AP U.S. Government & Politics Study Guide
Unit 6 – The Presidency & The Federal Bureaucracy
(Chapters 13 & 15 in the textbook & Chapters 11 & 12 in the Crash Course book)
General Information:
Framers’ intention for the President
general qualifications (age, citizenship, etc.)
distinguishing powers :
- national security
- legislatively
- administratively
- judicially
expansion of power (19th c.  modern)
“checks” on presidential power
War Powers Resolution (1973)
Presidential Leadership:
formal powers v. informal powers
Chief Executive
general organization:
- Vice-President
- First Lady
- Cabinet
- Executive Office of the President
o National Security Council
o Council of Economic Advisors
o Office of Management & Budget
- White House Staff
o Chief of Staff
o Deputy Chief of Staff
o Press Secretary
Chief Legislator
veto
pocket veto
line-item veto
public support
presidential approval
media attention
Chief Diplomat
executive agreements
commander-in-chief
crisis manager
bully pulpit
senatorial courtesy
presidential coattails
organizational methods:
- pyramidal/hierarchical structure
- circular/wheel-and-spokes structure
- ad hoc/chaotic structure
The Federal Bureaucracy:
“rule by desks”
general roles:
- implementation
- administration
- regulation
general types:
- cabinet departments (& examples)
- independent executive agencies (&
examples)
- independent regulatory commissions (&
examples)
- government corporations (& examples)
history of the “spoils system”
Pendleton Act (1883)
Hatch Act (1939/1993)
Office of Personnel Management
standard operating procedures (SOPs)
administrative discretion
street-level bureaucrats
fragmentation
privatization
deregulation
President’s influence over the bureaucracy
Congress’s influence over the bureaucracy
iron triangles
issue networks
*Don’t forget that your terms are due the day of
the test! 