Government Institutions
Presidency
Congress
Supreme Court
Bureaucracy
Chief Executive
• Elected by the American
people
▫ Popular vote informs the
electoral college
▫ Each state has # votes
equal to its total
representatives in
Congress
▫ Winner-takes-all system
▫ Can win popular vote
and NOT the presidency!
• Other members of the
executive branch:
▫ Vice President
▫ Cabinet Secretaries
▫ Independent Regulatory
Agencies & Committees
Qualifications & Terms
• 35 years old
▫ TR youngest (42, but
assumed office from VP
position)
▫ JFK 2nd youngest (43, but
elected)
▫ Reagan oldest (69)
• Natural born citizen
• Resident past 14 years
• Serve 4-year terms
▫ Possibility for reelection
▫ Can serve 2 terms
[Amendment 22, passed
1947; ratified 1951]
 FDR served 4!
Constitutional Roles
• Implementing & administering
public policy
• Commander-in-Chief
• Negotiate treaties with advice &
consent of Senate
• Appoint ambassadors, consuls, &
judges
• Veto legislation
• Grant pardons
• Receive ambassadors
• Prepare budget, which is
approved by Congress
Other Important Abilities
• Not written in the Constitution
• Emergency Powers – special powers in times of national emergency
▫ Example: FDR issued Executive Order 9066, directing Japanese internment in
WWII; upheld by Supreme Court in Korematsu vs. United States
• Executive Privilege – can withhold information from the public,
Congress, & courts in matters of national security
▫ Private conversations critical to presidents ever since Washington
▫ Causes tension with legislative branch & judiciary
▫ Challenged by Nixon’s Watergate scandal
• Executive Order – rule or order issued to an executive branch of
government having the rule of law
▫ Can be used for domestic affairs not designated to Congress [i.e. no
commerce rules]
▫ Example 1: Emancipation Proclamation
▫ Example 2: Executive Order 13514, signed by President Obama Oct. 5, 2009
set sustainability goals for federal agencies & focused on making
improvements in their environmental, energy, and economic performance
Reduce waste
Support sustainable communities
Reduce petroleum consumption
Required federal agencies to submit 2020 greenhouse gas consumption targets
within 90 days
 Requires agencies to measure, manage, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
towards those targets
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Classwork:
1. Federalist #70 – “The Executive
Department Further Considered” by
Alexander Hamilton
▫
Argues for the unitary executive provided
for in the Constitution
2. Cost of the Presidency
▫
See how much it costs to be president
3. Data Analysis: Public Opinion
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What factors create a popular president?
HW: Short Essay – What do you think are the
most influential factors in determining a
president’s popularity rating today?
Bicameral Legislature
• House of
Representatives
▫ 435 members
▫ # of reps apportioned
to states based on
population
▫ 2-year terms
▫ 25 years old
• Senate
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100 members
2 per state
6-year terms
30 years old
Constitutional Roles
▫ Enacting laws
▫ Appropriating money (power
of the purse / budget)
▫ Taxation
▫ Senate approves treaties
▫ Declare war
▫ Raise army or navy
▫ Regulate commerce
▫ Establish rules of immigration
▫ Establish federal courts
▫ Coin money
▫ Postal service
Other Powers
• Impeachment – initiated by House & tried by
Senate
▫ Remove presidents or judges from office
▫ Only 3 presidents ever impeached
▫ None removed through impeachment
• Confirm major presidential appointments
• Oversight of bureaucracy
▫ Investigations [Committee Hearings; ClintonLewinsky hearings]
▫ Publish reports [Senate Select Intelligence
Committee Report on the CIA Detention &
Interrogation Program]
▫ Control budget
Classwork
• Data Analysis: Incumbent Advantage
• Realistic Representation Reading &
Discussion
Homework
• Current Event: Congress
Composition
• Justices serve life terms
▫ Controversial to AntiFederalists
▫ Not a tyrannical threat –
won’t be loyal to
president
• Chief Justice John
Roberts
▫ Buffalo, NY
▫ January 27, 1955
• Antonin Scalia
▫ Trenton, NJ
▫ March 11, 1936
• Anthony M Kennedy
▫ Sacramento, CA
▫ July 23, 1936
• Clarence Thomas
▫ Pin Point, GA
▫ June 23, 1948
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg
▫ Brooklyn, NY
▫ March 15, 1933
• Stephen G Breyer
▫ San Francisco, CA
▫ August 15, 1938
• Samuel Anthony Alito, JR
▫ Trenton, NJ
▫ April 1, 1950
• Sonia Sotomayor
▫ Bronx, NY
▫ June 25, 1954
• Elena Kagan
▫ New York, NY
▫ April 28, 1960
Responsibilities
• Interpret the constitution
• Judicial Review – enables Court to declare
laws or actions unconstitutional
▫ Established by case Marbury vs. Madison
▫ No enforcement mechanism = compliance
can be difficult
Classwork
• Landmark Supreme Court Cases
Homework
• Make-Up Work
Part of Executive Branch
• Technically under authority of Congress
(budget, regulations, enforcing their laws, etc.)
& the President.. But:
▫ Independent regulatory agencies
▫ Difficulties in oversight
▫ Rogue agencies
• Leaders are not elected
▫ Cabinet officials appointed by President for his
(or her!) term
▫ Heads of agencies appointed as well
▫ Congressional approval required
The Cabinet
• 15 advisors to the president
1.
2.
3.
4.
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6.
7.
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11.
12.
13.
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15.
State
Treasury
Agriculture
Defense
Interior
Justice
Commerce
Labor
Housing & Urban Development
Transportation
Health & Human Services
Education
Energy
Veterans’ Affairs
Homeland Security
Independent Regulatory Agencies
• Implement & enforce policies (laws passed by Congress)
• Created by Congress to address concerns that go beyond scope of
ordinary legislation
• Ensure government & economy run smoothly
• Exist outside of a federal executive department (Cabinet dept.)
• Examples:
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Central Intelligence Agency
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Environmental Protection Agency
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Election Commission
National Aeronautics & Space Administration
Federal Trade Commission
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Food & Drug Administration
Centers for Disease Control
Postal Service
Selective Service System
Small Business Administration
Social Security Administration
National Science Foundation
Classwork
• Organization of the Bureaucracy Reading
• Cabinet Departments Flash Cards
• Regulatory Agencies Video
Homework
• Finish Vocabulary
• Study for Unit Exam