TheExecutive

Branch

Chapter 13—The Executive Office

• Objectives: Student will learn• The roles of the President• The qualifications• Length of term• Pay and Benefits• How the constitution provides for presidential succession• Understand the constitutional provisions relating to

presidential disability• Describe the role of Vice-President

• Standards12SSAG4– Analyze Article II of the Constitution and relate it to the executive branch including

» Eligibility for office and length of term,» Election to and removed from office, » The oath of office, veto power, Executive Privilege» Enumerated executive powers

Presidential Roles

• The president must do all his jobs at once.

Chief of State• Is the

Ceremonial head of the country

• He is the symbol of the people

Chief Executive

• Is both domestic and foreign in scope.

• S/he is the most powerful person on earth.

Chief Administrator

• Harry Truman said he spent too much of his

time “flattering, kissing, and kicking people to do what they were supposed to do anyway!”

• Director of the government• Employees nearly 3 million people.

Chief Diplomat

• The President is the chief architect of our foreign policy.

• Congress must approve treaties and anything he does but he’s the one who faces the world for us first.

Winston Churchill, President Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin (U.S.S.R.)

at the end of WWII

Commander-in-Chief of the

Military

• Our Founding Fathers thought it important to have a civilian head of the military as balance.

• The president is that person.

Chief Legislator

• The president initiates, suggests, requests, insists and demands legislation from Congress.

• (But CANNOT make laws himself…)

Chief of the (political) Party

• Although political parties are not mentioned in the Constitution, much of a president’s success comes from how he acts in this role.

• Obama’s success started at the 2004 Democratic Convention

Chief Citizen

• The president is expected to represent everyone and be “above” everyday misbehaviors.

• This is why they went so viciously after Clinton.

• Franklin Roosevelt summed it up:

“The presidency is not merely an administrative

office. That is the least of it. It is preeminently a place of moral leadership.”

Qualifications

• Must be 35 years oldA natural born

citizenResident of the U.S.

for at least 14 years

Youngest elected –John F. Kennedy —1961 (43 years old)

Theodore Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency at 42 years old

(1901-09)

• Ronald Reagan was the oldest elected (69) and oldest to serve (77)

The Term of the President

• 4 years, 8 total

• If a VP succeeds, he may serve 2 years then be elected twice for no more than 10 years.

• John Tyler was the 1st VP to become President in 1841.

• Franklin Roosevelt served the longest (elected 4 times, served 13 years before he died.)

• William H. Harrison (1840) served the shortest time (32 days) and was the oldest (until Reagan) --67

The Oath of Office"I do solemnly swear

(or affirm) that I will faithfully

execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of

my ability, preserve, protect and defend the

Constitution of the United States."

PRESIDENT LINCOLN, 1865

FYI—Who wants to be a millionaire?

• Franklin Pierce was the only president known to use the word affirm rather than swear.

• Theodore Roosevelt did not use a Bible when taking the oath in 1901.

• Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry S. Truman, and Richard Nixon swore the oath on two Bibles.

• John Quincy Adams swore on a book of law.• Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on a Roman

Catholic missal on Air Force One. • Washington kissed the Bible afterwards, and

subsequent presidents followed suit, up to Harry Truman, but…

• Dwight D. Eisenhower broke that tradition by saying his own prayer instead of kissing the Bible

Pay and Benefits

• $400,000 per year, including a $50,000 expense allowance.

• Plus, housing, offices, planes, private resort, medical care, and many more…

• a lifetime, taxable pension -- $193,400 in 2009

• The Secret Service provides lifetime protection for former presidents who entered office before January 1, 1997, and for their spouses

Order of succession:

• If the president dies or is removed from office, the following is who would follow (and in the order they would do so):– Vice president (Joe Biden)– Speaker of the House—(John Boehner)– President ProTem of the Senate (Dan

Inouye –D-Hawaii)– Secretary of State (Hillary Clinton)– And on down the cabinet list in order they

were established.

The Vice President

• Must have all the qualifications of the president.

• See chart on p. 362 for those who succeeded to the presidency.

• Selected now to help balance a political ticket and get the president elected.

• Has many more responsibilities today than in the early years.

• Salary--$193,400 in 2009

Office of the Vice Preside

nt

• A tinkling chandelier bothered Theodore Roosevelt. “Take it to the office of the

Vice President. He doesn’t have anything to do. It will keep him awake.”

A Vice President’s Responsibilities

• Be prepared to step into the office of the president;

• Preside as President of the Senate; • Vote in case of a tie

• Help decide in cases of presidential disability;

• Today they act more in the role of advisors and are more visible.

Amendments Affecting The Executive Branch

12th Amendment --1804• Requires the ballots for

President and vice-President be separate. This would put them in the same political party.– (prior to that—who got the

most was president, 2nd most was vice-president. )

20th Amendment--1933• Moved the

inauguration of the President from March to January.

Amendments affecting the Executive Branch

22nd Amendment --1947• limits the presidential

terms to 2.

• (Had always relied on the tradition that George

Washington set)

25th amendment--1967 • allows for president to

temporarily step down if disabled, then take the office back.– Must be done in writing– President may

voluntarily step down or Congress and VP may deem him incapacitated.

– Reagan—1985; George W. Bush 2002.

Watergate 1971-74 and the fall of a President

• Watergate was a hotel in Washington D.C. where the Democratic headquarters was.

• Before the 1972 election, people broke in to steal information.

• They eventually were linked to the White House.

• Guilty people began to be tracked down and convicted……

• Vice President Spiro Agnew was convicted of tax evasion and he resigned.

• Richard Nixon appointed Gerald

Ford as Vice President.

• Nixon resigns before impeachment

• Ford succeeds then pardons him. Many people go to prison over Watergate but not Nixon.

The shame was the Republicans won in a landslide—they didn’t need to steal

information

• Red are the states Republicans won;

• Blue the Democrat.

• Nixon won 520 of the 538 electoral votes.

• He is the only President ever to resign.

The Cabinet Members are Advisors

• No president could be expected to be experts in all fields

• So Washington had four men who would be “experts in the field” of:

• Foreign Diplomacy—State Department• Managing the Money—Treasury Department• Legal proceedings—Attorney General• Our Country’s Defense—Defense Department

• Others have been added as needed. Now there are 15 Departments.

Dept of Homeland Security

The Executive

Branch

10. Dwight D. Eisenhower

9. James K Polk

Took over After FDR ended WWII. Made many tough decisions is dealing with the Communist Nations.(1945-52)

Top 10 Presidents

Led during the greatest period of prosperity in the history of the U.S. after WWII. (1952-1960)

8. Harry S Truman

Completed the U.S. from coast to coast when he added new land. Also led us through the

Mexican American War. Considered the

best “one-term” president. (1840-44)

Top 10 Presidents

7. Woodrow Wilson

6. Theodore Roosevelt

Fought against the corrupt

business of the time and

started our 1st conservationist

efforts. (1901-1909)

Brought America to the International Stage by entering WWI. Tried to set up the first U.N. (1912-1920)

His election started the rise of the “common

man.” VERY popular —but his decisions

about the Native Americans were

VERY controversial

(1828-1836)

5. Andrew Jackson

4.Thomas Jefferson

FDR was elected for 4 terms and led the country out of the great depression and World War II.

His social program helped bring America

back to prominence in

the world.1932-1945

Washington’s desire to give us

a “citizen president” set the tone for

every pres. to follow. Every decision he

made was new so he laid a

good foundation for the new

country.1789-1797

Doubled the size of the young U.S. overnight by

adding Louisiana. TJ

fought for states rights but also

knew the importance of a strong central

government and balanced both

well(1800-1808)

3.George Washington

2.Franklin D. Roosevelt

1.Abraham Lincoln

When nation tried to divide itself, Mr.

Lincoln’s leadership kept it together. His leadership during the

war was one of no compromise—leading

him to fire generals who did not do their job but he also knew, to save the country, it would

have to be reunited and work together when it was over. Those were his plans when he was assassinated in 1865.His actions led to the

abolition of slavery and a new industrial

American.1861-65

The 10 Worst Presidents10 Zachary Taylor—a rough, “ignorant/innocent/ brave war hero, he was not suited for the White House. Might have been able to stop a Civil War but died in office. (1848-50)

9. Herbert Hoover—elected just as the Great Depression started, he was a very poor communicator which just made his reputation even worse. (He was considered “mean spirited.”) Many of the policies he put into effect made the Depression worse.1928-329. Richard Nixon’s uneven judgment, suspicious nature, was too much to overcome the political gifts he naturally had. When he attempted to help cover up the crimes of the Watergate scandal, he was forced to resign. 1968-73

8. William H. Harrison— (a war hero) being long winded at his inauguration cost him his life. 32 days after he signed in, he died of pneumonia. 1841

7. Ulysses S. Grant—the hero of the Civil War but he was no president. His terms in office were full of corruption—he didn’t get anything from it—he just didn’t see it. His attempts at Civil Rights and doing away with the KKK simply fade into all the bad that went on. 1868-76

6. John Tyler—Became president after Harrison died. Hated by his own party after he abandoned everything the it stood for. Supported slavery and secession. All the cabinet members resigned and there was talk of impeachment. Really a bad president!! 1841-44

Can it get any worse?!?!?!?

Yep!!

3. Andrew Johnson—followed Lincoln to the office. He was a southerner who had stayed with the North—not a good person to have to make everyone “play nice” or “kiss and make up” after the war…a victim of the unpleasantness after the Civil War—First president to be impeached. 1865-68

4. Franklin Pierce (a war hero) wasn’t even nominated until the 49th ballot and was elected in a time of “peace” before the Civil War. But the slavery issue was not going away—Pierce added more slave states-the U.S. became more and more disruptive and he was not able to do anything to stop the madness. (his last living son was decapitated in a train accident 2 months before he took office--) 1852-56

5. Millard Fillmore (who?)Fillmore followed Zachary Taylor to the office when he died. He compromised the country into the Civil War by not confronting issues. All his work did was put off the War. (1850-52)

2. Warren G Harding said of himself: I am not for this office and should not be here.” Who’s to argue? He allowed his friends to get rich in the government while he busied himself with the luxuries. He had a stroke and died. 1920-23

The Worst President?James Buchanan

Served as president before the Civil War—was weak, refused to confront secessionist

and slave holders. (He thought he was doing what was Constitutionally right…) Thank you Mr. President for not helping

stop the war.1856-1860

(Only Bachelor president we have had)

The Presidents Ranked Top to Bottom(US News and World Report)

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt2. Theodore Roosevelt3. Abraham Lincoln4. George Washington5. Thomas Jefferson6. James Madison7. James Monroe8. Woodrow Wilson9. Harry Truman10. Dwight D. Eisenhower11. John F. Kennedy12. James K. Polk13. William Clinton14. Andrew Jackson15. Barack Obama16. Lyndon B. Johnson17. John Adams18. Ronald Reagan19. John Quincy Adams20. Grover Cleveland 21. William McKinley22. George H. W. Bush

23. Martin Van Buren24. William Howard Taft25. Chester Arthur26. Ulysses S. Grant27. James Garfield28. Gerald Ford29. Calvin Coolidge30. Richard Nixon31. Rutherford B. Hayes32. James Carter33. Zachary Taylor34. Benjamin Harrison35. William Henry Harrison36. Herbert Hoover37. John Tyler38. Millard Fillmore39. George W. Bush40. Franklin Pierce41. Warren G. Harding42. James Buchanan43. Andrew Johnson

1-5

6-10

11-15

16-22

23-27

28-32

33-37

38-43