

• Military – protects the nation and is a threat to other nations• Congress has declared war only 5 times

• War of 1812• Mexican American War• Spanish American War • WWI• WWII

• Every president since FDR has sent troops abroad: all without declarations of war.• Korea • Vietnam• Lebanon• Grenada• Kuwait• Somalia• Kosovo• Afghanistan• Iraq

What is the President’s role in foreign policy?

• 2. Making treaties:

• Agreements that address matters from economics to defense

• President is the sole authority in negotiating and making treaties. Must have 2/3 senate approval.

• Examples: • Truman – NATO and senate approval • Wilson- Treaty of Versailles – Senate said NO!

What is the President’s role in foreign policy?

• Appointing Ambassadors and Consuls:

• Appointments are approved by a simple majority vote in the Senate

• Shapes the image of the US oversees and advises on foreign policy including foreign aid.

What is the President’s role in foreign policy?

• 4. Receiving Ambassadors and Other Public Ministers :

• Only channel of communication between the US and foreign nations.

• Used as a policy tool.

• Official visits, state dinners etc.

How do the president’s powers expand in war and emergency?

• Cleveland: • Deployed federal troops without Congress’ approval to put

down the Pullman strike in 1894.

• FDR:• Transferred destroyers to Great Britain in 1940- one year

before we declared war.

• Truman: • Ordered the Sect. of Commerce to operate the steel mills

during a strike to ensure adequate supply of steel during Korean War.• Supreme Court later ruled that Truman had exceeded power.

How and why has presidential power expanded historically?

• Reasons for increase in presidential power: • Americans expect President to address nation’s problems

with vigor. • Constitutional powers are stated in broad terms and open

to interpretation. • President’s role in recommending legislation to Congress:• These account for most passed bills• Enforcement laws• Development of federal regulations

• Executive orders• Federal government has assumed powers formally held

by the states and individuals.• Education, health care, transportation, product safety.

How are presidential powers limited?

• 1. Congress:

• Rejecting or modifying the president’s legislation agenda• Asserting constitutional authority• Refusing to ratify treaties• Refusing to confirm presidential nominees• Refusing to fund president’s programs• Removing the president from office: impeach, try and

convict.

How are presidential powers limited?

• 2. Supreme Court:

• Humphrey’s Executor v. US (1935)• Congress must approve the president’s decision to remove an

official of an independent regulatory agency.

• US v. Nixon (1974)• President not entitled to automatic immunity from legal process

• Train v. New York (1975)• President can’t refuse to spend money that Congress has

appropriated unless Congress gives the president the discretion to do to

How are presidential powers limited?

• 3. Executive branch:

• Agencies and bureaus develop their own way of performing their jobs

• Civil service – immune to politics

How are presidential powers limited?

• 4. Public Opinion:

• Lack of public support can “handcuff” the president’s efforts domestically and abroad.

FINISHING UP!

Homework:

• Imagine that you are hiring the president…• Make a list of 10 qualities, achievements, standards that

you would like a president to meet.• After you have your list form it into a “Wanted”

advertisement. In the ad you will describe the person that is suitable for the job of the President of the United States.