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47 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Qualifications of the President
35 years old
14 years as a US resident
Natural born citizen
4 year term
22nd Amendment
Two 4-year terms, or total of 10 years in office
FDR - elected 4 times
Electoral College
Incorporates Connecticut Compromise on how to select the President.
Each states gets a number of electors equal to its number of representatives + senators.
A candidate needs a majority of electors to win. (270 of the 538)
12th Amendment
Separate elections for President and VP
Selecting the President
If no candidate gets a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representative decides, with each state casting a collective vote.
Races decided by the House:
-J. Q. Adams/Jackson (1824)
-Hayes/Tilden (1876)
Presidential Succession Act of 1947
Order of the succession after the VP:
- Speaker of the House
- President Pro Tempore of the Senate
- Secretary of State, Treasury, Defense, and other Cabinet heads in order of the creation of their department.
25th Amendment
Lays out succession and allows the president to appoint a new VP if the post is vacant.
President may appoint a new VP, subject to the approval of a simple majority of Congress. (Nixon and Ford)
Also contains a section that allows the VP and a majority of the Cabinet (or some other body determined by Congress) to deem a president unable to fulfill his duties.
President can also voluntarily relinquish duties.
Reasons a VP is chosen
- Geographical balance
- To bring the party back together at the convention
- Achieve a social and cultural balance on the ticket.
- VPs can also be used to overcome candidate shortcomings.
Removal of a President
House conducts the investigation and drafts Articles of Impeachment for 'treason, bribery, or high crimes and misdemeanors.'
Senate tries the case with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presiding.
If 2/3rds of the Senate votes for the Articles, the president is removed from office.
(Andrew Johnson & Bill Clinton - neither were removed from office)
Constitutional Powers of the President
Legislative Agenda
Chief-of-State
Treaty-making Power
Chief Executive
Veto Power
Appointment Power
Commander-in-Chief
Chief Diplomat
Pardoning Power
Pardon
An executive grant providing restoration of all rights and privileges of citizenship to a specific individual charged or convicted of a crime
Controversial Powers of the President
Executive Privilege - Washington first asserted that some confidential information did not have to be disclosed to Congress or the Courts. (Nixon)
Presidential Signing Statements - Written pronouncement by the president made when signing a bill into law. (Monroe)
Power of the Presidency Dependent On...
- The personality of the person holding the office.
- The informal powers of the presidency.
- The goals of the officeholder.
- The timing of events…events often shape a presidency (for example, crises often lead to an expansion of presidential powers).
George Washington's Precedents
1. Established the primacy of the national government
2. Held regular meetings with his advisers (establishing the Cabinet system)
3. Asserted the prominence of the chief executive’s role in foreign affairs
4. Claimed inherent power of the presidency
John Adams' Precedents
Emergence of political parties
Thomas Jefferson's Precedents
Role of president in the legislative process and as party leader
Andrew Jackson
1. Made extensive use of veto power (not limited to Constitutional objections)
2. Reasserted the supremacy of the national government (and the presidency) by facing down South Carolina’s nullification of a federal tariff law
Abraham Lincoln
1. Suspended the writ of habeas corpus
2. Expanded the size of U.S. army above Congress’s mandates
3. Ordered a blockade of southern ports (initiating war without congressional approval)
4. Closed the U.S. mails to treasonable mailings
5. Prosecuted newspaper editors in military courts
The Modern President
1. Leads a large government (bureaucracy)
2. Plays an active and leading role in foreign and domestic policy
3. Plays a strong legislative role
4. And uses technology to get 'close to Americans.'
President as the Chief Legislator
Patronage
Party
Persuasion
Veto Power
Appointment Power
Public Opinion
Presidential Leadership
Public's Perception of the President
- Highest level of approval at the beginning of their terms
- Each action the president takes is divisive (some will approve, others will not)
- Disapproval tends to have a cumulative effect so in general approval wanes over time
The Budgetary Process
OMB (Office of Management and Budget) prepares the president’s annual budget proposal, reviews the budget and programs of the executive departments, supplies economic forecasts, and conducts detailed analyses of proposed bills and agency rules.
Executive Order
A rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law
The Cabinet
- Not mentioned in the Constitution and is formulated by each president as he/she sees fit.
- Consists of the heads of the executive departments (State, Defense, Treasury, etc.) and other select agency heads (EPA) and senior advisors (chief of staff)
- Much more limited role today
Executive Office of the President (EOP)
- Established by FDR (1939) and is a very important inner circle of advisors to the president.
- Staffed by persons responsible to the president alone.
The EOP Includes...
- Council of Economic Advisers
- Council on Environmental Quality
- National Security Council
- Office of Management and Budget
- White House Office
- President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
- Office of National Drug Control Policy
- United States Trade Representative
- Office of Administration
- Office of Science & Technology Policy
National Security Council
- The President's principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy matters.
- Includes the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Bureaucracy
A set of complex hierarchical departments, agencies, commissions, and their staffs that exist to help a chief executive officer carry out his or her duties
- Bureaucracies may be private organizations or governments.
Characteristics of Bureaucracy
- An hierarchical chain of command
- Clear lines of authority
- Division of labor and specialization
- Impersonal rules and merit based decision making
Federal Bureaucracy
"Fourth branch of government"
Departments created by Congress
Growth of Fed. Bureaucracy
- Growth in area – adding states and territories
- Growth in population
- Growth in subjects of national legislation
- Growth in complexity of national regulation
*In general, the government grew most during national crises and times of war
Spoils System
The firing of public-office holders of a defeated political party and their replacement with loyalists of the newly elected party
Patronage
Jobs, grants, or other special favors that are given as rewards to friends and political allies for their support
Civil Service Reform Act of 1883
- Also called the Pendleton Act
- Created the Civil Service Commission
- Merit based
- 10% initially coverage
- 90% covered today
The 60's
- The Civil Rights Movement (EEOC)
- Johnson’s War on Poverty/Great Society
- Vietnam War
- Environmental Regulation (EPA)
Modern Bureaucracy
- Governments exist for the public good not for profit.
- Government leaders are driven by reelection (and thus accountability) goals while businesspeople are out to increase their share prices on Wall Street.
- Businesses get money from customers, government gets it from taxpayers.
Bureaucrats
- Over 2.7 million federal employees.
- 15 Departments & 60 Agencies, Boards and Commission.
- Divided into over 2000 divisions, bureaus, offices, services and other subunits.
- Includes US Postal Service
Independent Executive Agencies
- Independent executive agencies have narrower mandates than a Cabinet department.
- Headed by a director.
- They generally perform a service function, not a regulatory one.
CIA, NASA, EPA
Independent Regulatory Commissions
- IRCs exist to regulate a specific economic activity or interests.
- The commissions are independent from Congress and the President. Once appointed and seated, members cannot be removed without cause.
- They also have staggered terms of office to ensure that no one party gets to appoint all members.
Government Corporations
Businesses created by Congress to perform functions that could be performed by private business but aren't usually because they are not profitable.
- USPS, FDIC, Amtrak, Tennessee Valley Authority
Congressional Delegation
- When Congress passes a law that creates a federal agency, department, or commission, it typically delegates some part of its law-making powers.
- In the law, Congress sets parameters, guidelines, and then leaves it to the agency to work out the details.
Administrative Discretion
The ability of bureaucrats to make choices concerning the best way to implement congressional intentions.
Rule-making
- Delegated by Congress
- A quasi-legislative administrative process
- Regulations – Rules promulgated by the Executive Branch that govern the operation of a particular government program that have the force of law
- 1946 Administrative Procedures Act
Administrative Adjucation
- Administrative Law Judges (ALJs)
- A quasi-judicial process in which a bureaucratic agency settles disputes between two parties in a manner similar to the way courts resolve disputes.
Iron Triangle
Relationship between Bureaucratic agencies, Interest groups and lobbyists, and Congressional committees, subcommittees, and staff.
Hatch Act
- Law enacted in 1939 to prohibit civil servants from taking activist roles in partisan campaigns.
- Could not make political contributions, work for a political party or campaign for a particular candidate.
Federal Employees Political Activities Act
- 1993 liberalization of the Hatch Act.
- Allowed federal employees to run for office in nonpartisan elections and to contribute money to campaigns in partisan elections.