The President’s Role in the
American Constitutional System
UNIT FOUR LESSON 23
The President’s Constitutional Duties
 Article II – the “Executive Power”
 Commander in Chief
 Head of the Executive Branch
 Granting Reprieves and Pardons
 Making treaties
 with Senate confirmation
 Nominating ambassadors & federal judges
 with Senate confirmation
 Recommend legislation
 Receive legislation passed by Congress
 Receive ambassadors & other diplomats
How has the Presidency
evolved?
 Occupants of the White House have varied and so has the
presidency under their lead
 POWERFUL PRESIDENTS: Washington, Jefferson, Jackson,
Lincoln, TRoosevelt, Wilson, FDRoosevelt, Kennedy
 Used their position to create changes they believed necessary for the
United States to grow/stay strong
 They expanded the power of the presidency and its role within the
government
 “Feeble” presidency: GW Bush, Carter, Ford, Coolidge, Taft
 Did not lead with authority
 Let Congress take the lead
Foreign Policy Role
 Commanding the Armed Forces
 Military can be used to defend the US and as a threat to help persuade
other countries to comply with US policy
 Can send US troops abroad – for various reasons
 Making Treaties
 Agreements with other nations – can be economic and/or defensive
 Must be approved by the Senate
 Appointing Ambassadors
 The president decides who represents the US in foreign countries
 Must be approved by the Senate
 Are the voice/face of the US in the country they are assigned to
 Receiving Ambassadors
 Accept ambassador as the voice of their nation – work through them
 Refusal to accept ambassador is an insult/can destableize a nation
Presidential Powers during War
 During war, presidents exercise powers NOT given
to them in the Constitution
 Cleveland – deployed federal troops during railroad strike
 FDRoosevelt – Lend Lease Act
 Truman – Gov’t operated steel plants during Korean War
 Supreme Court has tried, at times, to rein in
powers of the president during war
 SC ruled Truman exceeded powers in taking over steel plants
 SC debated powers of the president (funding) in the Vietnam war
 SC ruled GWBush exceeded his powers in created special military
commissions for ‘detainees’
Expansion of Presidential Powers
 The presidency has grown in power in recent decades
 US citizens expect our president to act in time of crisis
 The people look to the president for help
 Expansion of executive duties/authority
 People want strong assertive leader
 These leaders have expanded their powers
 Constitution is very broad on presidential powers
 Interpretation of job
 Expansion of the president recommending legislation
 As party leader, the president sets the agenda & suggests legislation
 Executive Orders are used far more in recent years
 Used to fill in the blanks in laws passed by Congress
 Executive Branch has assumed the duties of state and local governments
 Education, health car, transportation
Limiting the powers of the President
 Rejection of the President’s agenda
 FDR Court Stacking plan
 Asserting Constitutional Authority
 War Powers Act (1973) requires Congressional approval
 Refusing to Ratify Treaties
 Treaty of Versailles
 Refusing to Confirm Presidential Appointments
 Supreme Court nominee – Robert Bork
 Refusing to fund Presidential Programs
 Congress refusing funding for Johnson’s plan for Vietnam
 Removing the President from Office
 Impeachment
How Presidency differs from a
Prime Minister
 In a MULTIPARTY system, the legislative branch
chooses the Prime Minister (same party)
 Cabinet members are usually members of Parliament
 This ties the two branches together
 In the US (2 Party system), the President is elected
independently from the legislative branch
 President and majority party in either house of Congress may
be from different parties
 Constitution DOES NOT require Congress to pass legislation
from the leader, nor ratify treaties
 President’s actions are open to review, might be declared
unconstitutional
 President serves a fixed 4 year term, limited to 2 terms or 10
years
Review Questions
 What factors explain the growth of presidential power during
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the nation’s history
Has Congress relinquished too much power to the president?
How is the system of chicks and balances designed to limit the
exercise of presidential power?
How well does the system of chicks and balances work? Why?
How can public opinion affect presidential power?
How would you define a “feeble” executive? In what ways
might a feeble executive be as dangerous as an overly
“energetic” executive?
What are the differences between a president and a prime
minister?