American Government: Stories of a Nation (Presidential Election Update) - Chapter 5

• Federalist 70

  • an essay by Alexander Hamilton that focused on the importance of a single energetic executive

• 22nd Amendment

  • Limits the presidency to two terms, ratified in 1951

• formal powers

  • powers expressly granted in the Constitution

• informal powers

  • powers not laid out in the Constitution but used to carry out presidential duties

• chief executive

  • the presidential role that involves carrying out the laws of the nation

• Article II

  • Constitutional article that defines the executive branch

• cabinet

  • The president’s collection of advisors and secretaries that act as the link between him and the bureaucracy

• chief diplomat

  • the presidential role that involves guiding foreign policy and interacting with the heads of other nations

• treaty

  • an agreement with a foreign government negotiated by the president and requiring a two-thirds vote in the Senate to ratify

• chief legislator

  • the presidential role that involves helping to set the Congressional agenda and shaping laws

• State of the Union Address (s)

  • the annual speech from the president to Congress updating that branch on the state of national affairs

  • significance:

• veto

  • formal rejection by the president of a bill that has passed both houses of Congress

• pocket veto

  • an informal veto caused when the president chooses not to sign a bill within ten days, during a time when Congress has adjourned at the end of a session

• commander-in-chief

  • the presidential role that involves having control and command of the Army and Navy

• presidential pardon

  • presidential authority to release individuals convicted from a crime of legal consequences and forgive an individual and set aside punishment for a crime

• executive privilege

  • a right claimed by presidents to keep certain conversations, records, and transcripts confidential from outside scrutiny, especially that of Congress

• executive agreement

  • an agreement between a president and another nation that does not have the same durability as a treaty but does not require Senate ratification

• signing statement

  • written comments issued by presidents while signing a bill into law that usually consist of political statements or reasons for signing the bill but that may also include a president’s interpretation of the law itself

• executive order (e,s)

  • policy directives issued by presidents that do not require congressional approval

  • example:

  • significance:

• War Powers Resolution

  • a law passed over President Nixon’s veto that restricts the power of the president to maintain troops in combat for more than sixty days without congressional authorization

• impeachment

  • the process of removing a president from office, with articles of impeachment issued by a majority vote in the House of Representatives, followed by a trial in the Senate, with a two-thirds vote necessary to convict and remove

• U.S. v. Nixon

  • A 1974 Supreme Court case that affirmed the power of executive privilege but recognized that it was not absolute (Nixon needed to hand over those tapes!)

• 25th Amendment

  • Establishes presidential succession: vp → speaker of the house → president pro tempore → cabinet secretaries

• Executive Office of the President

  • a collection of offices within the White House organization designed mainly to provide information to the president

• National Security Council

  • an office within the Executive Office of the President concerning matters of national security

• White House Office

  • A part of the EOP headed by the Chief of Staff which includes important directors, deputies, and other staff members

• White House Press Secretary

  • the president’s spokesperson to the media who conducts press briefings

• bargaining and persuasion

  • informal tool used by the president to persuade members of Congress to support his policy initiatives

• bully pulpit

  • presidential appeals to the public to pressure other branches of government to support his policies

• going public

  • a tactic through which presidents reach out directly to the American people with the hope that the people will, in turn, put pressure upon their representatives and senators to press for a president’s policy goals

• honeymoon period (s)

  • a period of time at the beginning of a new president’s term where relations with Congress and the press are favorable - usually lasts 6 months

  • significance: can give the president a big boost in efficiency in passing legislation

• Hamdi v. Rumsfeld

  • Yaser Hamdi (American citizen) was detained indefinitely in Afghanistan and accused of being a Taliban fighter - eventually transferred to Guantanamo Bay

  • Was his Fifth Amendment right to due process violated? yes

  • President did not have a blank check to hold American citizens just because of state of war

  • Hamdi had right to a hearing before a “neutral decision maker”

Concepts:

• Major ways that Congress can check the powers of presidency (see Table 5.1)

  • Power of the purse

  • override vetoes

  • OVERSIGHT

  • Declare war

  • impeachment

• The roles played by the Vice-President

  • president of the Senate

  • successor in case something happens to the president

• Modern trends regarding fluctuations in presidential approval ratings

  • Approval ratings typically are lowest at the end of term and highest at the start of term

• Presidential actions on January 6, 2021 that raised concerns about democratic norms in the U.S.

  • Inciting of violence and insurrection

  • Election denial