Ch. 7
The Executive Branch
The President’s Job: Ch. 7.2



The President’s main job is to carry out
the laws passed by Congress.
The Constitution gives the president power
to veto, call Congress into special session,
serve as commander-in-chief, and receive
foreign officials.
The president can also make treaties,
appoint judges and top government
officials, and pardon convicted criminals
Jobs of the President
 The
Constitution also requires the
president to give Congress an update
of the nation with the “State of the
Union” address.
 The
president discusses the most
important issues facing the nation
and describes new legislation he
would liked passed.
Vocabulary





Executive Order – Command that has
the force of law
Executive Agreement – agreement
between president and leader of
another country
Pardon – Declaration of forgiveness
Reprieve – Delay of Punishment
Amnesty – pardon to a group of
people
7 Roles of the President
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Chief Executive
Chief Diplomat
Commander-in-Chief
Chief Legislator
Head of State
Economic Leader
Party Leader
Chief Executive



As Chief Executive, the president is in
charge of 15 cabinet departments and
more than 3 million government workers.
The president appoints the heads of
cabinet departments and large agencies
(Senate must approve)
Ex. Dept. of Defense, State Dept., Dept.
of Treasury
Chief Executive



The president does not have any
legislative powers (can not make laws),
but he can issue executive orders—rules
or commands that have the force of law.
Can be good for the nation—Ex. Order
9981 (1948) desegregates military
Can be detrimental to the country—Ex.
Order 9066 (1942) Japanese American
Internment camps
Chief Executive




The president can appoint federal judges,
including Supreme Court justices.
This is important because the way the Supreme
Court interprets laws greatly affects life in the
U.S.
Most presidents will appoint justices who share
views similar to their own
Influence will be felt long after they leave the
White House
Chief Executive




Besides the power of appointment, the president
does have some judicial powers.
The president can grant pardons, or declarations
of forgiveness and freedom from punishment
The president can also issue a reprieve, an order
to delay a person’s punishment until a higher
court can hear the case.
Can also grant amnesty, a pardon toward a
group of people.
Which of the following is a check by the
executive as Chief executive?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Vetoes Bills
Appoint judges
Issues executive orders
Appoints officials
Chief Diplomat



The president is responsible for directing
foreign policy, or the country’s strategy on
how we deal with foreign nations and the
relationships we build
Directs the U.S. in making key decisions about
how we conduct ourselves in the world
Makes treaties
Chief Diplomat
 Makes
foreign policy
decisions with foreign
leaders
 Makes treaties
 Makes executive
agreements
–Agreement between
president & leader of
another country
–Does not require
Senate approval
Commander-in-Chief



As commander-in-chief, the president is in
charge of all branches of the armed forces.
Congress and the president share the power
to make war. Only Congress can declare
war, but only the president can order
soldiers into battle.
Can order troops to end disturbances within
the U.S
Commander in Chief


Congress has declared war only
5 times, yet presidents have
sent troops into action over
150 times.
After the undeclared Vietnam
War, Congress passed the War
Powers Act (1973)
–The President must inform
Congress he is sending troops
into battle immediately & he
must bring them home after 60
days unless Congress grants an
extension or declares war
Chief Legislator
 Leads
Congress in lawmaking
 Can write a bill but someone in Congress
must introduce
 Gains support for legislation through the
mass media
Chief Legislator




Only Congress may introduce bills, but the
executive branch proposes most legislation.
All presidents have a legislative program that
they want Congress to pass.
The speeches they give to key members of
Congress and the public is done so to build
support for their programs.
The presidents’ staff works on the laws with
members of Congress. Ex. Patriot Act or tax
cuts
Chief Legislator




The president and Congress often disagree.
A main reason for that the president
represents the whole nation. Congress
members only represent their states or
districts
Another reason is that the president can only
serve two terms. Many Congress members
win reelection many times and remain in
office sometimes for decades.
As a result, the president often wants to
move faster on programs than members of
Congress do. (Status Quo v. Change)
Head of State/Chief of State


The president is the living symbol of the U.S.
As head of state, the president is responsible
for hosting visiting foreign leaders and
carrying out ceremonial functions. Ex.
Awarding medals or throwing out the first
pitch at a baseball game.
Economic Leader


As a country’s economic leader, it is the
presidents’ job to ensure that the economy
is prospering.
The president must plan the federal budget
and try to deal with problems such as
unemployment, rising prices (inflation), and
high taxation.

Makes sure the nation prospers

Makes sound fiscal policy
Party Leader



The president is the face of his or her
political party.
Members of the political party work hard to
elect the president into office.
In return, the president gives speeches to
raise campaign money and help fellow party
members win political office in the Senate,
House, and Governor’s seats.
Judicial Leader





Appoints judges who serve for life
Can pardon an individual
Power to give pardons
 Pardons are forgiveness and freedom from
punishment
 Commute sentences – person keeps the
charge but doesn’t have to serve sentence
Can give amnesty to a group
Can delay punishment through a reprieve
What is Amnesty?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Command that has the force of law
Declaration of forgiveness to a felon
Delay of punishment
Pardon to a group of people
Examples of Presidential Amnesties
In 1795 President George Washington
issued an amnesty to all participants in
the Whiskey Rebellion, which involved a
protest by farmers in Pennsylvania against
paying federal taxes
 The power of amnesty was also used by
Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
for more than 10,000 individuals who had
resisted the draft during the Vietnam War.

Bill Clinton’s Pardons
“Pardongate”
Carlos A. Vignali had his sentence for
cocaine trafficking commuted, after
serving 6 of 15 years in federal prison.
 Roger Clinton, the president's halfbrother, on drug charges after having
served the entire sentence more than a
decade before. Roger Clinton would be
charged with drunk driving and
disorderly conduct in an unrelated
incident within a year of the pardon.
 138 more pardons in the last months of
office.
 Bush did the same thing – 189 total plus
11 commutes.

How long is a Senator’s term?
1.
2.
3.
4.
2
4
6
8
years
years
years
years
What is the main purpose of
Congress?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Make Treaties
Make Laws
Approve executive appointments
Approve Treaties
Foreign Policy
Ch 7.3
Making Foreign Policy


1.
2.
3.
4.
Foreign policy is a nations’ overall
plan for dealing with other nations.
There are many goals our country
tries to achieve:
National Security
International Trade
Promotion of World Peace
Promotion of Human Rights and
Democracy
Foreign Policy Bureaucracy
 The
Executive Branch includes a
large foreign policy bureaucracy.
 It
-
includes:
State Department
Department of Defense
Central Intelligence Agency
National Security Council (NSC)
Congress v. the President
 The
president and Congress share
the power to conduct foreign affairs.
 The
president is the chief diplomat
and commander-in-chief, but
Congress has the power to declare
war, prohibit certain military actions,
and spend or withhold money for
defense.
Congress v. the President
 The
Constitution does not make clear
how the executive and legislative
branches can use their powers.
 Because
of this, the branches
compete for control of foreign policy.
Tools of Foreign Policy
Treaties and Executive Agreements
 Treaties are formal agreements between the
governments of two or more countries.



Some treaties, such as NATO (April 1949), are
agreements among nations for mutual defense;
NAFTA was made as an economic free trade
agreement.
The Senate must approve a treaty by a 2/3
vote.
President can however make an executive
agreement with the leader of another country
without Senate approval. Deal with routine
matters
Tools of Foreign Policy
Appointing Ambassadors
 An ambassador is an official
representative of a country’s government.


The president appoints ambassadors, with
Senate approval.
Ambassadors are only sent to countries
where the U.S. accepts the government as
legally in power.
Tools of Foreign Policy
Foreign Aid
 The U.S. gives foreign aid in the
form of money, food, military
assistance, or other supplies to help
other countries.
 Ex.
The Marshall Plan 1947-1951
which helped rebuild Western Europe
after World War II. $13 Billion total.
Tools of Foreign Policy
International Trade
 The president makes agreements with other
nations about what products may be traded
and the rules of trade.


Sometimes the rules include trade
sanctions – efforts to punish another
country by imposing trade barriers.
Another punishing tool is an embargo, an
agreement among a group of nations that
prohibits them all from trading with the
target nation.
Tools of Foreign Policy
 Congress
takes the lead in imposing
tariffs on imported goods and in
joining international trade groups
 One
such trade group is the North
American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA)
Tools of Foreign Policy
Military Force
 As commander-in chief, presidents may
use the military to carry out some foreign
policy decisions that could involve
deploying armed forces or launching
missile attacks.

Powerful tool, but must be used with care.

Ex. Iraq and Afghanistan; Vietnam