The President’s Roles
1A-Chief of State
• The President is chief of state. This means he is the ceremonial
head of the government of the United States, the symbol of all the
people of the nation.
1B-Chief Executive
• The Constitution vests the President with the executive power of the
United States, making him or her the nation’s chief executive.
1C-Chief Administrator
• The President is the chief administrator, or director, of the United
States government.
1D-Chief Diplomat
• As the nation’s chief diplomat, the President is the main architect of
American foreign policy and chief spokesperson to the rest of the
world.
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Chapter 13, Section 1
More Roles of the President
1E-Commander in Chief
• The Constitution makes the President the commander in chief,
giving him or her complete control of the nation’s armed forces.
1F-Chief Legislator
• The President is the chief legislator, the main architect of the
nation’s public policies.
1G-Chief of Party
• The President acts as the chief of party, the acknowledged leader
of the political party that controls the executive branch.
1H-Chief Citizen
• The President is expected to be “the representative of all the
people.”
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Chapter 13, Section 1
Role: Chief of State
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Acts as example for and symbol of the United States
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•
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Represents America at special occasions and ceremonies.
Kings and Queens are heads of state.
Awarding medals and speechmaking are examples of this role.
Role: Chief Executive
#3
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Acts as boss of federal government workers in 14 executive
departments.
These departments help the President carry out, enforce, or
execute the law.
The president chooses cabinet members to advise and assist him.
Example: Holding cabinet meetings and appointing federal officials.
Role: Chief Diplomat
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•
Conducts foreign policy by directing the actions of American
ambassadors.
4-Signs treaties and trade agreements with leaders of other
nations.
Role: Commander-In-Chief
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# 5In charge of US Armed Forces.
President decides where armed forces are to be stationed,
weapons to be used.
Secretary of Defense under President.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is the top military commander under
President.
Chief Guardian of the Economy
•
Monitors # 6
• unemployment,
• Inflation, taxation, business,
• and general welfare of the nation.
• He does not control the economy, but he gets credit if it goes well.
Qualifications for President
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5, of the Constitution
says that the President must:
7. Be “a natural born
citizen.”
7. Be at least 35 years of
age.
A person must be born a citizen of
the United States to be able to
become President.
John F. Kennedy at age 43 was the
youngest person to be elected
President.
7. Have lived in the United
States for at least 14 years.
Informal qualifications, such as
intelligence and character, are also
important considerations.
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Chapter 13, Section 1
The Two Term Precedent
•(8)- Franklin D. Roosevelt
(1933-1945)
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•
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FDR was the only president to win more than two terms.
He led the US through the Depression and WW II.
George Washington set the precedent for the limit of two terms until the
22nd Amendment made law in 1951
Pay and Benefits
Congress determines the President’s salary, and this salary
cannot be changed during a presidential term.
•
•
The President’s pay was
first set at $25,000 a year.
Currently, the President is
paid (9)- $400,000 a year.
Congress has also
approved an expense
allowance for the
President, which is
currently $50,000 a year.
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•
Besides monetary benefits,
the President gets to live in
the 132-room mansion that
we call the White House.
The President is also
granted other benefits,
including a large suite of
offices, a staff, the use of
Air Force One, and many
other fringe benefits.
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Chapter 13, Section 1
The Vice Presidency
• The Constitution only gives the Vice President two
duties besides becoming President if the President
is removed from office:
10) to preside over the Senate, and
10) to help decide the question of presidential
disability.
• If the office of Vice President becomes vacant, the
President nominates a new Vice President subject
to the approval of Congress.
• Today, the Vice President often performs
diplomatic and political chores for the President.
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Chapter 13, Section 2
Comparative Governments: Other Heads
of State
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Chapter 13, Section 1
The Presidency
•
•
•
Why do you think it is the most visible part of the American political
system?
Does the President really serve the needs of the American people?
How does the office of the Presidency actually help the American
people?
SECTION 3
Presidential Selection: The Framers’ Plan
• What were the Framers’ original provisions for
choosing the President?
• How did the rise of political parties change the
original provisions set out in the Constitution?
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Chapter 13, Section 3
Electoral College
Original Provisions
•
•
According to the Constitution,
the President and Vice
President are chosen by a
special body of 11presidential electors.
Originally, these electors
each cast 12-two electoral
votes, each for a different
candidate. 13-The candidate
with the most votes would
become President, and the
candidate with the second
highest total would become
Vice President.
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Chapter 13, Section 3
Electoral College
•
The Framers (>.<)
• Least Understood Portion of U.S. Government
• Lack of Vision
– 18th century – communication is difficult
» Wide areas, scattered persons, not enough info
to make informed decisions
» “The extent of the Country renders it impossible
that the people can have the requisite capacity
to judge of the respective pretensions of the
Candidate”
– 14-Weary of providing citizens direct & complete
control of government – “lack of faith”
» Thus electors would be free an independent to
chose according to their conscious
– Formation of a special body of electors
» Electors “to be the most enlightened and
respectable citizens”
» Free agents in choose the best qualified people
» Formally select the President and V.P.
– Political Parties
» Electors were affiliated with factions (parties) –
nominated due to party affiliation
» Electors picked with the clear understanding that
they would elect their parties candidates
Electoral College
•
Smoke and Mirrors
• President is not directly elected by the people – or are
they?
• A specialized body – Electoral college votes in the Pres &
V.P.
– Members of electoral college – chosen by particular political
parties, party affiliation, pledge of support for party,
prominent members of society.
– But they could change mind anytime they want? o.0
• 15-While citizens vote in Nov. its not until Dec. that the
official electoral votes are counted
– Electoral college doesn’t vote until Dec. a month after the
popular election
• 16-Winner take all system
– The winner of the popular vote in any given state wins all the
electoral votes in that state
– Scenario – in 2016 there are two presidential candidates for
U.S. (Mr. BOWMAN vs. Mr. JACKSON)
» BOWMAN wins the Republican nomination for
president. Running against him – JACKSON
» Idahoan identify with both candidates conservative
social agendas & policies
» In the popular vote BOWMAN beats JACKSON by a
mere 1%
» Given the “winner take all system” which candidate gets
The Rise of Parties
•
The 17-electoral
college is the group
of people (electors)
chosen from each
State and the
District of Columbia
that formally selects
the President and
Vice President. With
the rise of political
parties in 1796,
flaws began to be
seen in the system.
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Chapter 13, Section 3
18-The 12th Amendment
• The 12th
• The major change in
Amendment was
added to the
Constitution in 1804
following the
election of 1800.
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the electoral college
made by the
amendment was
that each elector
would distinctly cast
one electoral vote
for President and
one for Vice
President.
Chapter 13, Section 3
Electoral College Supporters
There are two major strengths of the
electoral college that its supporters espouse:
• It is a known process.
Each of the proposed,
but untried, reforms
may very well have
defects that could not
be known until they
appeared in practice.
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• In most election years,
the electoral college
defines the winner of
the presidential
election quickly and
certainly.
Chapter 13, Section 5
•
Electoral College
Pros & Cons of the Electoral System
• 19A-Structure
– Provides a mandate and goals to be fulfilled
– Allows whom ever is elected to enter the
presidency with a strong victory
» Translates into greater public support for the
President
• 19B- Process
– Thins out the number of candidates
» Winner-take-all system discourages
individuals with limited support from running
» Fringe groups will unlikely spend money or
run candidates who have not chance of
winning
» Protect voters from political over load with
candidates
– It works
» Only four time in history has the system not
worked – (e.g. 1888, Grover Cleveland vs.
Benjamin Harrison)
» Cleveland won popular vote – but lost in
electoral votes
» Only 11 electors of the 19,000 electors in
the U.S. have ever changed their mind after
their pledge
» If its not broken why fix it?
Flaws in the Electoral College
There are three major defects in the electoral college:
(20) It is possible to win the popular vote in the presidential election, but lose the
electoral college vote. This has happened four times in U.S. history (1824, 1876,
1888, and 2000).
(20) Nothing in the Constitution, nor in any federal statute, requires the electors to
vote for the candidate favored by the popular vote in their State.
(20) If no candidate gains a majority in the electoral college, the election is thrown into
the House, a situation that has happened twice (1800 and 1824). In this process,
each State is given one vote, meaning that States with smaller populations wield
the same power as those with larger populations.
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Chapter 13, Section 5
The Electoral College Today
Voters do not vote directly for the President.
Instead, 21-they vote for electors in the
electoral college.
•
•
All States, except two (Maine and
Nebraska), select electors based
on the winner of the popular vote
in that State.
Electors then meet in the State
capitals on the Monday after the
second Wednesday in December
and cast their votes for President
and Vice President.
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•
On January 6, the electoral votes
cast are counted by the president
of the Senate, and the President
and Vice President are formally
elected.
If no candidate wins a majority of
electoral votes (270), the election
is thrown into the House of
Representatives.
Chapter 13, Section 5
Proposed Reforms
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•
22-In the district plan, electors
would be chosen the same way
members of Congress are
selected: each congressional
district would select one elector
(just as they select
representatives), and two electors
would be selected based on the
overall popular vote in a State
(just as senators are selected).
22-The proportional plan
suggests that each candidate
would receive the same share of
a State’s electoral vote as he or
she received in the State’s
popular vote.
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22- direct popular election. At the
polls, voters would vote directly
for the President and Vice
President instead of electors.
22-The national bonus plan would
automatically offer the winner of
the popular vote 102 electoral
votes in addition to the other
electoral votes he or she might
gain.
Chapter 13, Section 5
SECTION 4
Presidential Nominations
• What role do conventions play in the
presidential nominating process?
• How important are presidential primaries?
• What differences exist between the caucus-
convention process and the primary process?
• What events take place during a national
convention?
• What characteristics determine who is
nominated as a presidential candidate?
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Chapter 13, Section 4
Nomination Process
•
Critical component of Democracy
• Nomination – first step in process
– 23-Two ways of nomination
» Party Affiliation
» Self Appointment
• Self-Appointment
– Oldest forum of Nomination process
– Often used on local level; rarely on National
» Who wants to run – publicly declares a bid for
an office
» Usually used by someone who failed to receive
party nomination (e.g. Theodore Roosevelt –
Bull Moose Party)
» Recent examples – Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Ross Perot
• 24-Caucus – like minded people who select
candidates for election
– Parties form caucus’s to help promote a candidate
– Selective not all participated – (e.g. legislative
caucus’s)
» Unrepresentative nature
» System died after 1824
The National Convention
A party’s national convention is the meeting at which
delegates vote to pick their presidential and vicepresidential candidates. Party conventions accomplish
three main goals:
(25) to officially name the party’s presidential and vicepresidential candidates,
(25) to bring the various factions and the leading personalities
in the party together in one place for a common purpose,
and
(25) to adopt the party’s platform— 26-its formal statement
of basic principles, stands on major policy matters, and
objectives for the campaign and beyond.
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Chapter 13, Section 4
Nomination Process
•
National Conventions
• Means of making nominations on all levels
– Local, state, or national caucus’s are formed
– Choose who will run for what office
» Local convention chooses candidates for
local office & delegates
» Local delegates – county convention –
nominate county elections & county
delegates
» County delegates – state convention –
nominate for state election – choose state
delegates
» State delegates – go to national convention
– make pres/vice-pres nominations.
– Theory –27- rank and file members will always
be nominated
– Rank & file advance through the representative
levels
• Highly corruptible – money & party boss’s
formed caucus’s to get officials elected (locally)
– They receive kick backs for promoting and
campaigning a nominee
– System collapse after 1870s
The Role of Conventions
The Apportionment
and Selection of
Delegates
Convention
Arrangements
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•
The convention system
has been mainly built by
the two major parties in
American politics.
Party national committees
arrange the time and place
for their party’s nominating
convention.
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•
5
Parties apportion the
number of delegates each
State will receive based on
electoral votes and other
factors.
Delegates are selected
through both presidential
primaries and the caucusconvention process.
Chapter 13, Section 4
Presidential Primaries
•
Depending on the State, a 28-presidential primary is an
election in which a party’s voters
(1) choose some or all of a State’s party organization’s delegates
to their party’s national convention, and/or
(2) express a preference among various contenders for their
party’s presidential nomination.
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•
Many States use a proportional representation rule to
select delegates. In this system, a proportion of a State’s
delegates are chosen to match voter preferences in the
primary.
More than half of the States hold preference primaries
where voters choose their preference for a candidate.
Delegates are selected later to match voter preferences.
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Chapter 13, Section 4
Nomination Process
• 29-Direct Primaries
• Intra-party election – party members get
together – choose candidate for election
• Most states use some form of direction
primaries
• Two forms of primaries – Open & Closed
• 29-Closed Primary – 24 States
• Only declared party members can cast a
vote/nominate
– Party membership declared through registration
– Voters can only vote on their parties ticket
• 29- Open Primary – 26 States
• Party nomination election any qualified voter
can cast a ballot
• Voters handed ballots with both parties on
ballot – vote how they want
– Three kinds of open-primaries
The Caucus-Convention Process
• In those States that do not hold presidential
primaries, delegates to the national conventions
are chosen in a system of caucuses and
conventions.
• The party’s voters meet in local caucuses where
they choose delegates to a local or district
convention, where delegates to the State
convention are picked.
• At the State level, and sometimes in the district
conventions, delegates to the national convention
are chosen.
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Chapter 13, Section 4
Who Is Nominated?
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If an incumbent President wants to seek reelection, his
or her nomination is almost guaranteed.
Political experience factors into the nomination
process. State governors, the executive officers on the
State level, have historically been favored for
nomination. U.S. senators also have fared well.
30-Many candidates come from key larger states.
Candidates from larger states, such as California, New
York, and Ohio, have usually been seen as more
electable than candidates from smaller states.
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Chapter 13, Section 4
SECTION 1
The National Judiciary
• Why did the Constitution create a national
judiciary?
• What is the structure of the national
judiciary?
• What criteria are used to determine the
jurisdiction of a federal court case?
• How are federal judges appointed, and what
are their terms and salaries?
• What are the roles of federal court officers?
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Chapter 18, Section 1
Creation of a National Judiciary
• The Framers created the national judiciary in
Article III of the Constitution.
• There are two court systems in the United States:
the 31-national judiciary that spans the country,
and the 31-courts run by each of the 50 States.
• The Constitution created the Supreme Court and
left Congress to establish the inferior courts—the
lower federal courts. There are two types of
federal courts: (32) constitutional courts and
(32) special courts.
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Chapter 18, Section 1
Types of Federal Courts
The Constitution created only the Supreme Court, giving Congress the
power to create any lower, or “inferior,” courts as needed.
•# 33
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Chapter 18, Section 1
Judicial Review
• Judicial review refers to the power of a court
to determine the constitutionality of a
government action.
• The Supreme Court first asserted its power
of judicial review in the case of 34-Marbury
v. Madison (1803).
• The Court’s decision laid the foundation for
its involvement in the development of the
American system of government.
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Chapter 18, Section 3
Supreme Court
Supreme Court
• Supreme Court is part of the political
process?
• Many would assume that the court is a non-political
branch
– Made up of 35- 9 individuals, unelected, nonpartisan, serve life terms
» But the justices themselves hold political values –
influence decisions
– Determine values of the U.S. when they render
decisions
» How much power the president has; define the
right to privacy, power of police, etc..
• History of the Court
– Article III, section 2 defines the powers of the court
» “Judicial power shall extend to all Cases in law and
equity - laws of the U.S. – Treaties – Ambassadors
– Public Minister & Consuls – Cases of Admiralty &
Maritime – Controversies over states, States and
citizen, and Foreign states and or subjects”
– Early courts met infrequently – accomplished very little
» Where do you start? Its like being a mosquito in a
nudist colony
» Very unglamorous job
Appointment of Judges
• The power to appoint judges to federal courts
falls on the 36-President.
• The 37-President nominates Supreme Court
justices, as well as federal court judges, who
are then subject to the 37-approval of the
Senate.
• Most federal judges are drawn from the ranks of
leading attorneys, legal scholars and law school
professors, former members of Congress, and
State courts.
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Chapter 18, Section 1
•
•
•
•
•
Terms and Pay of Judges
Judges appointed to the constitutional courts, including the
Supreme Court, are appointed for life.
Judges of constitutional courts may only be removed by
their own will or through impeachment. Only 13 federal
judges have ever been impeached, and of them, seven
were convicted.
Judges who sit in the special courts are appointed for terms
varying from 4 to 15 years.
38- Congress determines salaries for federal judges.
39-Federal district judges make $169,300; federal
appeals court judges,$179,500; Supreme Court
justices, $208,100; and the chief justice,$217,400.
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Chapter 18, Section 1
How Federal Cases Are Appealed
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Chapter 18, Section 2
How Cases Reach the Supreme Court
For a case to be heard by the Court, 40-four of nine judges
must agree that it should be placed on the Court’s docket.
Writ of Certiorari
Certificate
• Most cases reach the
• Cases can reach the
Court via 41-writ of
certiorari, an order to
a lower court to send
a record in a given
case for its review.
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Court by 41certificate when a
lower court asks for
the Court to certify
the answer to a
specific question in
the matter.
Chapter 18, Section 3
Appealing a Case to the Supreme Court
•# 42
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Chapter 18, Section 3
How the Supreme Court Operates
43-Oral Arguments
• Once the Supreme Court accepts a case, it sets a date
on which lawyers on both sides will present oral
arguments.
43-Briefs
• Briefs are written documents filed with the Court before
oral arguments begin.
43-The Court in Conference
• The Chief Justice presides over a closed-door
conference in which justices present their views on the
case at hand.
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Chapter 18, Section 3
Opinions of the Court
Once the Court finishes its conference, it
reaches a decision and its opinion is written.
44-Majority Opinion
The majority opinion, formally
called the Opinion of the Court,
announces the Court’s decision in a
case and its reasoning on which it is
based.
44-Precedents
The majority opinions stand as
precedents, or examples to be
followed in similar cases as they
arise in the lower courts or reach the
Supreme Court.
44-Concurring Opinions
Concurring opinions are
sometimes authored by justices to
add or emphasize a point that was
not made in the majority opinion.
44-Dissenting Opinions
Dissenting opinions are often
written by those justices who do not
agree with the Court's majority
opinion.
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Chapter 18, Section 3