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.
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