The United States Constitution

• Preamble

– We the People of the United States,

in Order to form a more perfect

Union, establish Justice, insure

domestic Tranquility, provide for the

common defense, promote the

general Welfare, and secure the

Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and

our Posterity, do ordain and establish

this Constitution for the United

States of America.

5 Reasons for the Constitution

• 1- establish Justice

• 2- insure domestic Tranquility

• 3- provide for the common defense

• 4- promote the general Welfare

• 5- and secure the Blessings of

Liberty to ourselves and our

Posterity

7 Articles

• Article 1:Legislative Branch

• Article 2:Executive Branch

• Article 3:Judicial Branch

• Article 4: Representative Democracy

• Article 5:Amending • Article 6: The Constitution and all laws and

treaties of the United States to be the supreme

law of the country. Allegiance

• Article 7: Method for ratification, or acceptance,

of the Constitution: of the original 13 states in

the United States, nine had to accept the

Constitution before it would officially go into

effect.

The President

Barack Obama

January 20, 2009

If you were to design a “Help

Wanted” poster for the job of

President of the United States, what

would it say?

What qualifications would you want

the President to meet?

What characteristics do you think a

person should have to be President?

Welcome to Election Day! Please choose the next President of the

United States.

The Candidates are:

Candidate 1: Associates with ward healers and consults with astrologists. Has two mistresses. He chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate 2: Kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of brandy every evening.

Candidate 3: A decorated war hero, a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn’t had any illicit affairs.

The Actual Person

Candidate 1: Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Candidate 2: Winston Churchill

Candidate 3: Adolf Hitler

The Point: People are manipulating you. Words not as powerful as pictures. You have to read and be informed.

The Executive Branch

• Powers listed in Article II

• Main duty: Enforce Laws

• Includes:

The President

Vice-President

President’s Cabinet

Qualifications

To be the President or Vice President:

• At least 35 years of age

• Born in the U.S.

• Resident for 14 years

Terms

• 22nd Amendment:

-Limits the President to two

terms or 10 years

Salary

• $400,000 per year

• $50,000 a year allowance

• Lives in the White House (132

rooms, 18.3 acres)

• Air Force One

• Plus other benefits

Powers & Limitations

of the President

ROLE: CHIEF OF STATE

1. the ceremonial head of the U.S.

government & people

2. reigns and rules

Powers & Limitations

of the President

ROLE: CHIEF EXECUTIVE

1. enforces federal law, treaties,

court decisions

2. Executive orders

3. Appoints cabinet members,

commissions, federal judges

A. Senate approval needed for

appointments

Powers and Limitations

of the President

• ROLE: CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR

1. Employs more than 2.7 million

civilians.

2. Spends more than 2.5 trillion

dollars a year.

Powers & Limitations

of the President ROLE: CHIEF DIPLOMAT

1. general charge of foreign policy

2. appoints ambassadors

3. executive agreements

4. negotiates treaties

5. recognition of foreign governments

A. Senate must approve appointments

B. Senate must approve treaties (2/3 vote)

Powers & Limitations

of the President

ROLE: COMMANDER IN CHIEF

1. civilian authority over the

military (1.4 million)

A. War Powers Resolution

1973 (what is this?)

B. Congress declares war

Powers & Limitations

of the President

ROLE: CHIEF LEGISLATOR

1. Veto

2. outlines legislative proposals (ex. The Federal Budget)

3. calls special sessions of Congress

A. 2/3- both houses of Congress can override a veto

B. Congress is not obligated to pass the president’s proposals

Powers & Limitations

of the President

ROLE: HEAD OF POLITICAL PARTY

1. Political patronage

A. Face of the party

B. Party tied to success or failure of the President

Powers & Limitations

of the President

ROLE: CHIEF CITIZEN

1. “the Representative of all the

people”

2. Certain moral obligations

The Federal Bureaucracy

• All of the agencies, people, and procedures

through which the Federal Government

operates. • The means by which the government makes

and administers public policy.

• The Constitution makes the President the

Chief Administrator.

• Constitution is relatively silent on the

organization of the Executive Branch.

Executive Office of the

President

• Established in 1939 and changed by each administration since.

• The “inner circle” of the President (400)

• Chief of staff

• Press secretary

• Physician

• Counselor / Senior advisors

Executive Office of the

President

• National Security Council (NSC)

• Office of Homeland Security

– Work closely with the President on

security issues

– CIA, military chiefs, etc.

Executive Office of the

President

• Office of Management and Budget

(OMB)

• Office of National Drug Control

Policy

• Office of Science and Technology

• Trade, Economy, Environment, etc.

The Executive

Departments (Cabinet)

• In 1789, Congress created 3

• Today there are 15 departments

• Each department is headed by a

secretary except the Department

of Justice (attorney general)

• Departments are divided into

subunits. (pg. 426)

Choosing Department

Leaders

• Nominated by President,

confirmed by the Senate

• Party patronage (campaign

influence)

• Professional qualifications

• Regional balance (Geography)

• Interest group pressure

Independent Agencies

• 150 agencies independent of the

Cabinet (not the President)

– Some do not fit into departments

– Congress wanted them

independent to escape influence

Independent Agencies

• FTC- Federal Trade Commission

• SEC- Securities and Exchange Commission

• FCC- Federal Communications Commission

• SSA- Social Security Administration

• Peace Corps

• FEC- Federal Election Commission

• USPS- United States Postal Service

• FDIC- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Choosing Candidates

• Primary elections- Each state conducts an election to determine:

– Delegates to the National Convention

– Preferred candidate

– 1st primary in New Hampshire (end of January)

– 1st Caucus in Iowa (January)

National Conventions

• Delegates from each state’s primary

election gather in one location

• Party determines number of delegates

– 2,059 Republicans

– 4,353 Democrats

• July- party out of power

• August- party in power

National Conventions

• At the Convention: 1. Presidential and Vice-Presidential

Candidates are chosen by majority votes of delegates.

2. Various factions and the leading personalities of the party come together.

3. Party platform is created and adopted.

Electoral College

• A group of people (electors)

chosen from each state and D.C.

to formally elect the President

and Vice President.

• Why?

– Public ignorance and apathy

Electoral College

• Electors are people chosen by the political parties at their State party conventions or by a vote of the party's central committee in each State.

• They may be State elected officials, party leaders, or persons who have a personal or political affiliation with the Presidential candidate.

Summary of Election

Process • Primary Elections

• Political Party Conventions

• General Election

Tuesday after first Monday in Nov:

Voters cast ballots for all electors representing a particular party in each state.

Election Process

• Electors Vote

Monday after second Wednesday in Dec:

Electors of party winning popular vote in each state cast ballots for President and Vice President in their state capitols.

Election Process

• Electoral Votes Are Counted

January 6:

Ballots cast by electors are

counted by Congress

Election Process

• Inauguration Day

January 20:

Candidate receiving majority of

electoral votes becomes

President (at least 270/538)

Jean Jacques

Rousseau

Social Contract, 1762

“I was born a citizen of a free state and a member of its sovereign body, and however weak may be the influence of my voice in public affairs, my right to vote on them suffices to impose on me the duty of studying them.”

Voter Registration

• Citizen of the U.S.

• Resident of the state in which you are voting

• 18 years at the time of the election

• Registered to vote

• Selecting a political party

Gerrymandering

• A practice that attempts to establish

a political advantage for a

particular party or group by

manipulating district boundaries to

create partisan advantaged districts

Full Faith in Credit Clause

Elastic Clause

• The Congress shall have Power -

To make all Laws which shall be

necessary and proper for carrying

into Execution the foregoing

Powers, and all other Powers

vested by this Constitution in the

Government of the United States,

or in any Department or Officer

thereof.

The Great Compromise

• The Connecticut Compromise (also known as

the Great Compromise of 1787 or Sherman's

Compromise) was an agreement that large and

small states reached during the Constitutional

Convention of 1787 that in part defined the

legislative structure and representation that each

state would have under the United States

Constitution. It retained the bicameral legislature

as proposed by Roger Sherman, along with

proportional representation in the lower house,

but required the upper house to be weighted

equally between the states. Each state would have

two representatives in the upper house.