Unit Two Part Two: The Executive Branch
The expressed powers of the president are set forth in Article II of the Constitution. The president has a significant degree of informal power, which has grown over time. Under the Constitution, Congress checks the power of the president, and this leads to tension between the two branches over both foreign and domestic affairs. The president and Congress have several interrelated powers. For example, while Congress passes legislation, the president must sign it into law. The president appoints judges and members of the cabinet, who must be confirmed by the Senate. The president also oversees most of the bureaucracy. Technology has impacted the president’s use of the “bully pulpit” to influence public opinion. In addition to reaching out to the public through televised press conferences and the State of the Union message, the president is increasingly making use of social media to communicate views to a vast audience.Lesson 2.4: Roles and Powers of the President
Enduring Understanding:
The presidency has been enhanced beyond its expressed constitutional powers.Learning Objectives:
Explain how the president can implement a policy agenda.Essential Knowledge:
Presidents use powers and perform functions of the office to accomplish a policy agenda.Formal and informal powers of the president include:
- Vetoes and pocket vetoes – formal powers that enable the president to check Congress
- Foreign policy – both formal (Commander-in-Chief and treaties) and informal (executive agreements) powers that influence relations with foreign nations
- Bargaining and persuasion – informal power that enables the president to secure congressional action
- Executive orders – implied from the president’s vested executive power, or from power delegated by Congress, executive orders are used by the president to manage the federal government
- Signing statements – informal power that informs Congress and the public of the president’s interpretation of laws passed by Congress and signed by the president
Debrief 2.4: Going back in time...
Let's go back and review a bit from Unit One, the Articles of Confederation, Federalism, and The Magna Carta. Then, please take the Second District CUA.
Activity #1: Executive Branch One Pager:
In order to create a divider in your notebooks between the Legislative Branch (Congress) and the Executive Branch (The Presidency) we are going to create a one pager. The one pager should include the following...
- A title and subtitle across the middle
- A border that includes the powers of the president
- A picture in one quadrant
- Executive checks on the other branches in the next quadrant
- Qualifications and term limits in the next quadrant
- 3 questions about the president in the last quadrant
Activity #2: OSAM
Think about the Objects, Symbolism, Actions, and Meaning...
