Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________ Per.: __________
Chapter 6 (“The President and the Executive Branch”)
6.1 - The President and Vice President
Qualifications for President:
 The job of the U.S. _______________________ is often considered one of the most powerful jobs in the
world. The U.S. President influences many world events.
 According to Article II of the Constitution, there are only three qualifications:
1) ________________________________________
2) ________________________________________
3) ________________________________________
 Until 2008, every other president has been a ________________________ and all but one has been a
__________________________.
 Most have had a ____________________, been _______________ , and are from states with a
_______________________________
 Presidential election “firsts”:
o __________________________ was the first Catholic president and youngest elected (1960).
o __________________________ was our first female vice presidential candidate (1984).
o __________________________ was our first African American candidate to narrowly miss his
party’s nomination (1988).
o __________________________ was the first Jewish vice presidential candidate (2000).
o _________________________ became the first African American President of the USA (2008)
Electing a President:
 Presidential elections take place every _______ years. These years are divisible by the number ______.
 Presidents are not elected by the _______________________. They are actually elected indirectly by a
method called the “________________________.”
 Voters vote in the Presidential election, but this is just to indicate their preferences to the “electors,” who are
_________________________________________________________________.
 The number of electoral voters is determined by the number of _______________ and
__________________________ in each state. There is a total of _____ electors. Although NOT a state,
________________is also given three electoral votes.
 In most states, it is a “___________________________” system. This means that if the candidate wins the
___________ vote of that state, they normally get ALL the electoral votes.
 To be elected president and vice president, the candidates need to win at least _________
out of __________ electoral votes.
 The Electoral College system makes it difficult for ________________ parties to win the presidency.
 The results of the __________________ are not official after the election in November. They are official in the
month of __________________ , when they are confirmed by congress. This is one example of checks and
balances.
 Landmark Supreme Court Case – Bush v. Gore (2000):
o Because the election was too close to call, the Florida Supreme Court demanded a ______________ of
the Florida popular votes for this Presidential Election.
o After a series of lawsuits and media pressure, the ____________________________ decided to
take the case because of its national concern. It deemed that there could not be a fair and equitable way to
recount the votes (the recount violated the 14th Amendment.) As a result, ______ won the 2000
Election.
o How did the impact the US?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Term of Office:
 Presidents serve ______ year terms. Most early presidents followed ____________________’s
example and only served _____ terms
 Only __________________________ served more than two terms (1932 – 1945).
 Today, the ________ Amendment limits the president to only two terms in office. There is a maximum of
______________ in office.
Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________ Per.: __________

The president earns a salary of $___________________ per year plus benefits and expenses. The president
lives and works in the White House and also has access to _____________________, a beautiful retreat in the
mountains of Maryland. It has been the site of many important meetings.
 The president travels on “_______________________” (the presidential airplane). They also have access to
cars, helicopters, and other forms of transportation.
Vice President:
 The _____________________ qualifications for vice-president are identical to that of the president.
 The only real role of the Vice President is to preside over the ___________ (can break a _______ vote if
necessary).
 The most important role is to ________________________________ if necessary (which has
happened _______ in our history)
Presidential Succession:
 The first vice president to assume the role of the president due to a death or illness was
___________________________ in 1841.
 In 1947, the “________________________________________________________” established the
official “presidential succession,” or the order of who takes over. We still felt that we needed more direction...
 The _______ Amendment states that a vice president who assumes the role of president may choose their own
________________________. This must be approved by __________________.
 This amendment also gives the vice president the authority to determine _______
_________________________________________________________________
 This amendment has only been used _________ times in our history… 1973, 1974, and 1985.
 The ___________________ and the _______________ are the second and third persons in line for the
presidency.
Chapter 6.2 – “The President’s Job / Roles of the President”
I.
II.
III.
In the United States, we have a _____________________________. This is a government that is based
on the written plan of government that as stated in the constitution.
Constitutional Power: The Constitution says, “Executive Power shall be invested in a President…”
This means – The main job of the President is to __________, or carry out, the laws passed by Congress.
The president has several jobs to fulfill. In Article II, the Constitution also gives the
President the power to…
i. Veto, or ___________, bills passed in Congress
ii. Call Congress into a special session
iii. Serve as __________________ in _________________ of the Armed Forces
iv. Receive leaders and other officials of foreign countries (w/ _______________ approval)
v. Make ______________________ with other countries ( w/ _______________ approval)
vi. Appoints heads of executive agencies, federal court judges, ambassadors, and other top government
officials (also with the approval of _________________)
vii. ___________________ or reduce the penalties against people convicted of crimes
viii. Required to supply Congress with the “State of the Union”
Role of the President - the president has several roles that they play as the leader of the United States.
a. Chief Executive – Most Important Role!
i. Carry out the laws passed by Congress. The President’s ______________ was created to help the
with this task
An _________________________________ is a rule or command that has the force of law.
1. This power is used by the president to “take care of laws that are faithfully executed.”
2. Some executive orders have a major impact. ..In 1948, President Truman issued an order
to integrate the U.S. Armed Forces.
3. Executive Order #9066 required that Japanese American citizens live in a special area – The
act of making people relocate for a certain amount of time is Forced Internment.
ii. The president is responsible for appointing Heads of the 15 Cabinet Departments.
iii. The President also has the power to appoint federal judges to Federal Courts and justices to the U.S.
Supreme Court (but must receive approval from the Senate).
iv. Finally, the president can grant:
Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________ Per.: __________
1. ______________________ -- declaration of forgiveness and freedom of punishment
2. ______________________ -- order to delay a person’s punishment until a higher court
can hear a case.
3. ______________________ -- a pardon towards a group of people
b. Chief Diplomat / Foreign Policy Leader
i. As Chief Diplomat, the President directs the _____________ of the United States.
ii. This is done by _____________ with leaders of other nations and securing relationships with
other nations – this is also called ________________.
iii. The President utilizes his _____________ and _____________ (people that work for the
government who are assigned to a foreign nation) to create better relation and build
____________ with other countries.
c. Commander in Chief
i. The President has complete control over the armed forces
ii. However, as a part of “checks and balances”, only ____________ has the power to declare war.
iii. Even without the official power to declare war, the President does have the authority to send troops
into action. Since 1789, Presidents have done this over _____ times.
iv. For example, during the conflicts in both _______ and ______, the President got involved in
these conflicts and sent troops into battle without a declaration of war from our Congress.
v. After the Vietnam War, in 1973, Congress passed the “_________________” forced the
President to notify Congress within _____ hours of sending troops overseas.
vi. Additionally, Troops must be back in ____________, unless Congress:
a. __________________________ or
b. __________________________
d. Legislative Leader
i. Most bills that Congress considers each year come from the President or “Executive Branch”. The
President cannot make laws, but he can encourage Congress to pass laws that he supports and
________ laws that he is not in favor of.
ii. Every president creates a “_____________________________,” or a list of new laws that the
President wants Congress to pass.
iii. Why are there conflicts between the President and Congress in getting new laws passed?
1. President represents the entire country, while Congress represents
_____________________________. This causes conflicts from time to time…
2. Time is a major issue, as the president serves a maximum of two terms but members of
Congress have _____________________________.
e. Head of State
i. The President is the “living symbol” of the United States. His or her role is to carry out ceremonial
functions for American citizens.
ii. The president meets and greets foreign leaders and presents medals to our country’s heroes.
iii. The president is interested in _________________ – all things socially, politically, and
economically related to the US.
f. Economic Leader
i. Each president hopes to help the country’s economy prosper.
ii. To do this, the president plans the ________________, a statement of our government’s economic
plans for the year.
g. Party Leader
i. Our current president is the head of the _______________________ party. The president is
considered the leader of their political party.
ii. How can the President help their party?
1. ____________________________ of other candidates
2. ____________________________
3. Use their constant media coverage to get people in the spotlight (free air time).
Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________ Per.: __________
Making Foreign Policy
The President and Foreign Policy:
 __________________________is the overall plan for dealing with other nations.
________________________ is the plan for dealing with the issues/needs within our own borders.
 What are the main goals of the United States’ Foreign Policy?
1. A main goal of this policy is ___________________________, or the ability to keep the country safe
from attack or harm.
2. ___________________________ is also a key goal of the president’s foreign policy. I helps create
new markets for American goods and provides jobs for American workers.
3. Promoting ______________________ helps keep the U.S. safe and our vital trade flowing.
4. To desire to promote _______________________ around the world helps protect our own national
security.
 There are a few bureaucracies that were created to assist the president with foreign policy:
The _____________ Department,
The __________________ Department,
The “____________________________” (or “CIA”), and
The ___________________________________ (or “NSC”).
 Because of conflicting goals, the President and ___________________ often clash over foreign and military
affairs.
 The President and Congress have several tools to help with foreign policy:
o ____________________, or formal agreements between nations are vital tools to manage foreign
policy. The most important for the U.S. today is the “_______________________
_____________________________________” or “NATO”.
o While the senate must approve all treaties, the president can make an “_______________
_______________” with other leaders without congressional approval.
o ____________________, or official representatives of a country’s government are very important in
foreign policy. We have over __________ of them in nations that the United States formally
_______________, or accepts.
o ______________________ to nations in need of money, food, supplies, or military assistance also
helps with foreign policy. One famous example came after World War II in Western Europe with the
“___________________”.
o _________________________ allows the president to make agreements with other nations
concerning trade and trade rules. Two tools that the president can use are
“________________________”, or efforts to punish another nation by imposing trade barrier The
U.S. can place “______________” (or efforts to punish another nation by imposing trade barriers) on
nations if necessary.
o We can also set up an “_____________”, or agreement among a group of nations that prohibit them
all from trading with a target nation.
o ________________________ allows the president to use the military to carry out some of our
foreign policy.
o Utilizing the military as a part of the President’s foreign policy plan can be used to ___________ or
___________ nations. This has been used several times throughout history.
6.4 – Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies
Executive Office of the President:
 The “__________________________________________” (or “EOP”) was created in 1939. It includes
specialists, secretaries, advisers, clerks, etc.
 The “EOP” has approximately ____________________ employees and a budget of over
$________________________ per year.
 The most important parts of the “EOP” are:
o The __________________________________ has about 500 people who work directly for the
president. This office is led by the “_________________” for the president. It is also known as the
“White House Staff”. This staff determines __________________________________and reads
most reports and letters sent to the president (they cannot possibly read everything).
o __________________________________ (“The OMB”) prepares the budget and monitors
hundreds of government agencies. The director reports directly to the president.
Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________________ Per.: __________
o
o
o
__________________________________ helps the president coordinate military and foreign
policy. This department is made up of: _______________________,
_________________________, ___________________________, and the
___________________________________ (a group made up of the top commander from each of
the armed forces).
__________________________________ provides administrative services to all offices of the
president. It deals with people requesting information under the
“________________________________________________” Act.
_________________________________________ (“The CEA”) helps the president carry out the
role of economic leader.
Cabinet:
 The “___________________” is a group of advisors that include the heads of 15 executive departments.
 All department heads carry the title “_____________________.” The only exception for the head of the
Department of Justice, who is called the “______________________”
 In 2002, the “___________________________________” became the newest department to consolidate
our defenses against ___________________ attacks.
 The main responsibility of the Cabinet is to __________________ the president on issues related to their
department.
 Although NOT mentioned in the ____________________________, every president since George
Washington has had a cabinet in one form or another.
The Vice President and the First Lady:
 Although the duties of the vice president are limited, presidents have given them more _________________
through the years.

The “__________________” (or president’s wife) have no set responsibilities in the ________________.
However, they have been very active in different causes throughout the years
The Federal Bureaucracy:


The “________________________” is made up of the millions of employees and agencies that deal with the
many different things that help our nation’s government run.
_____________________ (federal employees) and agencies that help run the U.S. government, turn new
laws into action, and regulate the government.
1. ___________________________________ are independent agencies responsible for
specialized areas. NASA is an example. Although not a part of the president’s cabinet, members of
these agencies are still accountable to the President.
2. ___________________________________ are like private businesses, but they are not for
profit. The U.S. Postal Service is an example.
3. ___________________________________ do not report to the president, but can be
impeached by Congress. Their task is to _____________ the public (like the “FCC”).