Topic 5: The Executive Branch–The Presidency and Vice Pres.

The President is the author of the nation's public policies in his or her role of

• commander in chief.

• chief legislator.

• chief of party.

• chief citizen.

Read this excerpt from the text:

"Sections 3 and 4 of the 25th Amendment fill the disability gap. . . . The Vice President is to become Acting President if (1) the President informs Congress, in writing, 'that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,' or (2) the Vice President and a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform Congress, in writing, that the President is so incapacitated. The President may resume the powers and duties of the office by informing Congress by 'written declaration' that no inability exists. However, the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet may challenge the President on this score. If they do, Congress has 21 days in which to decide the matter."

Suppose the President were badly injured, and unable to inform the Vice President that he could not discharge the power and duties of his office. How would power be transferred to the Vice President?

• Congress would appoint the Vice President as Acting President but would need the approval of a majority of the members of the Cabinet.

• The Vice President would automatically become Acting President but would need the approval of Congress.

• The Vice President alone would inform Congress in writing that the President was incapacitated.

• The Vice President and a majority of the members of the Cabinet would inform Congress in writing that the President was incapacitated.

Charles Dawes, Vice President under Calvin Coolidge, commented that he had little to do as Vice President but "look at newspapers every morning to see how the President's health is." Based on this quotation, what was Dawes' point of view about the vice presidency?

• The Vice President has little responsibility, except to be ready to assume the presidency.

• The Vice President has responsibility for keeping up with current events.

• The Vice President must be ready at all times to undertake any work assigned to him by the President.

• The Vice President must stop any rumors in the press that the President is in ill health.

Read the following quotation from President Theodore Roosevelt:

"My view [of the presidency] was that every executive officer. . . was. . . bound actively and affirmatively to do all that he could for the people. . . . My belief was that it was not only [a President's] right but his duty to do anything that the needs of the Nation demanded unless such action was forbidden by the Constitution or by the laws. . . ."

This approach to the presidency was MOST SIMILAR to that of which of the following Presidents?

• William Howard Taft

• Andrew Jackson

• George Washington

• Calvin Coolidge

Read this excerpt from the text:

"In 1952, at the height of the Korean War, a labor dispute threatened to shut down the nation's steel industry and imperil the war effort. To avert a strike, President Harry Truman, acting as commander in chief, ordered the Secretary of Commerce to seize and operate several steel mills. But the Supreme Court found that here the President had overstepped his constitutional authority. It held that only Congress, acting under its commerce power, could authorize the seizure of private property in time of war, and it had not done so."

This is an example of

• the judicial branch limiting the legislative branch.

• the legislative branch limiting the executive branch.

• the judicial branch limiting the executive branch.

• the legislative branch limiting the judicial branch.

Which of the following statements about the President's judicial powers is FALSE?

• The President's power of amnesty is a blanket pardon offered to a group of law violators.

• A President's power to pardon is absolute except in the case of impeachment.

• The President's power of commutation can reduce a fine or the length of a sentence imposed by a court.

• The President's power of clemency may be used in cases involving both State and federal offenses.

If a President receives a bill that has some provisions he or she supports and some provisions he or she opposes, the President can

• veto the provisions he or she opposes and sign the rest of the bill.

• sign the bill and issue a signing statement addressing the parts of the bill he or she opposes.

• veto parts of the bill and sign others, and provide reasons to Congress in writing.

• issue a signing statement that orders Congress to rewrite the bill.

1) the Senate votes on a treaty

2) the President negotiates a treaty

Which of these is the CAUSE and which is the EFFECT?

• 1 is the cause and 2 is the effect.

• 2 is the cause and 1 is the effect.

• Both 1 and 2 are causes.

• Both 1 and 2 are effects.

Read this excerpt from the text:

"At times, a President has had to turn to roundabout methods in order to achieve his [treaty] goals. When a Senate minority defeated a treaty to annex Texas, President John Tyler was able to bring about annexation in 1845 by encouraging passage of a joint resolution—a move that required only a majority vote in each house. In 1898, President William McKinley used the same tactic to annex Hawaii."

What does this excerpt illustrate about the process of approving treaties?

• The treaty-making process must be followed exactly as described in the Constitution.

• A treaty is not the only tool a President can use to make agreements with other countries.

• The treaty-making process is usually controlled by a Senate minority.

• A treaty can be approved by the House of Representatives instead of the Senate.

Read this excerpt from the text about the presidential power of recognition:

"Recognition does not mean that one government approves the character or the conduct of another. The United States recognizes several governments about which it has serious misgivings. . . . The facts of life in world politics make relations with these governments necessary."

Which of the following is an example of a nation whose government the United States recognizes, but about which our nation has serious misgivings?

• Iran

• France

• Mexico

• Ireland