Chapter 13:The Presidency Part 1Academic Government 2016

What is the function, evolution, contemporary

relevance, and organization of the United States

Presidency and Executive Branch?

13.1: Presidential Roles

Section Objectives

Students will be able to describe the 8 presidential roles

Students will understand the formal and informal qualifications to be president

Students will be able to explain how the Presidential Office has changed over

time

Students will know the purpose and founding circumstances for the 22nd

amendment

Students will know the salary and formal and informal benefits provided to the president

Students will be able to apply the above concepts in practical circumstantial

examples and contemporary political and governmental events

Key Terms

Chief of State: the ceremonial head of the government

Chief Executive: the leader of the executive branch and

holder of executive power under the Constitution

Chief Administrator: the director or manager of the

executive branch

Chief Diplomat: the main architect of national foreign

policy and it’s chief spokesperson to the rest of the world

Key Terms Continued

Commander in Chief: the leader of the nation’s armed

forces

Chief Legislator: the main author of the nation’s public

policies

Chief of Party: the leader of the political party controlling

the executive branch

Chief Citizen: the representative of the people,

spokesperson of the people, and champion of public

interest

Presidential Roles

The President acts as the Chief of State, the ceremonial

head of the United States Government and the symbol of

the American people

The President is the Chief Executive, holding the nation’s

executive power in domestic and foreign affairs

The President is the Chief Administrator, directing more

than 2.7 million civilian employees of the executive

branch

Presidential Roles Continued

The President is the

nation’s Chief Diplomat,

the bridge between the

United States and the

international community

and the shaper of

foreign policy and

relationships

Presidential Roles Continued

The President is the

Commander in Chief of the 1.4 million men and

women of the

nation’s armed

forces

Presidential Roles Continued

The President is the Chief Legislator, proposing laws that

set the congressional legislative agenda

The President is the unofficial head of the political party

that controls the executive branch

The President is the unofficial Chief Citizen, expected to

champion the public interest and express thoughts and

concerns of the American people to other counties and

the American government

Which Role of the President do you think is

most important? Explain.

Chief of State

Chief Executive

Chief Administrator

Chief of Diplomat

Commander in Chief

Chief Legislator

Head of Party

Chief Citizen

Formal Qualifications to be President

What are the 3 Requirements to be eligible

to hold the Presidential Office?

Natural born citizenship

Minimum Age of 35

U.S. Residency for 14 years

Terms in Office

The constitution set no term limits for

the Presidential Office

George Washington set an

unofficial precedent for stepping

down after 2 terms

Franklin Roosevelt broke this custom

by being elected to 4 terms from

1932 to 1944

Terms in Office Continued

22nd Amendment

Ratified in 1944

Limits Presidents to serving 2 full elected terms

If a vice president succeeds to the office after the

middle of the term, he can still seek two full elected

terms

No president can serve more than 10 years in office

Pay and Benefits

Congress decides the President’s annual salary

The salary cannot be changed effecting the current

president in office

The current salary (since 2001) is $400,000

Additional $50,000 for Expenses

Additional $19,000 for Entertaining

Additional $100,000 for Travel

The Constitution forbids the President from receiving

other pay while in office

Benefits

White House

Staff

Bowling Alley

Movie Theater

Basketball Courts

Air Force One

Camp David

Cars

Helicopters

Healthcare

Early Movie Releases

Tax Breaks

Free Stuff in General

13.2: The Vice Presidency and

Presidential Succession

Student Objectives

Students will be able to identify and explain how the Constitution

provides for presidential succession

Students will understand the provisions in the Constitution for presidential

disability

Students will know and be able to apply knowledge related to the 25th

amendment and presidential succession act of 1947

Students will analyze the opposing arguments regarding the inclusion of

Congressional politicians in the line of presidential succession

Students will be able to explain the constitutional responsibilities of the

Vice President, its historical and social status, and its recent growth

Key Terms

Presidential Succession: the system and means by which

the presidential office is filled after death, resignation, or

impeachment

Presidential Succession Act of 1947: the current law fixing

the order of succession to the presidency

Balancing the Ticket: the act of choosing a vice

presidential running mate to fill voter deficit or weaknesses

in public opinion to strengthen the chances of election

Presidential Succession

The Vice President has succeeded the President 9

times in U.S. History

Vague Constitution Guidelines

Powers and Duties vs. Office Succession

John Tyler

First Vice Presidential Succession

Replaced William Harrison

1841

Set a precedent for succeeding the title and office of

president, not just the duties

Presidential Succession Continued

25th Amendment

The Vice President now formally succeeds the office as well as

the duties and powers of the President

Disability Issues: The Vice President becomes the acting President

if…

The President informs Congress in writing that he cannot fulfill the duties of his office

The Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet members inform Congress

that the President is not fit to meet the responsibilities of his position

The President can inform Congress in writing when such a disability no

longer exists to resume these powers

Order of Succession

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 sets the order of the

positions or people who fill the

presidency after the Vice

President

The order and included members

changes fairly frequently

The inclusion of Congressional

Offices is controversial. Why?

The Vice Presidency

What are the formal duties of the Vice President?

The Constitution gives the Vice President 2 formal duties:

Presiding over the Senate and helping the Cabinet Members

decide when or if the President is disabled

Otherwise, the Vice President is meant to be prepared to fulfill

the position of president if necessary

Historically has a low status in government and society

Recently mass media has given Vice Presidents more

of a platform to promote certain causes or projects

Vice Presidents are often chose to “Balance the

Ticket”

Vice Presidential Vacancy

The Vice Presidency has been left vacant 18 times:

9 times by succession

7 times by death

2 times by resignation

25th Amendment

President appoints a new Vice President

Must be confirmed by both houses of congress

1973: Gerald Ford was the first Vice President appointed in this

way

Practice: Replace that Politician1. The President’s helicopter is lost somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico without a trace of

evidence.

2. The White House is flooded by a tsunami and the President and Vice President drown in the

Oval Office.

3. The Vice President goes sailing, wrecks is boat, and is eaten by a shark.

4. The Speaker of the House and the Vice President have a sushi date and die of unknown

shellfish allergies.

5. The President has an aneurism and becomes mentally disabled.

6. Vicious hormone effected fish in the Potomac River grow legs and fatally attack the

President, Speaker of the House, and Vice President.

7. The President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, President pro Tempor, Secretary of

State, Secretary of Treasury, and Secretary of Defense contract a rare disease and enter

comas.

8. The President’s family is taken hostage on Air Force One and is being forced to negotiate

with terrorists.

9. The Capitol Building is bombed during the State of the Union Address killing everyone inside.

13.3: The Electoral College

Student Objectives

Students will understand the Framer’s purpose and intent for the

Electoral College

Students will understand how the function of the Electoral College

has shifted over time

Students will draw conclusions on the effect of political parties on

the electoral system

Students will understand the problems that arose in the elections of

1796 and 1800

Students will be ably to apply this information to understand the

purpose and development of the 12th amendment

Key Terms

Presidential Elector: an elected individual who

casts the formal votes to fill the Presidential Office

Electoral Vote: one of two votes cast by an elector

for either the President or Vice President

Electoral College: the group of people chosen

from each state to formally select the President

and Vice President

The Constitutional Debate

The framers of the Constitution debated on

whether or not the President should be chosen by

Congress or Popular Vote

Opponents of congressional selection felt it would

upset the separation of powers between the executive

and legislative branches

Opponents of popular election felt that the people

would not know enough about the candidates to make

wise choices

The Electoral College

Alexander Hamilton proposed

an alternate solution

The framers created an Electoral

College, a special body of

electors voting to represent

each state

Each state had as many electors as senators and representatives in

Congress

State legislatures were given the

power to decide how electors were chosen in their state

Electoral College: The Original Plan

Each elector would cast 2 votes, each for a different candidate

The candidate with the most electoral votes would become president

The candidate with the second most electoral votes would become vice

president

In a contemporary political election what might the problem be

with that system?

The framers did not plan for the complications caused by the

formation and rise of political parties competing for the

presidency

The Election of 1796

John Adams finished with the most

electoral votes

Federalist

Thomas Jefferson finished with the second-

most electoral votes

Democratic-Republican

Jefferson was Adams Vice President even

though they were political rivals

The Election of 1800

To fix having rival party members working together in the executive

branch, parties nominated 2 candidates

1 for President

1 for Vice President

John Adams and Alexander Hamilton ran on a Federalist ticket

Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr ran on a Democratic-Republican ticket

Each party also nominated electors sworn to voting for their

nominees

Each Democratic-Republican elector voted once for each candidate,

resulting in a tie.

Jefferson had run as the Presidential

Candidate

Burr had run as the Vice Presidential

Candidate

There was no rule stating that Jefferson

should win the tie

The House of Representatives voted 36

times to break the tie

Jefferson became President

Burr became Vice President

The 12th Amendment

In 1804 the 12th Amendment separated the Presidential

and Vice Presidential elections

Electors now vote once for the President and once for

the Vice President

But the votes are tallied separately

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48EZKXweGDo

Exit Slip:

While watching the video clip please note:

1 way that states are able to effect the election

process

AND

1 way the political parties effect the election

process

13.4: Primaries, Caucuses, and

Conventions, Oh My.

Student Objectives

Students will understand and be able to define the purpose of national

party conventions, primaries, and caucuses

Students will be able to evaluate the benefits of a primary system versus

a caucus system

Students will be able to outline the events and goals of the convention

process

Students can evaluate the characteristics and influences that effect the

choice of presidential nominee

Students will be able to use their knowledge of the aforementioned

topics to evaluate the current 2016 Presidential election and their

opinions of the process and candidates

Key Terms

Presidential Primary: an election in which voters express their

preference for a certain presidential candidate and/or elect

delegates to the national convention to represent their interests

Winner-Take-All: the division of delegates where the candidate

with the majority of the vote gets all of the electoral

delegates/vote

Proportional Representation: the division of delegates where the

candidates receive the same percentage of the electoral

delegates as they received of the popular vote

Key Terms Continued

Caucus: a closed meeting of party members where they

debate and decide on delegates to represent their interests

at the state and then national convention

National Convention: a quadrennial meeting where parties

decide their presidential ticket

Platform: a party’s formal statement of their beliefs or

principles

Keynote Address: the speech opening the national

convention

Nominating the President

Not outlined in the Constitution

The two major political parties in the United States have outlined and

created a system

Originally the President was nominated through a congressional

caucus

1832

Each parties’ national committee names the time and date of

their national convention

This acts as a call to start the presidential nominating process

Presidential Primaries

What is a Primary?

Public votes to either elect

presidential candidate and/or

select delegates

1900s

¾ delegates to convention come

from primary systems

New Hampshire (First)

How do state’s effect the

Primary System?

Delegate selection

Set date & place

Who votes

How they vote

For whom can be voted

Evaluating & Reform

Test Contenders

Expose Negative

Characteristics

Test Public Backing

Name Recognition

Financial Backing

Public Voice

Expensive

Time Consuming

Caucuses

Closed meeting to choose

delegates

Aligned v Ballot

District State National

Oldest Method

Selects ¼ of delegates at

national convention

Iowa (First)

National Conventions

Democratic 2016: Philadelphia, PA

Republican 2016: Cleveland, OH

Convention Goals

Name Presidential and Vice Presidential

Nominees

Usually a formality

Uniting the Party

Formally Adopting the Party Platform

Generates Media Attention and Popular

Support

Group Activity:

Compare and Contrast the Primary, Caucus, and National

Convention systems of the Republican and Democratic party.

Current Event Relevancy

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/06/politics/wisconsin-

primary-election-2016-takeaways (First 3 Videos)

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/pri

mary-calendar-and-results.html

Race for the Presidency

1-4 Years before Election

January to June of Election Year

August to September of Election Year

September to November of Election Year

Tuesday after the First Monday in

November

Monday after the Second Wednesday in December

January 20th

Political Cartoons

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OBJECTS

USING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

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13.5: Electoral Vote Plans

Student Objectives

Students will be able to describe and explain how the electoral

college works to elect the president

Students will understand the different ways the states regulate the

votes of presidential electors

Students will be able to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of the

current electoral college system

Student will evaluate and understand the benefits and drawbacks

of proposed reforms to the electoral college system

Key Terms

Swing Voter: a voter who has not made at their mind at

the start of a campaign

Battleground State: a state in which either candidate has

a stronghold

District Plan: electors are chosen at a congressional

district level

Key Terms Continued

Proportional Plan: electoral vote is split based on the

percentage of popular vote

Direct Popular Election: the electoral college is abolished

National Popular Vote Plan: interstate compact in which

states agree to give their electoral vote to the national

popular vote winner

How does Popular Vote effect Elections?

Popular vote chooses

presidential electors rather

than presidential candidates

Review: How are Electors Chosen?

Electors are chosen by the outcome of the state popular vote

Electors meet at the state capital in December

These official votes are sent to Washington D.C. and tallied

The Framers expected electors to use their own judgement but

now:

Electors are Bound to State Popular Vote

Electors are Bound to a Political Party

Electors can be unbound

Faithless Electors: http://tropicsofmeta.com/2013/09/16/how-do-different-states-allocate-their-electoral-votes

Counting Electoral Votes

Each State has as many electors as

members of Congress

The minimum number of electors is

_____

2 Senators

1 House Representative

Winner-take-All States give all of their

electoral vote to the candidate that

wins the popular vote

Defects with the Electoral System

The winner-take-all system and the unequal distribution of State electoral votes means that the winner of the electoral vote might lose the popular vote

Accurate Representation of Population

Bush v. Gore

In 2000, Al Gore narrowly won the

popular vote, but George W. Bush

won the electoral college by one

vote

Florida’s popular vote was

disputed, leading to a recount

stopped by a 5-4 decision of the Supreme Court, giving Bush

Florida’s 25 electoral votes.

Equal Treatment of Ballots

Proposed Reforms

District Plan: every State congressional district selects its own electors by popular vote

Advantages

Disadvantages

Proportional Plan: gives each candidate a share of the State electoral vote equal to their

share of the State popular vote

Advantages

Disadvantages

Direct Popular Vote: voters would vote directly for President and Vice President

Advantages

Disadvantages

National Popular Vote Plan

http://www.nationalpopularvo

te.com/written-explanation

Rhode Island

Vermont

Hawaii

District of Columbia

Maryland

Massachusetts

Wisconsin

New Jersey

Illinois

New York

California

165/270

Defending the Electoral College

What are the arguments for keeping the electoral

college?

It’s comfortable

Clear winner margin

Identifiable winner

Promotes 2 party system

Campaign costs

Review

https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/80ac0fd6-dab0-4c91-b84a-

b6a80bd62a31

Introduction Chapter 14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNXxEYGB7yY