CHAPTER 7: The Executive Branch
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NAME
VOCAB
1.
ELECTORAL COLLEGE: See chapter 3. Group of people who elect the President and
Vice-President of the United States.
2.
ELECTOR: individual designated/elected by the state to cast the electoral votes in a
Presidential election.
3.
DISPLAY: to show
4.
OUTCOME: the result of an action
5.
EXECUTIVE ORDER: power of the President to issue an order that has the force of
law.
6.
PARDON: forgiving a person for committing a crime
7.
REPRIEVE: delaying someone's punishment
8.
AMNESTY: a pardon for a group of people
9.
POLICY: a guiding course of action
10. FOREIGN POLICY: a nation's plan for dealing with other nations
11. NATIONAL SECURITY: the safety of our country from outside attacks
12. TREATY: an agreement between two countries. In the USA this is made by the
President and approved by the Senate.
13. EXECUTIVE AGREEMENT: an agreement between our President and another
nation's leader. Unlike a treaty, this doesn't require Senate approval.
14. AMBASSADOR: a representative of another nation's government within another
country.
15. TRADE SANCTION: restrictions on trade to punish a country.
16. EMBARGO: refusal to trade with another country
17. CABINET: group of advisors to the President, which consist of the 15 heads of the
Executive Departments.
18. FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY: collective agencies and employees of the executive
branch.
19. GOVERNMENT CORPORATION: a business owned and operated by the federal
government, such as the post office.
20. POLITICAL APPOINTEE: a person appointed by the President for a federal office.
21. CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM: system of hiring civilians for government jobs.
22. SPOILS SYSTEM: system of handing out federal jobs on the basis of party and/or
personal loyalty.
23. MERIT SYSTEM: system of handing out federal jobs on the basis of qualifications.
24. CIVIL SERVICE WORKER: someone hired to work into a government position.
VOCAB REVIEW
1. President Obama granted a PARDON to Billy, which released him from prison
after he was convicted on charges of grand larceny.
2. The USA currently has an EMBARGO with Cuba, which prevents us from trading
with them.
3. Under the SPOILS SYSTEM, people were given political jobs based on party
loyalty.
4. The USA and France drew up a TREATY where both countries agreed to invest
money in each other's economies.
5. The ELECTORAL COLLEGE elects the President.
6. The President has a group of advisors called the CABINET which is made up of the
leaders of the 15 executive departments.
7. The US Postal Service is a GOVERNMENT CORPORATION since it is
owned/operated by the US government.
8. John Smith was granted a REPREIEVE which delayed his execution until an appeals
hearing was completed.
9. The President has the power to issue an EXECUTIVE ORDER, which is a command
that has the force of a law.
10.Under the MERIT SYSTEM political jobs are determined by how qualified a person
is able to perform that job.
7.1: THE PRESIDENT (Basic info)
1. The primary job of executive branch (and President, which they are a part of) is to enforce laws.
2. There are three requirements to become U.S. President;
a. Must be 35
b. Must be a natural-born citizen
c. Must be a resident of the USA for at least 14 years
7.2: THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE AND VICE-PRESIDENT
3. As you learned in Chapter 3, the President is elected by the electoral college. Before you think
your vote doesn't matter - let me assure you.... IT DOES. It's just calculated differently.
a. Each state has a set # of electoral votes. The number of electoral votes a state has is
determined by the number of representatives a state has in both the US House of
Representatives and the Senate. (For example, NC has 13 people in the House of
Representatives and 2 in the Senate - which gives NC 15 electoral votes.)
b. On Election Day, whichever candidate gets the most votes in a state gets ALL of that
state's electoral votes. The loser gets nothing. This is why this process is referred to as a
"winner-take-all" system.
c. In order to win a Presidential election, a candidate must acquire 270 electoral votes. If
nobody can acquire that amount, then the House of Representatives votes - and the
winner of that vote becomes President.
d. Many feel this is a flawed system. One problem that opponents point out is that this
system makes it very possible for someone to win - without even getting the majority
popular vote in the country. They also feel this system gives too much power in the
process to larger states - which can lead to smaller states to be ignored.
4. US Presidents serve 4-year terms. They can serve a maximum of 2 terms, or 10 years. This limit
was established by the 22nd Amendment (Chapter 4) after Franklin Roosevelt ran for and won
four consecutive elections. Many felt having a President in office TOO long was detrimental
(problematic) for a democracy.
5. The Vice-President is the hand-picked individual who runs for office with a President. Before
they changed it to where the President/Vice-President ran as team, the VP used to be whoever
lost the election. The only have expressed power or job identified by the Constitution a VP has,
is to serve as the leader of the Senate and to break ties in Senate votes. Other than that, they
do whatever the President needs them to do.
7.3 PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION
6. As time has passed, this process has been clarified.
a. The Presidential Succession Act identified in order whom would take over the role of
President if they are unable to do their job. The Act lists 18 individuals who are in line if
something were to happen. The first four successors are; Vice-President, Speaker of the
House, President Pro Tempore, and the Secretary of the State.
b. The 25th Amendment explained the exact process to be followed in the event a
President leaves office in the middle of a term.
7.4: DUTIES/ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT
7. Aside from enforcing the laws passed by Congress, the President has several other duties;
a. Vetoing bills (remember, Congress CAN override a veto!)
b. Serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces
c. Serve as the spokesperson for our country
d. Make treaties with other countries - which are approved by the Senate. (The President
also has the power to make an executive agreement which is similar, except it doesn't
require Senate approval.)
e. Appoint the heads of executive offices and nominates individuals to serve as federal
judges - both of which require Senate approval.
f. Can pardon criminals.
8. The President has several roles they fill while doing their job;
a. CHIEF EXECUTIVE: This role involves the President carrying out the laws for our nation.
They have the assistance of 15 executive departments. The President does have the
ability to issue an executive order, which has the force of a law. Usually executive
orders are used for minor issues, but they have been used for major ones on occasion –
for example, Harry Truman issued an executive order in 1948 to integrate the armed
forces.
b. CHIEF DIPLOMAT: The President makes key decisions for our foreign policy (how we deal
with other nations.)
c. COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF: The President is in charge of our armed forces and can use
them when necessary, for example to carry out our foreign policy.
d. LEGISLATIVE LEADER: while it is the job of the Legislative branch to pass laws, the
President does have some influence over this process. He or she can influence members
of Congress to pass laws they like.
e. HEAD OF STATE: this role involves the President being the “symbol of our nation.” This
consists of greeting foreign dignitaries (officials) and participating in special events such
as ceremonies or giving out medals.
f. ECONOMIC LEADER: One of the things the people expect the President to do is make
sure the economy runs well. Therefore, the President does whatever they can to ensure
the economy prospers. They are in charge of planning the federal government’s budget.
g. PARTY LEADER: The President is the leader of their political party. They are expected to
do whatever it takes to help their political party, whether it’s giving speeches supporting
their fellow party members or helping raise money.
7.5: THE PRESIDENT AND FOREIGN POLICY
9. Foreign policy is how we refer to other nations. The primary goal of foreign policy is ensure
national security. Other goals include promoting trade, democracy, and world peace.
10. The State Department, Defense Department, CIA, and National Security Council help the
President in forming foreign policy.
11. Foreign policy is one area that power is shared between the executive and legislative branches.
This division of power has shifted back and forth over time. After WW2, the President held
most of the power. After the Vietnam War, Congress took most of the power. When the "War
on Terrorism" began in the early 90's, the President took control. As of right now, most power
lies in the hand of Congress.
12. The President has several things they can use to make foreign policy work;
a) TREATIES AND EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS: a treaty is an official agreement between two or
more nations. Some of these involve national defense, such as the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO), while others involve trade and economics. All treaties must be
approved by the Senate. The President can bypass that process by making an executive
agreement, which is an agreement between the leaders of two countries.
b) APPOINTING AMBASSADORS: An ambassador is a representative from another country.
Ambassadors are appointed by the President and approved by… yep, the Senate.
c) FOREIGN AID: The USA sends lots of money out to other countries.
d) INTERNATIONAL TRADE: If a country is doing something that goes against our foreign policy,
we can restrict trade with that country. Punishing a country by imposing trade barriers is
called trade sanctions. The most common form of trade sanction is an embargo, which is an
agreement between nations to NOT trade with a target nation.
e) MILITARY FORCE: While the President can send troops at any time, Congress must approve
the troops being wherever they are sent within 60 days. If they are not, then the troops
must return home.
7.6: THE CABINET AND EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS
13. The Cabinet is the President's advisors in nearly every matter. The members of this group are
the leaders of the 15 executive departments. Their job is to keep the President informed
concerning their department and to assist the President in creating policy in their area.
14. The first three executive departments were the Department of State, Department of Treasury,
and Department of War (later renamed to Defense). For all 15 departments, you will have a
chart to fill in, which will identify all of them and their function.
7.7: INDEPENDENT AGENCIES AND THE CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM
15. INDEPENDENT AGENCIES: there are three types of independent agencies:
 EXECUTIVE AGENCIES: they deal with specialized areas of the government. For example, our
space program is handled by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
 EXECUTIVE CORPORATIONS: these are businesses that the government owns and operates.
They are not supposed to make a profit. The Postal Service (you know… the mail people) is
a prime example of a government corporation.
 REGULATORY BOARDS/COMMISSIONS: their job is to regulate (watch over and enforce
rules) certain industries or groups. For example, the Federal Communications Commission
regulates what television stations show on TV or what we hear on the radio. People who
serve on these boards or commissions are appointed by the President and approved by…
(you’ll never guess)… the Senate. The only way they can be removed from their position is if
Congress impeaches them.
16. The civil service system is how civilians (non-military individuals) can earn jobs with the federal
government. The first system was called the spoils system, which handed out jobs based on
personal/political loyalty. This system's flaws was made apparent after President James Garfield
was assassinated by a man who was upset he didn't get the job he felt he deserved. Afterwards,
Congress passed the Pendleton Act, which replaced the spoils system with the merit system.
Under the merit system, individuals who wish to pursue federal jobs with the executive branch
or its agencies must prove they are qualified for the job.
CHAPTER 7 REVIEW
1.What are the three qualifications to be the
president of the USA?
a. Must be 35
b. Must be a natural-born citizen
c. Must be a resident of the USA for at least 14 years
2.What are some characteristics of our previous US
presidents?
Meant to omit this question... but most had
backgrounds in law, Caucasian, came from large
states
3.How often do presidential elections take place?
Every 4 years
4.What determines the number of electoral votes a
state gets in a presidential election?
The number of representatives a state has in the US
House of Representatives and Senate
5.The electoral system is a winner-take-all system.
Because the loser in the state election gets
NOTHING....
6.What constitutional amendment limited presidents
to no more than two terms?
22nd Amendment.... see chapter 4
7.What are the qualifications to become vicepresident of the USA?
Same as President.
8.What did Congress pass in 1947, which listed the
people in line to take over the presidency if
something were to happen to the president?
Presidential Succession Act
9.What amendment spelled out the process to be
followed if the president died or left office?
25th Amendment... see chapter 4
10. What article of the Constitution explains the
president’s job and powers?
Article 2... see CHapter 3
11. What is the MAIN job of the president,
according to the Constitution?
To enforce the laws passed by Congress
12. How many major roles does the president
have?
7. Counting is tough... I know.
13. What are the major roles the president has?
Chief executive, chief diplomat, commander-inchief, legislative leader, head of state, economic
leader, party leader.
14. What are some things the president can do as
chief executive?
Issuing executive orders
15. What does it mean, that the president is head
of state?
Means the President is the symbol of our nation.
16. What is the main goal of foreign policy?
To protect national security (safety of our nation)
17. What are the goals of foreign policy?
Promoting trade, promoting democracy, and
ensuring world peace
18. The Constitution divides the power to conduct
military and foreign affairs between what two
branches of government?
Congress (Legislative) and Executive
19. After WWII, who mostly controlled foreign
policy?
President
20. After the Vietnam War, who mostly controlled
foreign policy?
Congress. (People were angry about the Vietnam
War and blamed the President)
21. After 9/11 and the War on Terrorism, who took
control of foreign policy?
President
22. What is the cabinet?
The President's advisors who consist of the 15
executive departments
23. What were the three original executive
departments?
Department of Treasury, War, and State
24. How many executive departments do we have
today?
15
25. Agencies that handle a large part of the
executive branch’s responsibilities are known as?
Independent agencies. Yeah I should've made this
more specific in the notes.
26. Executive Agencies deal with a specialized
area of the government.
27. Government Corporations protect the public
by controlling key industries.
28. What are some examples of government
corporations?
USPS (Post Office)
29. What are the two types of civil service systems?
Spoils (party loyalty) and Merit (qualified)
30. What was passed in 1883, that eliminated the
spoils system?
Pendleton Act