Chapter 14: The Presidency in Action Opener

1. Chapter 14: The Presidency in ActionOpener

2. The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands. -President Lyndon Johnson on the responsibilities of being President

3. Essential Question • What should the limits be on the powers of the President?

4. Guiding Questions • Section 1: The Growth of Presidential Power • What factors have contributed to the growth of Presidential power? • The scope and power of the presidency has changed a great deal as the United States became a world power.

5. Guiding Questions • Section 2: The Executive Powers • What are the executive powers and how were they established? • The executive powers are laid out in Article II of the Constitution and establish how the President is to execute the laws of the land.

6. Guiding Questions • Section 3: Diplomatic and Military Powers • What tools are available to the President to implement foreign policy? • Tools such as the power to write treaties, the power of diplomatic recognition, and the role of commander-in-chief help the President implement foreign policy.

7. Guiding Questions • Section 4: Legislative and Judicial Powers • How can the President check the actions of the legislative and judicial branches? • The President is given certain legislative and judicial powers, such as the veto and the power to pardon, to help check the actions of the legislative and judicial branches.

8. Chapter 14: The Presidency in Action Section 1

9. Objectives – I CAN: Explain why Article II of the Constitution can be described as “an outline” of the presidential office. List several reasons for the growth of presidential power. Explain how the Presidents’ own views have affected the power of the office.

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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.”

13. 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. • Roosevelt v Taft view of Presidential Power

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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?

18. Gaining Power • In this cartoon, who is giving the President increased powers?

19. 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)

20. 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)

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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?

26. Chapter 14: The Presidency in ActionSection 2

27. Objectives – I CAN: Identify the sources of the President’s power to execute federal law. Define the ordinance power. Explain how the appointment power works and describe the limits on the removal power. Examine the power of executive privilege.

28. 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

29. 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.

30. 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.”

31. 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.

32. 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.

33. 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.

34. 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, andattorneys • All officers in the U.S. armed forces • These appointments must be a approved by a majority vote of the Senate.

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. Presidential Appointees • Presidential appointees are sometimes criticized for lacking independence and simply parroting presidential views. • How might this parroting actually benefit the President?

38. 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.

39. 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.

40. The Removal Power, cont. • In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that the removal power was a key part of the President’s authority to execute the laws.

41. The Removal Power, cont. • 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.

42. 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?

43. 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.

44. 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?

45. Chapter 14: The Presidency in ActionSection 3

46. Objectives – I CAN Explain how treaties are made and approved. Explain why and how executive agreements are made. Summarize how the power of recognition is used. Describe the President’s powers as commander in chief.

47. 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

48. 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

49. 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.

50. 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.