Chapter 14: The Presidency in Action Section 1 · 2016-09-20 · Chapter 14: The Presidency in Action Section 3 . Chapter 14, Section 1 Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide

Chapter 14: The Presidency in Action

Section 1

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 2 Chapter 14, Section 1

Objectives

1. Explain why Article II of the Constitution

can be described as “an outline” of the

presidential office.

2. List several reasons for the growth of

presidential power.

3. Explain how the Presidents’ own views

have affected the power of the office.


Key Terms

• Executive Article: the name given to

Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which

establishes the office of the President

• imperial presidency: a critical view of the

presidency that argues that Presidents

have become too powerful, isolated from

Congress, and unaccountable for their

actions


Introduction

• What factors have contributed to the

growth of presidential power?

– The presidency is a unified office with a

focused purpose.

– Congress has granted more authority to the

executive branch.

– The President can act decisively in times of

crisis, increasing his or her influence.

– The support staff of the President has grown

over time.


Article II

• Article II of the Constitution gives the President power to:

– Command the armed forces

– Make treaties

– Approve or veto acts of Congress

– Send or receive diplomats

– “Take care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

• The presidency has been called the “most powerful office in the world.”


Views of the Presidency

• Checkpoint: What two views of the

presidency were debated by the Framers?

– These executive powers are broadly defined

and open to interpretation.

• At the Constitutional Convention, some delegates

argued for a weaker chief executive appointed by

Congress.

• They were defeated by delegates supporting a

strong, independently elected executive.


Growth of Power

• Presidential power has grown over time. Why

has this happened?

– Compared to Congress, the executive branch is a

unified office with one leader, capable of quicker

decisions.

– As the role of the federal government has grown and

the country has endured wars and other major crises,

citizens have looked to the presidency for decisive

leadership.


Growth of Power, cont.

• Congress has delegated authority to the

executive branch to carry out the many

laws passed by the legislative branch.

– Certain Presidents have used the influence of

their office to increase the scope of

presidential power.


Growth of Power, cont.

• The size of the staff supporting the

President has grown, allowing involvement

in more areas of government.

– Presidents have a unique ability to use mass

media—such as radio, television, and the

Internet—to attract public attention to their

policies and goals.


Means of Gaining Power

• The debate continues

over how much power

the President should

have relative to

Congress.

– What is the source of

presidential power as

shown in this political

cartoon?


Gaining Power

• In this cartoon, who is

giving the President

increased powers?


Limits on Power

• Checkpoint: What limits the growth of

presidential power?

– In 1952, the Supreme Court ruled that

President Harry Truman could not use his

powers as commander in chief to take control

of U.S. steel mills during the Korean War.

(Youngstown Sheet & Tube C. v. Sawyer)


Limits on Power, cont.

• In 2006, the Court ruled that President

George W. Bush could not use military

tribunals to prosecute “enemy combatants”

and held that part of his plan violated the

Geneva Conventions and the Uniform

Code of Military Justice. (Hamdan v.

Rumsfeld)


Opposing Views

• Presidents like Theodore Roosevelt have

supported broad powers.

– Roosevelt supported the “stewardship

theory,” arguing that the President should try

to do whatever would help the public, using

whatever powers could be claimed.


Opposing Views, cont.

• Presidents like William

Taft have favored limited

presidential powers.

– Taft felt that Presidents

could not simply assume

powers that they felt

were needed to serve

the people. All

executive power had to

be based clearly on the

Constitution.


Imperial Presidency

• In recent years, some critics claim that the

presidency has grown too powerful.

• They refer to this increase of power as an

imperial presidency because presidents

often take actions without consulting

Congress.


Imperial Presidency, cont.

• Supporters of the imperial presidency

argue that the President often needs to act

more swiftly than would be possible if he

or she had to wait for congressional

approval.


Review

• Now that you have learned about the

growth of presidential power, go back to

the Chapter Essential Question.

– How much power should the President have?


Section 2


Objectives

1. Identify the sources of the President’s

power to execute federal law.

2. Define the ordinance power.

3. Explain how the appointment power

works and describe the limits on the

removal power.

4. Examine the power of executive

privilege.


Key Terms

• executive order: directives, rules, or regulations issued by the President that have the force of law

• ordinance power: the authority to issue executive orders

• executive privilege: a right claimed by some Presidents that allows them to refuse to provide certain information to Congress or the federal courts


Introduction

• What are the executive powers and how were they established?

– The President:

• Executes and interprets the law of the land

• Issues executive orders

• Appoints many public officials

• Removes appointed officials

• Can use executive privilege to withhold information from Congress and the federal courts

– These powers come from the Constitution and from acts of Congress.


The Chief Executive

• The President enforces and carries out all federal laws. This authority comes from two sources:

– The oath of office, which requires the President to “faithfully execute the Office of President” and “protect and defend the Constitution.”

– The constitutional requirement that the President “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”


Interpreting Laws

• Congress passes many laws that set out broad

policies, but do not include specific details for

enforcement.

• The President and other members of the

executive branch must decide how these laws

should be administered and enforced.

• To do so, they must often interpret the intent of

these laws.


The Ordinance Power

• The President can issue executive orders—rules

and regulations that have the force of law. This

is called the ordinance power.

– The President must have this authority in order to use

some of the executive powers granted by the

Constitution.

– In addition, Congress has delegated the authority to

direct and regulate many legislative policies and

programs to the President and the executive branch.


The Appointment Power

• The Constitution grants the President appointment power, the ability to appoint some federal officials.

– This power is necessary to ensure that presidential

policies are carried out.

– The President appoints some 3,000 of the 2.7 million federal workers.

– The majority of the rest are hired according to civil service laws.


Presidential Appointments

• Presidents appoint top-ranking officials such as:

– Cabinet members and their top aides

– Ambassadors and other diplomats

– The heads of independent agencies

– All federal judges, U.S. marshals, and

attorneys

– All officers in the U.S. armed forces

• These appointments must be a approved by a

majority vote of the Senate.


Recess Appointments

• The president can make recess

appointments to fill vacancies when the

Senate is not in session.

– These appointments expire at the end of the

congressional term they were made.

– They are controversial because they allow the

President to bypass the Senate confirmation

process.


The Confirmation Process

• This graphic outlines the process of nominating and approving or rejecting a presidential appointee.

– Under the custom of

senatorial courtesy, the Senate will only approve federal appointees supported by the Senators from their state who belong to the President’s party.


Presidential Appointees

• Presidential

appointees are

sometimes criticized

for lacking

independence and

simply parroting

presidential views.

– How might this

parroting actually

benefit the President?


The Removal Power

• The Constitution does not say how

appointed officers should be removed.

– Some politicians wanted Senate approval

for removals as well as appointments.

– Others argued that the President must

have the power to remove incompetent

appointees.


The Removal Power, cont.

• The First Congress gave the President

the power to remove any appointed

officer except for federal judges.

• Congress tried unsuccessfully to take

the removal power away from President

Andrew Johnson in 1867.



• In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that the

removal power was a key part of the

President’s authority to execute the laws.



• In 1935, the Court ruled Congress can set the

conditions under which members of

independent regulatory agencies, such as the

Federal Trade Commission, may be removed

from office.

– This ruling applies only to a small number of

appointed offices.

– In general, the President can remove whomever they

appoint.


Executive Privilege

• At times, Presidents have refused to reveal

certain information to Congress or the federal

courts.

• Congress has never officially recognized the

right of executive privilege.

– The President’s advisers and staff must be able to

speak freely to give good advice. To do so, they must

believe that their words are confidential unless the

President chooses to reveal them publicly.

– What is the court’s stand on executive privilege?


United States v. Nixon

– However, the Court also ruled that executive privilege cannot be used to prevent evidence from being heard in a criminal proceeding, as that would deny the 6th Amendment guarantee of a fair trial.

• In the 1974 case United States v. Nixon, the Court ruled unanimously that the President could claim executive privilege in matters involving national security.


Review

• Now that you have learned what they

executive powers are and how they were

established, go back to the Chapter

Essential Question.

– How much power should the president have?


Section 3


Objectives

1. Explain how treaties are made and

approved.

2. Explain why and how executive

agreements are made.

3. Summarize how the power of recognition

is used.

4. Describe the President’s powers as

commander in chief.


Key Terms

• treaty: a formal agreement between two or more independent states

• executive agreement: a pact between the President and the head of a foreign state or their subordinates; it has the same standing as a treaty but does not require approval by Congress

• recognition: the act of acknowledging the legal existence of a country and its government

• persona non grata: an unwelcome person


Introduction

• What tools are available to the President to implement

foreign policy?

– Making treaties and executive agreements with foreign

countries

– Recognizing foreign nations

– Recalling American diplomats or expelling foreign

diplomats from U.S. soil

– Ordering the U.S. military to conduct operations on foreign

soil without a formal declaration of war


Chief Diplomat

• The Constitution does not formally give the status of chief diplomat to the President. But two presidential powers play a key role:

– The President is the

commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces.

– The President, usually acting through the secretary of state, negotiates treaties with foreign nations.


Treaties

• Treaties have the same legal status as an act of Congress.

• Congress can repeal a treaty by passing a law that nullifies its provisions.

• An existing law can be repealed by the terms of a treaty.

• A treaty cannot conflict with any part of the Constitution.

• If a treaty and a federal law conflict, the most recently passed measure wins.


Treaties and the Senate

• A two-thirds majority of the Senate must approve all treaties before they go into effect.

– This gives the Senate an important role in shaping

U.S. foreign policy.

– A Senate minority can kill a treaty. In 1920 the Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles.

– Presidents John Tyler and William McKinley each overcame Senate rejections of treaties by getting joint resolutions passed to annex Texas and Hawaii, respectively.


Executive Agreements

• Checkpoint: How do executive

agreements differ from treaties?

– Presidents can make executive agreements

without Senate approval.

– These agreements cannot overrule state or

federal law.

– Executive agreements do not become part of

American law. Only those agreements made

by the current President remain in force.


Power of Recognition

• The President recognizes the legal status of other nations on behalf of the United States.

• Countries usually recognize each other by exchanging diplomatic representatives.


Power of Recognition, cont.

• Out of political necessity, the United States recognizes some nations whose conduct it does not agree with.

• Recognizing a new nation, such as Panama or Israel, can help ensure its success.

• Expelling foreign diplomats or recalling U.S. diplomats from a foreign country is a strong expression of disapproval and sometimes a step toward war.


Commander in Chief

• Presidents delegate many command

decisions to military officers, but

Presidents make the most critical

decisions and have the authority to take

command in the field.


Commander in Chief, cont.

• It is difficult for Congress to challenge

many presidential command decisions.

• President Theodore Roosevelt once sent

the U.S. Navy halfway around the world

without consulting Congress. Legislators

had no choice but to approve funds to

bring the Navy back.


Making Undeclared War

• Only Congress can declare war; however, many U.S. presidents have sent armed forces into combat abroad without a declaration of war:

– John Adams had the U.S. Navy fight French warships in

1798.

– Ronald Reagan ordered the invasion of Grenada in 1983 to block a military coup.

– George H.W. Bush ordered the ouster of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega in 1989.

– Bill Clinton sent troops to the Balkans in the 1990s.

– How might a President exercise the role of commander in chief?


Congressional Resolutions

• Congress has not declared war since World

War II.

• However, Congress has passed eight joint

resolutions authorizing the President to use

military force abroad, such as:

– In 1955, Congress let President Dwight Eisenhower

position the U.S. Navy to block Chinese aggression toward

Taiwan.

– The Iraq Resolution of 2002 authorized the use of force

against Iraq.


Power Over the Years

• At times Presidents

have sought

Congressional

approval for the

use of military

force, while other

times they have

not.


War Powers Resolution

• Checkpoint: Why did Congress enact the

War Powers Act?

– The results of the undeclared Vietnam War

led Congress to pass the War Powers

Resolution of 1973.

– There is still a debate over whether this

Resolution is constitutional or not.


War Powers Act

• The War Powers Act states that the President can commit military forces to combat only

– If Congress has declared war, OR

– If Congress has authorized military action, OR

– If an attack on the nation or its armed forces has taken place. In this case, Congress must be notified within 48 hours and can end the commitment of troops at any time.


Review

• Now that you have learned about the tools

available to the President to implement

foreign policy, go back and answer the

Chapter Essential Question.



Section 4


Objectives

1. Explain the President’s legislative

powers and how they are an important

part of the system of checks and

balances.

2. Describe the President’s major judicial

powers.


Key Terms

• pocket veto: a method of killing a bill at the end of a congressional session by not acting on it before Congress adjourns

• line-item veto: the power to cancel out specific provisions, or line items, in a bill while approving the rest of the measure

• reprieve: the postponement of the carrying out of a criminal sentence


Key Terms, cont.

• pardon: the legal forgiveness of a crime

• clemency: the power of mercy or leniency

• commutation: the power to reduce a fine

or the length of a sentence imposed by a

court

• amnesty: a blanket pardon offered to a

group of law violators


Introduction

• How can the President check the actions of the

legislative and judicial branches?

– By using the message power to influence Congress to

pass desired legislation

– By vetoing bills passed by Congress

– By issuing signing statements

– By pardoning citizens accused or convicted of crimes

– By reducing fines or the length of sentences

– By granting amnesty to groups of people


Legislative Powers

• As party chief, the President can greatly influence Congress.

• The President sends messages to Congress to suggests legislation.

• There are three major messages a year: • The State of the Union, delivered to a joint

session of Congress.

• The President’s budget message

• The Annual Economic Report


Veto Power

• Checkpoint: What options are available to

the President when presented with a bill?

– Every bill or measure requiring the consent of

both House and Senate must be submitted to

the President.


Veto Power, cont.

– In response, the President can:

• Sign the bill into law

• Veto the bill

• Allow the bill to become

law by not acting upon it

within ten days

• Exercise a pocket veto

at the end of a

congressional session

by not acting on the bill

before Congress

adjourns in under 10

days.

President Ford prepares to address

the nation about his decision on

vetoing a tax cut.


Overriding a Veto

• Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds

majority, but this rarely happens.

– It is difficult to gather enough votes in each house for

a veto override.

– The mere threat of a veto can often defeat a bill or

cause changes to its provisions.

– Early Presidents rarely exercised the veto, but it is

common today.


When the President and the majority of Congress are of the same party, vetoes tend to

be rare. They tend to be more frequent during periods of divided government. Do you

think the veto gives the President too much authority?


Signing Statements

• Signing statements describe how a new law should be enforced or point out problems that the President sees with the law.

• Presidents may issue signing statements when signing a bill into law.


Singing Statements, cont.

• President George W.

Bush issued a record

number of signing

statements.

– He claimed the power to

refuse to enforce certain

provisions of a law or to

interpret it as he saw fit.

– Critics saw this as an

attempt to veto bills without

exercising a formal veto.


Line-Item Veto

• The President can either accept all of a bill

or reject all of it.

• The Supreme Court has ruled that the line-

item veto power can only be given to the

President by a constitutional amendment.

– How is a line-item veto different from a regular

veto?


Line-Item Veto, cont.

• The proposed line-item veto would allow the President to cancel out some parts of a bill while approving others.

– Supporters argue that this would cut down on wasteful federal spending.

– Opponents argue that the line-item veto would shift too much power from the legislative branch to the executive branch.


Judicial Powers

• The President can grant pardons and reprieves

in federal cases.

– The President can pardon people before they have

even been tried or convicted, though this is rare.

• President Gerald Ford famously pardoned former

President Nixon in 1974 before Nixon had

been tried.

– A person must accept a pardon for it to go

into effect.

• The Supreme Court upheld this rule in 1915.


Judicial Powers, cont.

• Checkpoint: What powers are included under the power to pardon?

– The President can commute, or reduce, a fine or prison sentence.

– The President can also issue a blanket amnesty that pardons a group of people.

• In 1893, President Benjamin Harrison pardoned all Mormons who had violated polygamy laws.

• In 1977, President Jimmy Carter gave amnesty to all Vietnam War draft evaders.


Review

• Now that you have learned about the way

in which the President can check the

actions of the legislative and judicial

branches, go back and answer the

Chapter Essential Question.


Documents

Chapter 14: The Presidency in Action Section 1 · 2016-09-20 · Chapter 14: The Presidency in Action Section 3 . Chapter 14, Section 1 Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide