Notes - Constitution - Article 2

7/29/2019 Notes - Constitution - Article 2

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Article 2: Powers Given to theExecutive Branch


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Who is in the Executive Branch?Article 2, Section 1, Clause 1: The executive shall be vested in a President

The President and Vice President leadthis branch. It is their duty to see that thelaws of our nation are carried out.

The President is the only person in ourgovernment that represents all people.Why?

Elected every 4 years.


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Qualifications of the ExecutiveArticle 2, Section1, Clause 5: No person except a natural-born citizen shall be eligible

Must be a Natural Born Citizen of the US.

Must be a 14 year resident of the US.

Must be 35 years old.


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Line of Succession: What happens if a President Dies?Article 2, Section 1, Clause 6: sets up the Presidential Succession Act of 1947

. The President is immediatelyeplaced by the Vice President.

. In the even that both President/VPre eliminated, the Speaker of the

ouse would assume the Presidency.. In the event all 3 are gone, thePresident Pro Tempore of theenate assumes the Presidency.

. If all four are eliminated,

eplacement is done by theresidents Cabinet (in order of

nception) .

President John F. Kennedy Minutes before his

Assassination (November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas).


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Line of Succession, continued

In any case, the newPresident names his/herVP, and fills any vacanciesin the Cabinet. Who is the only President to

NEVER have been elected,because of events related tothis process?

There is always aDesignated Survivor at

the State of the Union andsuch large publicgatherings of government.

William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln (A), James Garfield (A), William

McKinley (A), Warren G. Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy (A) are the 8

Presidents who have died in office.


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Other DetailsArticle 2, Section 1, Clauses 7 and 8: Salary and Oath of Office

The President makes $400,000.

Only Congress can change that.

Oath of Office is the culminating event of

Inauguration Day (January 20th

). Chief Justice of Supreme Court does this.

I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office ofPresident of the United States, and will to

the best of my ability, preserve, protect anddefend the Constitution of

the United States.


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Presidential PowersArticle 2, Section 2, Clause 1 & 2: The President shall be commander in chief

seek opinions grant reprieves and pardons also: advice and consent clause.

Commander in Chief: Simply put, the President commandsall military actions (including the National Guard).

Who declares war?

Can create a cabinet of experts of whom he can ask

opinions of.

Can issue pardons and reprieves.

Allows the President to release anyone from jail that hed like.

Very, very controversial.

Negotiate treaties and agreements with nations. 2/3 of the Senate must approve, however.

Appoint judges and ambassadors With Senate approval, of course.


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Other Presidential Powers & DutiesArticle 2, Section 3, Clauses 1-6: The President is very, very busy.

Clause 1: deliver the state of the union. Can motivate or inspire Congress to write/pass laws. Or, he can just

tell them to (this makes him a legislator, of sorts).

Clause 2: call for a special session of Congress. Only if they fail to do their job in a timely fashion (only happened 27

times in history, and not since 1948). Clause 3: represent our country in discussions with other

nations as the face of our country. Also gives him power of foreign policy.

Clause 4: faithfully execute our nations laws. He can adjust the budget at times. Can also suspend habeas corpus, though rare. Executive Order has come from this:

The Presidents power to issue directives, which are basically lawscoming from the President, without Congressional approval.


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The CabinetArticle 2, Section 2, Clause 2: advice and consent clause.

The members of thecabinet are his closestadvisors experts in aparticular area that canhelp the President make

decisions that affect ourcountry. While notdirectly in theConstitution, itsimpossible for the

President to carry out hisduties without their aid.

The President chooses these to help him/hermake the best decisions possible. Think of them

as the assistant coaches or supporting cast.


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All the Presidents Men (and women!)For the Test, just be sure to identify what these are.

Department of State (leader is called the Secretary ofState)

Department of TreasuryDepartment of DefenseDepartment of Justice (AttorneyGeneral)

Department of InteriorDepartment of AgricultureDepartment of CommerceDepartment of LaborDepartment of Health and Human Services

Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentDepartment of TransportationDepartment of EnergyDepartment of EducationDepartment of VeteransAffairsDepartment of HomelandSecurity *Created in 2002!


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Agencies of the Executive BranchNot on Test

Chief of Staff (The Gatekeeper)

Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Management and Budget

National Drug Control Policy Central Intelligence Agency

Federal Trade Commission

National Security Advisor

Director of National Intelligence


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Presidential PerksJust for fun not on the Test!

Air Force One, Navy One, Marine One, Coast Guard One, ArmyOne, and Cadillac One!

Secret Service protection (from serious candidacy until death)

Bowling alley, pool, movie theatre, jogging track, putting green.

Personal Gourmet Chef, 24/7

Lifetime of benefits (pension, health care, home). Bill Clintongets $1.2 million worth of benefits per year!


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Electing PresidentsArticle 2, Section 1, Clause 2: Each state shall appoint a number of electors.

Some founding fathers didnt trust the people to have 100%of the voting power, so we have a buffer.

The Electoral College is an indirect election of thepresident.

We tell the Electoral College who to vote for with our vote.


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Electoral MathArticle 2, Section 2, Clause 2 cont: equal to the whole number of Senators andRepresentatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress

Each states number of electors is = to Representatives +Senators (Illinois would send ?)

When you vote for Obama or McCain, youre not really voting for them.Youre voting for the 21 electors that are loyal to them. In December,they cast their vote according to ours.

How many Electoral Votes in all?

Need 270 win.

Winner take all

2 states (Nebraska and Maine)divide their votes byCongressional

district.


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Are some states more important than others? Which would you goafter first? How many states would you need to get 270?


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Flaws in the Electoral College?

Nothing is to say that an Electoral College voter hasto follow our vote.

These are called faithless electors. However, the peoplechosen as electors are very loyal to that candidate.

What do they do if their candidate dies?

3 times, a president has been elected via theElectoral College while losing the popular vote:

Bush in 2000, Harrison in 1888 and Hayes in 1876. If there is a tie in the Electoral College, the House of

Representatives votes to break it.

Documents

Notes - Constitution - Article 2