AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

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AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

• CHAPTER 13/14
• STUDY GUIDE INFORMATION

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Presidents Job Description

• Chief of State-Ceremonial head of the government
• Chief Executive-Executive Power job is to
  enforce laws
• Chief Administrator-Head of the federal
  government-3 million employees
• Chief Diplomat-Architect of Foreign Policy
  Secretary of State is responsible to speak for
  the President
• Commander in Chief-In charge of the military
• Command Authority to Generals final say with
  Pres. (Truman)
• Chief Legislator-Helps set Congressional agenda
• Chief of Party-Leader of the party in power
• Chief Citizen-Represents the American people

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Formal Qualifications

• Natural Born Citizen
• Minimum age of 35 years of age
• JFK-youngest elected
• T. Roosevelt-youngest to serve
• Ronald Reagan-Oldest (69)
• Must have lived in the US for 14 years

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Term of Office

• 4 year term can be re-elected once with a
  maximum served as 10 years
• Two-term tradition set by George Washington,
  broke by FDR. Led to the 22nd Amendment limiting
  presidential terms.

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Pay and Benefits

• Pay is set by Congress 1969-200,000
• Raised to 400,000 in 2000
• Benefits Expense Account, Use of the White
  House, Staff and Offices, Presidential Yacht,
  Limos, Air Force One, Camp David (Presidential
  Retreat), Free Medical Care, Pension of 143,800
  per year

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Presidential Succession

• Originally tradition set by John Tyler
  (Harrison) 1967 the 25th Amendment was added to
  move the VP to the Presidency upon
  death/resignation
• 1947-Presidential Succession Act
• Set the line of Succession to the Presidency
• President
• Vice-President
• Speaker of the House
• Senate President Pro Tem
• Cabinet Positions in the Positions they were
  created S.S., S.T., S. D., Att. General, .

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Presidential Disability

• Section 3 4 of the 25th Amendment
• President can either inform Congress that he is
  unable to perform his duties
• Vice-President and a majority of the Cabinet can
  inform Congress of the Presidents inability to
  function

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Vice-Presidency

• Two Formal Duties
• Preside over the Senate
• Help decide Presidential disability
• VP Succeeding the President
• Importance of the job one step away from the
  Presidency
• Often times they are chosen to balance the
  ticket

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Presidential Selection

• Original Provisions Electoral College
• Framers intended that Electors use their own
  judgment vote their conscience
• Today they are more Rubber Stamps-vote as the
  popular vote of their state did
• Originally electors had 2 ballots and both were
  cast for the president whoever had the majority
  was president and whoever came in second was
  Vice-President if there was not majority the
  elections moved to the House of Representatives

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Rise of Political Parties

• Electoral College-affected by political parties
  today the President and VP would be of different
  parties
• Election of 1800-to defeat John Adams the
  Democratic Republicans ran two strong
  Candidates/Aaron Burr Thomas Jefferson after
  receiving the same amount of electoral votes the
  election was decided by the House
• 12th Amendment-added to alleviate problems with
  the Political Parties
• Electors would still have two votes, but one
  would go for president and the other to their
  running mate for VP
• Insured that President and V-p would be of the
  same party

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Electoral College Today

• 538 total votes
• House of Representatives (435) plus Senate (100)
  plus District of Columbia (3)
• Necessary to become President-270
• Choosing Electors
• Each political party from each state selects a
  body of electors equal to the number of
  representatives and senators they have in DC
• Minimum number is 3 vote as there popular vote
  of their vote has voted
• Counting Electoral Votes
• Winner take all-if you win the popular vote of
  that state you win all of that states electoral
  vote

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Flaws in the Electoral College

• Defects
• Popular Vote will contradict the Electoral Vote
• Constitution does not require electors to vote as
  their state did
• Faithless Electors-happens rarely
• Election could be decided by the House of
  Representatives (potentially gives small states
  more power)
• Only possible if a minor party can win electoral
  votes last done in 1968

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Proposed Reforms

• District Plan-Electors would be chosen the same
  way, but two would vote for the winner of the
  popular vote the rest would vote as voters did
  in their district
• Proportional Plan
• Same of electoral Vote as Popular Vote
• Direct Popular Election
• Would do away with the Electoral College based
  simply on popular vote
• National Bonus Plan-Electoral College would stay
  the same except the winner of the popular vote
  would automatically win 102 electoral votes

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Presidents Veto Power

• Pass the bill
• Veto the bill
• 10 day rule-let it sit for ten days and then it
  automatically becomes law
• Pocket Veto-only can be used at the end of the
  session session ends before the ten days is up
  the bill is automatically vetoed

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Key Terms

• Electorate
• Platform
• Amnesty
• Cabinet
• Pardon
• Executive Agreement
• Executive Order
• Treaty
• Recognition
• Reprieve
• Commutation
• Keynote Address

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Key Term-Definitions

• Electorate-People who actually vote in an
  election
• Platform-Basic statement of party policy
• Amnesty-Granting of a general pardon to a group
  of law violators
• Cabinet-Presidents informal advisory body
• Pardon-Forgiveness of a crime granted to an
  individual

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Key Terms-Continued

• Executive Agreement-President on his own can make
  this agreement with the head of another foreign
  state
• Executive Order-A directive, rule or regulation
  made by the President that has the effect of a
  law.
• Treaty-Formal agreement between two or more
  sovereign states
• Recognition-Presidential authority to accept the
  legal existence of another country

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Key Terms-Continued

• Reprieve-Postponement of the execution of a
  sentence
• Commutation-The lessening or reducing of a
  sentence
• Keynote Address-Comes at the National Convention
  Is a speech by a high ranking member of the party
  at the first session of the convention