EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES Table of
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES Table of Contents Part 1 – Legislative Branch Basics Part 2 – President Part 3 – Electoral College Part 4 – Presidents Powers Part 5 – Presidential Cabinet
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 1. EXECUTIVE BRANCH BASICS The Executive Branch was created at the Constitutional Convention held in 1787. The Founding Fathers wanted the job of the President to be strong but have many limits (checks and balances) placed on the power of the Presidency.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 1. EXECUTIVE BRANCH BASICS George Washington, the first elected President was inaugurated (sworn in) in New York City on April 30, 1789.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 1. EXECUTIVE BRANCH BASICS Article II of the Constitution describes the Executive Branch. Article II consists of 4 sections. The Executive Branch is headed by the President. The main job of the Executive Branch is to make sure federal laws are carried out and enforced.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 2. PRESIDENT Qualifications for being President 1) Natural born Citizen 2) 35 years old 3) Must live in U. S. 14 years prior to the election. Qualifications for the Vice-President and President are the same.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 2. PRESIDENT Term of Office Presidents serve a 4 year term in office. Originally, Presidents could serve as many terms as they wanted. 22 nd Amendment (1951) limits the President to a maximum of 2 elected terms.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 2. PRESIDENT Term of Office - con't George Washington set a tradition that Presidents should only serve 2 terms. Franklin D. Roosevelt broke that tradition and was elected 4 times. Barack Obama is the 44 th President of the United States. Joseph Biden is the Vice-President.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 2. PRESIDENT Benefits and Privileges President is paid $400, 000 a year. The President receives an allowance for clothes, traveling, and miscellaneous things. President lives in the White House, uses Air Force One, and Camp David.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 2. PRESIDENT Presidential Order of Succession If the President dies/resigns/disabled then Vice-President takes over. 8 times Presidents have died in office. 1 President has resigned. The first time the order of succession was used in 1841 when William H. Harrison died in office.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 2. PRESIDENT Presidential Order of Succession - con't The 25 th Amendment (1967) clarifies the Presidential order of succession. If there is no Vice - President the President must pick someone and Congress must approve. The 25 th Amendment also discusses when the Vice – President can become Acting President.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES # Office Current officer 1 Vice President of the United States Joe Biden (D) Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) 3 President pro tempore of the Senate Patrick Leahy (D) 4 Secretary of State John Kerry (D) 5 Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew (D) 6 Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (R) 7 Attorney General Eric Holder (D) — Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell (D)[a] 8 Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (D) 9 Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker (D) 10 Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez (D) 11 Secretary of Health and Human Kathleen Sebelius (D) Services 12 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan (D) 13 Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx (D) 14 Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (D) 15 Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (D) 16 Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki (I) 17 Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson (D) 2. PRESIDENT 2 Presidential Order of Succession - con't Presidential Succession Act of 1947, discusses the Line of Succession which is only used when something happens to both the President and Vice President at the same time. Line of Succession has never been used. 1. Naturalized U. S. citizen born in the United Kingdom. 1. Speaker of the House 2. President Pro Tempore 3. Secretary of State 4. Secretary of the Treasury 5. Secretary of Defense 6. Attorney General 7. Secretary of the Interior 8. Secretary of Agriculture 9. Secretary of Commerce 10. Secretary of Labor 11. Secretary of Health and Human Services 12. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 13. Secretary of Transportation 14. Secretary of Energy 15. Secretary of Education 16. Secretary of Veterans Affairs 17. Secretary of Homeland Security
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 3. ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM Election Day is the 1 st Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Inauguration Day is the day the President is sworn into office it is January 20 th Amendment (1933) moved date of inauguration to January 20 th, the original inauguration day was March 4 th.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 3. ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM The method for electing the President is called the Electoral College System. It was improved by the 12 th Amendment (1804). Electoral College System Each state has a number of Electoral Votes equal to the number of Senators and Representatives added together. EXAMPLE: Arizona 2 Senators 9 Representatives 11 Electoral Votes / Electors
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 3. ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM Electors are chosen by each state and actually cast the official votes. If a Presidential candidate wins that states popular votes it gets ALL of that states Electoral Votes its called a Winner Take All System. Except in Nebraska (5 votes) and Maine (4 votes), which distributes their electoral votes by population.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 3. ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM The winner of the election is the candidate that receives a majority of all the Electoral Votes. Total Number of Electoral Votes 100 Senators 435 Representatives 3 Washington D. C. (23 rd Amendment) (1961) 538 Total Electoral Votes *270* votes is a majority and is the minimum necessary to become President.
2008 Presidential Election Results
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 3. ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM Before the 12 th Amendment (1804) whichever candidate had the most became President, whoever came in second became Vice-President. 12 th Amendment put the President and Vice-President on the same ticket on ballot. Why was this Amendment passed?
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 3. ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM If no candidate receives a majority of the Electoral votes this is called a deadlock. The House of Representatives picks President from 3 highest vote candidates, each state gets 1 vote in the House. 1800 Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr 1824 John Q. Adams over Andrew Jackson
ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 3. ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM 1876 Rutherford B Hayes won the Electoral vote by 1 Electoral vote. (185 – 184) Becoming the closest election in history. 1888 Benjamin Harrison won the Electoral vote but Grover Cleveland had more popular votes. 2000 George W. Bush won the Electoral vote (271 – 267) but Al Gore had more popular votes.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 4. PRESIDENTS POWERS The President: * Oversees approximately 4 million people who work in government jobs with over 1 million in the military. * Must give a yearly State of the Union Address. The State of the Union Address is a speech explaining their plan for the next year. * Directs foreign policy. This is how the U. S. relates to other countries. * Appoints Ambassadors, Judges, and Cabinet members who must be approved by the Senate.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 4. PRESIDENTS POWERS The President: * Commander in Chief overseeing the use of the military. *Can make a Treaty with a foreign country with the approval of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 4. PRESIDENTS POWERS The President: * Can grant a pardon, excused of a crime. * Can grant a reprieve, delay or reduce a sentence. * Can grant amnesty, by pardoning a group of people. * Can sign a bill creating a law or veto a bill.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 5. PRESIDENTIAL CABINET Cabinet members advise the President. They are selected by the President and approved by the Senate. Originally there were 4 Cabinet offices, today there are 15.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH NOTES 5. PRESIDENTIAL CABINET Top Cabinet Positions Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano
Presidential Cabinet
Class How many people have been President of the United States? A) 27 B) 44 C) 50 D) none of these D) None of these
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