Dean Lothrop
March 21, 2011
Period 5
Unit 4 Study Guide
To date, we as a country have not had a female President. The must be of at least 35 years
old and they must be a citizen of the United States. They can only serve 2, 4 year terms. They
can be impeached.
The President is gaining more and more power throughout time even though the system of
checks and balances is put in place. President Bush had over 300 signing statements, more than
any previous president.
Throughout history, depending on the President, the public either wants a President who is
stronger or one who isn’t as strong. It pretty much comes down to the opposite of which is in
office. But undoubtedly, the role and responsibilities have expanded.
Cabinet advises the president
With the Presidents power to appoint administrators, it allows him to distribute tasks in the white
house. The National Security Council, council of economic advisors and the office of
management and budget all help delegate power.
In congress the President has the ability to veto bills. He sometimes goes public with his
legislation in order to put pressure on congress to pass his ideas. Recently the President hasn’t
represented the majority in congress so he has had to do some convincing in order to get some of
his policies passed.
The President is in control of the army and is highly responsible for peace treaties around the
world. In armed force affairs, everyone leans on him for direction. The war powers resolution
made it harder for the President to control complete power over war. He has to report within the
first 48 hours and report every 60 days. If congress doesn’t approve, then the troops are removed.
The President sometimes goes directly to the public on popular issues in order to gain support
and put pressure on congress. The President doesn’t always have public approval from everyone,
everyone has their own views and support is always divided
The President is always in the spotlight and he ALWAYS has to go through the press in some
sort of way in order to talk to the public. The President and the press usually don’t see eye to eye
because everyone has their own personal bias so the president isn’t always seen in a positive
light.
It is set up to make sure that the President doesn’t and can’t obtain absolute power which is why
our government is set up the way it is, with 3 parts of government. This prevents what Britain did
to us. In recent years the President has been against growth in government, this could be a reason
the President continues to gain power.
Politics influences each the Presidency because they want to do what they think is right for the
country but they also want to do what they can to be re-elected.
Gridlock occurs when different parties control majority in the House and in Senate
Key Terms
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 (50 U.S.C. 1541–1548) was a United States Congress
joint resolution providing that the President can send U.S. armed forces into action abroad only
by authorization of Congress or if the United States is already under attack or serious threat. The
War Powers Resolution requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing
armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days,
with a further 30 day withdrawal period, without an authorization of the use of military force or a
declaration of war. The resolution was passed by two-thirds of Congress, overriding a
presidential veto.
The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a group of three economists who advise the
President of the United States on economic policy.
A National Security Council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body
responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on
matters related to national security.
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity and the
outcome of which, depending on the country, can lead to the removal of that official from office
or other punishment
A veto, or in Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop a piece
of legislation.
Multiple Choice
19) A pocket veto is a technique that allows the president to
A. Kill legislation presented to him within ten days of the adjournment of Congress
B. Kill legislation without calling attention to his point of view
C. Communicate his dislike for a bill before it leaves committee
D. Send a bill back to both houses for further consideration
E. Veto part of a bill, but allow other parts to become law
23) As compared to the powers outlined in the Constitution, the powers of the modern
presidency are
A) Far greater
B) Far more restricted
C) About the same
D) Greater in domestic affairs, but about the same in foreign affairs
E) Greater in foreign affairs, but about the same in domestic affairs
24) Which of the following presidential powers is NOT specifically mentioned in the
Constitution?
A) Power as commander in chief
B) Power of diplomatic recognition
C) Power to issue executive orders
D) Power to sign treaties
E) Power to appoint ambassadors and other public officers
27) A presidential veto of a legislative bill
A) Is overridden by a 2/3 vote of either house of Congress
B) Is countered by 5 of 9 Supreme Court justices
C) Is overridden by a majority of both houses of Congress
D) Is rarely overridden by Congress
E) Can be challenged by a legislative veto
28) Presidential claims to executive privilege are based on
A) 1st Amendment rights
B) “Advice and consent” restrictions on the Senate
C) The Constitutional principle of separation of powers
D) The Constitutional principle of federalism
E) The powers given to the president through his election by the people
30) The president’s main goal in giving his State of the Union message to Congress is usually to
A) Warn Congress not to overspend the budget
B) Challenge recent Supreme Court decisions that might limit his power
C) Set the agenda of issues that the nation and the government should address
D) Explain to the American public how the government plans to spend its money for the
fiscal year
E) Communicate to other countries that they should not challenge the power and
authority of the United States government.
31) The U.S. president currently does not have the line-item veto because
A) Congress took the power away from President Clinton
B) The president has never had the power of line-item veto
C) States have protested the line-item veto as an abuse of federalism
D) Presidents have not sought the power
E) The Supreme Court ruled the line-item veto unconstitutional
35) Historically, vice presidents have been chosen for the party presidential ticket primarily
based on
A) Their qualifications to succeed to the presidency if necessary
B) Their ability to lead the Senate as its president
C) The approval of the House of Representatives
D) Their ability to help the ticket in terms of experience, ideology, or geography
E) Their ability to serve as president-pro-tempore
39) The most important reason that most presidents do not treat their cabinets as advisory bodies
is that cabinet secretaries
A) Are generally appointed from the opposition party
B) Seek to defend and promote their departments in meeting with the president
C) Generally dislike one another because most have ambitions to be president
D) Have everyday access to the president during one-on-one meetings
E) Do not have much power over decisions that their agency heads make
43) Signing statements have been used by presidents to
A) Provide an interpretation of the law to guide agencies in enacting the law
B) Publicly state support or disapproval of Supreme Court decisions
C) Inform Congress that they will veto a bill if passed
D) Inform Congress of the need for a conference about the bill
E) Control the amount of pork projects passed by Congress
FRQ
“The greatest source of presidential power is not to be found in the Constitution but in politics
and public opinion”
Assess the accuracy of this statement in terms of how Presidents attempt to achieve their policy
goals as they deal with two of the following: Congress, the courts, the bureaucracy.
Explanation
19) A- A pocket veto is where the president has the opportunity to just not acknowledge a piece
of legislation but only within 10 days of adjournment. He basically can just end it without
anyone else’s say
23) A- Over the years the president has increasingly gain power and it is pretty obvious.
Originally the writers of the Constitution and the founding fathers were afraid of tyranny but
now times are changed
24) C- The president doesn’t have the specific power to issue executive orders because he
doesn’t have complete power according to the Constitution
27) D- When a president vetoes a bill it is usually for good reason and it is hard to overturn his
veto which is why it is rarely overturned
28) C- Executive privilege is based on the fact that he is in control of what he is designated
which is a prime example of separation of powers
30) C- The main goal of the State of the Union is simply to set the agenda for the upcoming year
31) E- The president doesn’t have line item veto because of Clinton v. City of New York which
ruled against it in 1996 with a 6-3 vote.
35) D- Vice Presidents are chosen in order to help gain votes for their party
39) B- There is some bias in terms of what the secretaries of each cabinet want to achieve.
43) A- The president can interpret the law in his own way and have people carry it out the way
he wants it to
FRQ- Presidents are allowed to do whatever they want as long as the people agree with him. Our
country is built strongly on saying the right things instead of doing the right things. Many
politicians and Presidents will say that they will do many things in order to get elected but that is
not found in the Constitution. The power falls with the people because when the president goes
public it almost forces Congress to back him, especially if he has a lot of public support. He has
control over the bureaucracy because he elects the officials so in a way they carry out the
policies and views which he also shares.