Unit 4 AP Gov Summative

cayla-101706

What are the four formal qualifications to serve as president?

1) Natural born citizen / a citizen of the U.S. at the time of the adoption of the constitution

2) Resident of the U.S. for 14 years

3) 35 years old

4) Cannot be elected to office more than twice if you are the current acting president

What is the Invisible Primary?

The process where campaign staff

What is the national party convention? What are two purposes of a national party convention?

A national meeting of delegates from state parties who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for President and Vice President

What is meant by the phrase "Balancing the Ticket"?

Vice Presidents are usually selected to appeal to a voting bloc that the main candidate is considered weak in. The President and Vice President usually swap places and the Vice President knows more about politics than the President does. Refers to the choice of your Vice President. Popularity with a voting group that the main candidate isn't popular with

Why did the framers of the U.S. Constitution create the electoral college?

They feared tyranny of the majority because they don't trust the people. They believed the electoral college would serve as a buffer between the people and the presidency

How are electoral votes for states calculated?

Electors cost their votes in the State Capitol in December. A faithless elector is the one who costs an electoral vote for someone other than whom they have pledged to elect. The votes are collected and counted in the U.S. Capitol in January. 435 Representatives

270 to win). Each state gets a certain numbers of electoral votes based on the population size

except for Nebraska and Maine

What did the 12th Amendment do?

Changed how the President and Vice President are elected. Before

How are the ties in the Electoral College settled?

The House of Representatives choose the Senate.

The house chooses the president with each state having one vote from: if no majority

Who are the first 4 people in the order of succession after President?

1) Vice President

2) Speaker of the House

3) President Pro Tempore of the Senate

4) Secretary of State

What happens when there is a vacancy in the Vice Presidency according to there Twenty-Fifth Amendment?

The President shall nominate a Vice President who shall be confirmed by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Which Amendment created the position of 'Acting' President? How does the Vice President become 'Acting' President?

25th Amendment established Presidential Succession Act which clarified who would take over in the absence of the President.

Who brings charges of impeachment against a president? Who votes guilty or not guilty on the impeachment charges?

The House of Representatives brings up charges against the President. The Senate votes guilty or not guilty on the impeachment charges. If the Senate wants to convict

With Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress at the beginning of his term

President Obama had a ______________

What are the major formal and informal roles of the President?

• Head of State = Acts as the symbolic leader of the country

• Chief Executive = Executes the laws

What are the 6 formal constitutional powers of the president?

• Veto Power

• Commander in Chief

• Chief Executive

• Power of Appointment

• Treaty-making Power

• Power to Pardon

How is the president's appointment power limited?

• Veto Power = Congress can over-ride veto

• Commander in Chief = Congress has the power to declare war

• Chief Executive = Congress has the power of the purse ability of one group to control the actions of another group by withholding funds

• Power of Appointment = Senate must confirm appointments

• Treaty-making Power = 2/3rds of the Senate must ratify treaties

• Power to Pardon = Not in cases of impeachment

(Almost all appointments must be approved by the Senate)

Identify the 6 constitutional responsibilities of the president:

• Give a State of the Union to Congress

• Convene both Houses in emergency

• Dismiss Congress when disagreement about adjournment

• Take Care that the laws are faithfully enforced (executive 'Elastic' Clause) (Allowed Presidents to expand their power and created Implied Powers for the President)

• Receive Ambassadors and Heads of State

• Commission all the officers of the United States Military

Define a pocket veto

If Congress is still in session

What are the current implied powers of the President?

Executive Powers

• Presidential 'elastic' clause in Article II

Why is the War Powers Act controversial?

The War Powers Act says that the President can use military without congressional approval but must report within 48 hours and must end within 60 days

What did Clinton v. Jones do?

Ruled President has no immunity for civil acts unrelated to the office. Public officials may not be sued for official duties. You cannot be sued from doing your job

What is true about both the line item veto and impoundment? What Supreme Court cases decided this?

Impoundment = Refusal to spend appropriations passed by Congress (Train v. City of New York declared this unconstitutional)

Line Item Veto = Gave the President the authority to veto portions of a bill rather than the entire bill. Meant to encourage the President to balance the Federal Budget (Clinton v. City of New York declared this unconstitutional).

Both were attempts to expand the President power in legislation and both were deemed unconstitutional.

Identify the most powerful informal power of the President? Identify a president who was successful in using it:

Informal: The Power to Persuade

• President's try to transform popularity into congressional support for their programs

• Bully Pulpit

• Negotiating with members of Congress directly

• FDR Fireside Chats

Formal: Explicitly stated in Constitution

• Veto Power

• Commander in Chief

• Chief Executive

• Power of Appointment

• Treaty-making Power

• Power to Pardon

Implied: Executive orders & signing statements

The most informal power of the President is the public use of persuasion power (Bully Pulpit)

Describe the main point of the editorial cartoon above:

The idea that executive privilege allowed the president to maintain caution on matters of national security. The main point of the cartoon is to demonstrate how presidents can cover-up secrets and scandals under the appearance of executive privilege because they aren't legally obligates to share facets of information with the public.

What was the Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Nixon? How would that decision relate to the cartoon?

The Supreme Court does have the final voice in determining constitutional questions

no person

not even the President of the United States

and the president cannot use executive privilege as an excuse to withhold evidence that is 'demonstrably relevant in a criminal trial.

The Supreme Court's decision in US v Nixon was that Executive Privilege was only applicable to national security. This decision relates the cartoon because it shows how this is an INAPPROPRIATE use of Executive Privilege (but presidents will label certain things as National Security issues just to try and use it).

According to the graph

what usually happens to the President's party in mid-term elections?

What is the Cabinet and how is it formed?

Advisory Council for the President that consists of the Head of the Executive Department

The rule of propinquity is:

Those who are closer to the President

Identify and describe the three models of Presidential management:

The three models are the pyramid structure

Define an Independent Agency and give a specific example:

A government organization that is not apart of the U.S. Cabinet

What was the spoils system of civil service appointments? How is technocracy different?

The Spoils System (or Patronage System) of civil service appointments was where political parties who won an election gave government jobs to their supporters

What is the Iron Triangle?

The relationship between interest groups

What are the pathologies of bureaucracy?

Red Tape: Excessive rules and procedures that just slow down the decision making and makes processes insufficient

Conflict: Agencies work at cross-purposes

What happens if they President dies

and the Vice President takes over?

Difference between United Government and Divided Government:

United Government:

One Party Control: This happens when the same party controls both the executive branch (the presidency) and the legislative branch (Congress). For example

Why would a President care about the outcome of the Midterm Elections?

Divided Government makes it harder for the President to get what they want done

How can the Bureaucracy handle an issue?

They can testify before Congress