Chapter 12: The Presidency

12.3 Organizing to Govern (pt. 2)

It also means efficiently laying out a political agenda and reacting appropriately to unexpected events. A new president has limited time to get things done and must take action with the political wind at his or her back.

4. What factors contributed to the growth of presidential power in the twentieth century?

1. Unity of presidency 2. Authority delegated by congress 3. Citizens' demand for leadership 4. President's ability to act quickly in crisis 5. President's views/ways of fulfilling roles 6. President's ability to use media ???????

executive order

a rule or order issued by the president without the cooperation of Congress and having the force of law

rally around the flag effect

a spike in presidential popularity during international crises

12.2 The Presidential Election Process (pt. 2)

At first, party leaders kept tight control over the selection of candidates via the convention process. By the start of the twentieth century, however, primary and caucus voting had brought the power to select candidates directly to the people, and the once-important conventions became rubber-stamping events.

12.4 The Public Presidency (pt. 1)

Despite the obvious fact that the president is the head of state, the U.S. Constitution actually empowers the occupant of the White House with very little authority. Apart from the president's war powers, the office holder's real advantage is the ability to speak to the nation with one voice.

signing statement

a statement a president issues with the intent to influence the way a specific bill the president signs should be enforced

12.3 Organizing to Govern (pt. 1)

It can be difficult for a new president to come to terms with both the powers of the office and the limitations of those powers. Successful presidents assume their role ready to make a smooth transition and to learn to work within the complex governmental system to fill vacant positions in the cabinet and courts, many of which require Senate confirmation.

3. How did presidents who served in the decades directly after Washington expand the powers of the presidency?

John Adams expanded the war powers by waging undeclared war, Thomas Jefferson negotiated the purchase of Louisiana from France, and James Monroe took direct control of foreign policymaking when he issued the Monroe Doctrine.

17. What strategies can presidents employ to win people over to their way of thinking?

Presidents can use road trips across the country, major speeches, and rewards to people in their camp. Historically, however, these techniques have only rarely been successful. What works best is for a president find a popular position to get out in front of.

13. How were presidents in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries likely to reach the public? Were these methods effective?

Presidents of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries might make speeches or publish letters in newspapers across the country. These methods may have been effective in their day, but not in comparison to the ability of modern presidents with television, radio, and the Internet at their disposal.

12.5 Presidential Governance: Direct Presidential Action (pt. 2)

Presidents use various means to attempt to drive public opinion and effect political change. But history has shown that they are limited in their ability to drive public opinion. Favorable conditions can help a president move policies forward. These conditions include party control of Congress and the arrival of crises such as war or economic decline. But as some presidencies have shown, even the most favorable conditions don't guarantee success.

12.4 The Public Presidency (pt. 2)

Technological changes in the twentieth century have greatly expanded the power of the presidential bully pulpit. The twentieth century also saw a string of more public first ladies. Women like Eleanor Roosevelt and Lady Bird Johnson greatly expanded the power of the first lady's role, although first ladies who have undertaken more nontraditional roles have encountered significant criticism.

In what ways have first ladies expanded the role of their office over the twentieth century?

The First Lady has no official government position. Yet she is often at the center of national attention. Several First Ladies such as Edith Galt Wilson and Eleanor Roosevelt, have been very influential. Hillary Rodham Clinton attained the most responsible and visible leadership position ever held by a First Lady. ???????

12.1 The Design and Evolution of the Presidency (pt.1)

The delegates at the Constitutional Convention proposed creating the office of the president and debated many forms the role might take. The president is elected for a maximum of two four-year terms and can be impeached by Congress for wrongdoing and removed from office.

12.2 The Presidential Election Process (pt. 1)

The position of president of the United States was created during the Constitutional Convention. Within a generation of Washington's administration, powerful political parties had overtaken the nominating power of state legislatures and created their own systems for selecting candidates.

12.1 The Design and Evolution of the Presidency (pt. 2)

The presidency and presidential power, especially war powers, have expanded greatly over the last two centuries, often with the willing assistance of the legislative branch. Executive privilege and executive orders are two of the presidency's powerful tools. During the last several decades, historical events and new technologies such as radio, television, and the Internet have further enhanced the stature of the presidency.

Bully pulpit

Theodore Roosevelt's notion of the presidency as a platform from which the president could push an agenda

What problems exist with the Electoral College?

There are many problems with the Electoral College. First, small states are over-represented in the Electoral College. Second, the state by state set-up of the college, in the modern era, leads to states that are safe wins for one party, leaving a handful of states that get all the attention. Finally, its outcomes can differ from the outcome of actual citizen voting (also known as the national popular vote.

12.5 Presidential Governance: Direct Presidential Action (pt. 1)

While the power of the presidency is typically checked by the other two branches of government, presidents have the unencumbered power to pardon those convicted of federal crimes and to issue executive orders, which don't require congressional approval but lack the permanence of laws passed by Congress. In matters concerning foreign policy, presidents have at their disposal the executive agreement, which is a much-easier way for two countries to come to terms than a treaty that requires Senate ratification but is also much narrower in scope.

going public

a term for when the president delivers a major television address in the hope that public pressure will result in legislators supporting the president on a major piece of legislation

Which of the following is an unintended consequence of the rise of the primary and caucus system? a. Sometimes candidates unpopular with the party leadership reach the top. b. Campaigns have become shorter and more expensive. c. The conventions have become more powerful than the voters. d. Often incumbent presidents will fail to be renominated by the party.

a. Sometimes candidates unpopular with the party leadership reach the top.

cabinet

a group of advisors to the president, consisting of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch who head the fifteen executive departments

line-item veto

a power created through law in 1996 and overturned by the Supreme Court in 1998 that allowed the president to veto specific aspects of bills passed by Congress while signing into law what remained

8. The people who make up the modern president's cabinet are the heads of the major federal departments and ________. a. must be confirmed by the Senate b. once in office are subject to dismissal by the Senate c. serve two-year terms d. are selected base on the rules of patronage

a. must be confirmed by the Senate

14. The passage of the Tenure of Office Act of 1867 was just one instance in a long line of ________. a. struggles for power between the president and the Congress b. unconstitutional presidential power grabbing c. impeachment trials d. arguments over presidential policy

a. struggles for power between the president and the Congress

king caucus

an informal meeting held in the nineteenth century, sometimes called a congressional caucus, made up of legislators in the Congress who met to decide on presidential nominees for their respective parties

executive agreement

an international agreement between the president and another country made by the executive branch and without formal consent by the Senate

Office of Management and Budget

an office within the Executive Office of the President charged with producing the president's budget, overseeing its implementation, and overseeing the executive bureaucracy

2. Which of the following is a way George Washington expanded the power of the presidency? a. He refused to run again after serving two terms. b. He appointed the heads of various federal departments as his own advisors. c. He worked with the Senate to draft treaties with foreign countries. d. He submitted his neutrality proclamation to the Senate for approval.

b. He appointed the heads of various federal departments as his own advisors.

1. Many at the Continental Congress were skeptical of allowing presidents to be directly elected by the legislature because ________. a. they were worried about giving the legislature too much power b. they feared the opportunities created for corruption c. they knew the weaknesses of an electoral college d. they worried about subjecting the commander-in-chief to public scrutiny

b. they feared the opportunities created for corruption

5. How did the election of 1824 change the way presidents were selected? a. Following this election, presidents were directly elected. b. Jackson's supporters decided to create a device for challenging the Electoral College. c. The election convinced many that the parties must adopt the king caucus as the primary method for selecting presidents. d. The selection of the candidate with fewer electoral votes triggered the rise of party control over nominations.

c. The election convinced many that the parties must adopt the king caucus as the primary method for selecting presidents

15. Which of the following is an example of an executive agreement? a. The president negotiates an agreement with China and submits it to the Senate for ratification. b. The president changes a regulation on undocumented immigrant status without congressional approval. c. The president signs legally binding nuclear arms terms with Iran without seeking congressional approval. d. The president issues recommendations to the Department of Justice on what the meaning of a new criminal statute is.

c. The president signs legally binding nuclear arms terms with Iran without seeking congressional approval

9. A very challenging job for new presidents is to ______. a. move into the White House b. prepare and deliver their first State of the Union address c. nominate and gain confirmation for their cabinet and hundreds of other officials d. prepare their first executive budget

c. nominate and gain confirmation for their cabinet and hundreds of other officials

11. President Theodore Roosevelt's concept of the bully pulpit was the office's ________. a. authority to use force, especially military force b. constitutional power to veto legislation c. premier position to pressure through public appeal d. ability to use technology to enhance the voice of the president

c. premier position to pressure through public appeal

impeachment

the act of charging a government official with serious wrongdoing, which in some cases may lead to the removal of that official from office

Executive Office of the President

the administrative organization that reports directly to the president and made up of important offices, units, and staff of the current president and headed by the White House chief of staff

executive privilege

the president's right to withhold information from Congress, the judiciary, or the public