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 2.5:
What conclusions can you make the qualities a person needs to have in order to be a GREAT PRESIDENT!
Activity #1: Grading the Presidency
Notes over the Presidency
