The
Executive
and
Article II
Judicial
Branches
Article III
Unit 3
Organization of the
Executive Branch
3-1
3-1
Basics of Executive
• Carries out the laws
• Grows larger with each new law
• Includes:
– President- 4 year term, he chooses Vice
President as a running mate
– Vice-President: is a member of the Presidents
Cabinet, is President of the Senate
– 15 Cabinet Level Executive Departments:
Cabinet heads appointed by the President
• Civil Service System
3-1
Role of the President
• Elected every 4 years
• Elected by electoral college, not direct
election
• Requirements: must be: native born, U.S.
Citizen, 35 years old, and have lived in the
US for 14 years.
• Oath: I do solemnly swear that I will
faithfully execute the Office of President
of the United States and will to the best of
my ability, preserve, protect and defend
the Constitution of the United States.
3-1
Role of the President
• Commander in Chief:
– Directs the military
– Makes military decisions on the advice of
commanders
– Can grant pardons
• Chief Diplomat:
– May negotiate treaties with approval of the
Senate
– Establishes a Foreign policy –
– Appoints Ambassadors
3-1
Role of the President
• Chief Executive:
– Administer the government
– Appoint officials, some with Senate approval
– May issue Executive Orders –
– Sets Domestic Policy –
– Influences legislation
3-1
Role of the Vice-President
• Second in line for the job
• President of the Senate
–
• Advisor to the President
3-1
Other Parts of Executive
• Presidential Cabinet:
– The Cabinet and independent federal
agencies are responsible for the day-to-day
enforcement and administration of federal
laws.
• Law Enforcement:
– The executive branch executes the law.
The President is responsible for
implementing and enforcing the laws
written by Congress
• Foreign Relations:
–
• Regulatory Agencies:
–
The Electoral
College
3-2
3-2
Electoral College
• Each state gets electors equal to their
number of Senators plus the number
of Representatives
– Ohio: Senators
Representatives
Total Electors
2
16
18
• Each candidate chooses electors to
represent him/her
• Electors that win the popular vote in
that state get the right to vote for
president
3-2
Electoral College
• In most states, it is all-or-nothing,
meaning the candidate gets ALL of
the electors, regardless of the margin
of victory
2012 Electoral Map
3-2
Original Reasons for the
Electoral College
• Concerns about the education of
people and communication problems
• FEDERALISM – the power of the
state is important
• Feared that only the most populated
states would get to choose the
President
3-2
Con’s of the Electoral
College
• The possibility of electing a president
that has not gotten a majority of the
popular vote
• The risk of “faithless” electors
– Electors who change their vote
– But many states have laws against this
• Lower voter turnout due to lack of
understanding
2004 Election
One hand equals a
candidate visit in
the last 5 weeks
before the election
One $ equals one
million dollars
spent
campaigning
3-2
Pro’s of the Electoral
College
• Requires a distribution of support in
order to be elected
– The President is not elected by:
•Big states only, or
•Urban areas only
• Encourages the two-party system
and political stability
Review of 3-2
Write the questions in your notes, leaving space for the answers
1. How are the number of electors for a state
determined?
2. How are a state’s electoral votes awarded?
3. What is meant by “favored son” and how did it
lead to the development of the Electoral
College?
4. What is a “faithless elector” and is it a big risk?
5. How does the Electoral College encourage
lower voter turnout?
6. How does the Electoral College prevent the big
states from dominating the election?
Review of 3-2
1. How are the number of electors for a state
determined?
The electors are equal to the number of Senators plus
the number of Representatives
2. How are a state’s electoral votes awarded?
The winner of the state’s popular vote gets the right
to vote for president. Winner-take-all in most states
Review of 3-2
3. What is meant by “favored son” and how did it
lead to the development of the Electoral
College?
Favored son means people would just vote for the
person from the home state and the result would be
the state with the largest population picking the
President
4. What is a “faithless elector”? Is it a big risk?
A Faithless Elector is one that does not vote for the
person that they promised to represent. It is not a
big risk because most states have laws preventing it.
Review of 3-2
5. How can the Electoral College lead to lower
voter turnout?
People do not understand and decide not to vote
because they think their vote doesn’t count.
6. How does the Electoral College prevent the big
states from dominating the election?
A candidate must get a distribution of support to get
elected (must win some states in the middle)
The Judicial Branch
3-3
3-3
Purpose of the Judicial
• Settles disputes about the laws
• Courts at different levels hear cases
and judge them against the
Constitution and other legal
precedents.
– Precedent – an example that sets a
standard
• Cases can be appealed to a higher
court for review
3-3
Levels of Federal Courts
• District Courts
– At least one per state
• Courts of Appeals
– 12 courts nationwide that hear appeals
of district court decisions
• Supreme Court
– Final court of appeals for both state
and federal courts
3-3
Supreme Court
• Justices are appointed for life
– 9 justices
• President nominates Justices
– Nominees must be approved by the
Senate
• The Court decides which appeals cases to
hear
Current Members of the Supreme Court
(Chief Justice John Roberts)
3-3
Judicial Review
• Judicial Review is the power to overturn
any law that the court decides is in conflict
with the Constitution
• This power is NOT in the Constitution
• Marbury v. Madison (1803) set the
precedent for the Supreme Court to be
able to strike down a law as
unconstitutional
Word Scramble bank
Supreme court, cabinet, nine justices,, comissioner,
court of appeals, civil service, district court, governor,
low turn out, four years, regulatory agencies, trustees,
electoral college, senate, sheriff, executive order,
thirty five, legislative branch, checks, diplomat, head
of military, judicial branch, balance, pardon, Marbury
v Madison, executive branch, ambassador
Cross word Bank
Judicial Review, Marbury V Madison, District Court,
Pardon, Senate, Sheriff, Nine, Ambassador, four
years, commissioners, cabinet, executive order,
electoral college, thirty five, court of appeals,
precedent, civil service, trustees