U.S. Government Topic 5 The Executive Branch- The Presidency and Vice Presidency (CH. 13: The Presidency)

National Convention

Meeting held by political parties at which a party's delegates vote to pick their Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates.

National Popular Vote Plan

Plan to have each state give their electors to the winner of the national popular vote. This would be a way to have a direct popular election without requiring a Constitutional Amendment.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President of the United States during most of the Depression and most of World War II who is the only President to be elected to 4 terms of office. He served as President from 1933 to 1945 dying in the first year of his 4th Term.

Air Force One

President's private jet

Keynote Address

Speech given at the national convention to set the tone for the convention and the campaign to come. It is the highlight of the first two days at the convention and is usually given by one of the party's most accomplished orators.

Iowa

State that holds the first Caucus during Presidential Election Years even before the New Hampshire Primary

New Hampshire

State that holds the first Presidential Primary each Presidential Election Year in January.

Blue States

States that tend to vote Democrat

Red States

States that tend to vote Republican

Swing States

States where the votes between Democrats and Republicans are close.

Chief Legislator

Term for the President as architect of public policy and the one who sets the agenda for Congress.

Chief of State

Term for the President as the ceremonial head of the United States; the symbol of all the people of the nation

Chief Executive

Term for the President as vested with the executive power of the United States. Head of the Executive Branch of Government for the United States of America, often described as the most powerful office in the world

First Lady

Term for the wife of the President of the United States

John F. Kennedy

The 35th President of the United States (1961-1963); he was the 4th and last to be assassinated. He was the youngest to be elected President at the age of 43.

Richard Nixon

The 37th President of the United States (1969-1974); the only President to resign from office.

Barack Obama

The 44th President of the United States (2009-2017); the first African American President.

Donald Trump

The 45th President of the United States(2017-2021) (Republican) Became the oldest when first elected President at 70 years old until Joe Biden was elected at 78 years old.

Joe Biden

The current (46th) President of the United States (Democrat) who took office January 20, 2021- Present. He is the oldest President to ever be elected at 78 years old when he first took office.

Naturalization

The legal process by which citizens of one country become citizens of another

2024 Democratic Party National Convention

The next Democratic Party's National Convention is scheduled to be held August 19 to 22, 2024, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

2024 Republican National Convention

The next Republican Party's National Convention is scheduled to be held July 15 to 18, 2024, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

270

The number of Electoral Votes required to win the Presidential Election

Oval Office

The office of the President of the United States, situated in the White House.

Electoral Votes

Votes cast by electors in the electoral college

Presidential Elector

a person elected by the voters to represent them in making a formal selection of the Vice President and President.

Platform

a political party's formal statement of basic principles, stands on major issues, and objectives for the campaign and beyond.

22nd Amendment

adopted in 1951, it limits presidents to two terms or ten years in office

Presidential Primary

an election in which a party's voters 1). choose State party organization's delegates to their party's national convention, and/or 2). express a preference for their party's Presidential nomination.

President's Salary

$400,000 per year plus $50,000 a year expense allowance.

Goals of the National Convention

(1) name the party's Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees, (2) bring together party's factions & leaders for common purpose to unite behind their candidate, and to adopt a party platform

Qualifications for President

1. 35 years old, 2. live in America for at least for 14 years, 3. natural born citizen

Who is usually nominated?

1. Governors, 2. Senators, 3. Vice Presidents, 4. War Generals

Duties of the Vice President

1. President-in-waiting 2. Preside over the Senate, 3. Help decide the question of Presidential Disability 4. Whatever duties that the President delegates

Flaws in the Electoral College

1. The winner of the popular vote does not always win the election. This has happened 5 times in history including the Election of 2016 and the Election of 2000. 2. Faithless elector- nothing requires an elector to vote for the candidate that they are pledged to vote for. It has never changed an election's winner but has happened Eleven times. 3. If no candidate gets a majority of electoral votes it is decided by the House of Representatives which has happened Twice.

Order of Presidential Succession

1. Vice President, 2. Speaker of the House, 3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate, 4. Secretary of State, 5. Secretary of the Treasury, 6. Secretary of Defense, 7. Attorney General, 8. Secretary of the Interior, 9. Secretary of Agriculture, 10. Secretary of Commerce, 11. Secretary of Labor, 12. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 14. Secretary of Transportation, 15. Secretary of Energy, 16. Secretary of Education, 17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 18. Secretary of Homeland Security

John Tyler

10th U.S. President. (1841-1845) who was Vice President for William Henry Harrison and ascended into the Presidency when he died of Pneumonia. He was the first Vice President to take over when a President died in office.

Number of Electoral Votes for Tennessee

11

James K. Polk

11th U.S. President. (1845-1849) Democrat who was a follower of Andrew Jackson and promoted Manifest Destiny from Columbia, Tennessee. He was the 2nd President from Tennessee.

White House

132 room mansion that serves as the President's home and office

Millard Fillmore

13th U.S. President. (1850-1853) who was Vice President for Zachary Taylor and ascended into the Presidency when he died of Gastroenteritis.

Andrew Johnson

17th U.S. President. (1865-1869) He was the first President to be impeached although he was one vote short of being removed from office. He was the 3rd and last President from Tennessee.

Andrew Johnson

17th U.S. President. (1865-1869) who was Vice President for Abraham Lincoln and ascended into the Presidency when he was assassinated.

George Washington

1st President of the United States who set many customs and traditions such as two term tradition, choosing a cabinet, and giving a farewell address.

John Adams

1st vice president under George Washington and 2nd President of the United States (1735-1826).

Chester Arthur

21st President (1881-1885) who was Vice President for James Garfield and ascended into the Presidency when he was assassinated

Theodore Roosevelt

26th U.S. President (1901-1909) He was the youngest President ever at 42 years old when he ascended into the Presidency when William McKinley was assassinated.

Speaker of the House

2nd in the line of presidential succession

Least number of Electoral Votes a State can have

3, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Vermont, and Washington D.C. all get 3 electoral votes.

Calvin Coolidge

30th U.S. President (1923-1929) who was Vice President for Warren G. Harding and ascended into the Presidency when he died of undisclosed illness.

Harry S. Truman

33rd U.S. President (1945-1953) who was Vice President for Franklin D. Roosevelt and ascended into the Presidency when he died of cerebral hemorrhage.

Lyndon B. Johnson

36th U.S. President (1963-1969) who was Vice President for John F. Kennedy and ascended into the Presidency when he was assassinated.

Gerald Ford

38th U.S. President (1974-1977) who was Vice President for Richard Nixon and ascended into the Presidency when he resigned from office. He had been appointed Vice President by Nixon when V.P. Spiro Agnew resigned and became our 1st and only non elected President

Thomas Jefferson

3rd President of the United States (1801-1809), 1st Secretary of State under President George Washington and 2nd Vice President under John Adams. He also was the author of the Declaration of Independence

President Pro Tempre of the Senate

3rd in the line of presidential succession

President's Term of Office

4 years

Ronald Reagan

40th U.S. President. 1981-1989. He was the oldest elected President at 69 when he was first elected (prior to Donald Trump who was 70 when he was first elected and then Joe Biden who was 78 when he was elected).

George H.W. Bush

41st U.S. President. (1989-1993) He was Vice President to Ronald Reagan and became the first V.P. to take over temporarily for the President via the 25th Amendment when Reagan had surgery in 1985.

Secretary of State

4th in the line of presidential succession

Number of Electoral Votes for California

54

Andrew Jackson

7th U.S. President. (1829-1837) Founder of the Democratic Party. 1st President from Tennessee.

Electorate

All the people who are eligible to vote in an election.

12th Amendment

Amendment added to the Constitution in 1804, it separated the presidential and vice presidential candidates on separate ballots in order to avoid another fiasco like the election of 1800.

23rd Amendment

Amendment ratified in 1961 that granted the Washington D.C. 3 Electoral Votes

25th Amendment

Amendment ratified in 1967 that sets up procedures to follow when a President is disabled or Vice Presidency is vacant. It addresses presidential disability by providing that the Vice President is to become Acting President if (1) the President informs Congress in writing that he is unable to discharge his office or (2) the VP and a majority of the Cabinet inform Congress in writing that the President is so incapacitated. It also allows for a new President who has ascended to the role to choose a new Vice-President to be confirmed by Congress instead of leaving the office vacant, as had been done previously.

Incumbent

An officeholder who is seeking reelection.

Vice President

Assumes the Presidency if the President is unable to perform his duties

Roles of the President

Chief of State, Chief Executive, Chief Administrator, Chief Diplomat, Commander in Chief, Chief of Party, Chief Citizen, Chief Legislator

Dr. Jill Biden

Current First Lady

Patty Murray

Current President Pro Tempore of the Senate

Antony Blinken

Current Secretary of State

Mike Johnson

Current Speaker of the House

Kamala Harris

Current Vice President of the United States. She is the first female and first African American vice President.

President

Head of the Executive Branch of Government for the United States.

Jus Soli

doctrine which grants citizenship to those born on American soil (including American military bases abroad or embassies)

Secret Service

group of law enforcement responsible for protecting the President

Electoral College

group of persons chosen in each State and District of Colombia every four years who make a formal selection of the President and Vice President.

Presidential Succession Act of 1947

law specifying the order of Presidential succession following the Vice President.

Swing Voters

members of the electorate who have not made up their mind at the start of a campaign and are open to persuasion by either side.

District Plan

proposal for choosing Presidential electors by which two electors would be selected in each State according to the Statewide popular vote and the other electors would be selected separately in each of the State's congressional districts.

Direct Popular Election

proposal to do away with the electoral college and allow the people to vote directly for the President and Vice President.

Proportional Plan

proposed by which each Presidential candidate would receive the same share of a State's electoral votes as he or she received in the State's popular vote.

Chief Citizen

term for the President as representative of all the people in the United States, working for and representing the public interest.

Chief Diplomat

term for the President as the main architect of foreign policy and spokesperson to the rest of the world.

Chief of Party

term for the president as the leader of his or her political party

Jus Sanguinis

Doctrine which automatically bestows American citizenship on a person with one parent who is an American citizen, literally The law of the Blood.

The Electoral College Today

The winner of the popular vote in each state gets their electors in the Electoral College who then choose the President. Each States Electors are equal to its number of Representatives and Senators in Congress.

538

Total number of Electoral Votes in the Electoral College

Camp David

Vacation Home of the President in the Catoctin Mountains in Maryland

Election of 1800

Vice President Thomas Jefferson defeated President John Adams. There was an accidental tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr that led the election to be decided in the House of Represented. This election led to the passing of the 12th Amendment.

Proportional Representation

rule applied in democratic primaries whereby any candidate who wins at least 15% of votes gets the number of State democratic convention delegates based on his or her share of that primary vote.

Presidential Succession

scheme by which a Presidential vacancy is filled.

Caucus-Convention

system used in part or whole by some states in which a group of like-minded people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election; this series of meetings is organized in a pyramid which culminates in a convention

Winner-Take-All

system whereby a Presidential aspirant who wins the preference vote in a primary automatically wins all the delegates chosen in the primary; until recently, widely used, but now they've all but disappeared; Democratic Party rules forbid this in primaries and use instead a complex proportional representation rule to allot delegates to candidates for the national convention

Commander in Chief

term for the President as commander of the nation's armed forces.

Chief Administrator

term for the President as head of the administration of the Federal Government. He directs an administration that employs more than 2.8 million employees and spends over $3.5 trillion a year.

President's Benefits

the White House (132-rooms on 18.3 acres in Washington, D.C.), a sizeable suite of offices and large staff, a fleet of automobiles, his own private jet- Air Force One and own private helicopter- Marine One plus other planes and helicopters, Camp David (resort/ vacation home in Maryland), finest medical, dental and other health care available, and generous travel and entertainment funds, and a retirement plan of $199,700 per year.

Two Term tradition

tradition set by George Washington to step down after two terms and followed by all American Presidents until Franklin Roosevelt

Balance the Ticket

when a Presidential candidate chooses a running mate who can strengthen his chance of being elected by virtue of certain ideological, geographic, racial, ethnic, gender, or other characteristics.