Government: Chapter 13: The President Flashcards
- Chief of State - ceremonial head of gov’t
- Chief Executive - Head of Executive branch of gov’t
- Chief Administrator - heads the largest gov’t machine that employs 4 mill and spends 3 trill a year
- Chief Diplomat - in charge of foreign policy
- Chief Legislator - shapes goals for Congress
- Chief of Party - head of his political party
- Commander in Chief - heads nation’s Armed Forces
- Chief Citizen - representative of all people
Roles of the President
- Presides over Senate
- Decides questions about disability of President
- Waits for President to resign, die, or is removed to take power
Roles of the Vice President
- Each state has electors equal to the number senators and representatives
- Popular vote within the state chooses which electors will cast ballots for that state
- The winner of popular vote in the state gets all electoral votes for that state (Except Maine and Nebraska)
- Winner of the Presidency gets at least 270 votes
`The role of Congress in selecting the President as well as the process of the Electoral College
- Preserves our federal identity
- Prevents any one area from having too much power
- ie. CA and NY
Pros of the Electoral College
- Rural areas are not necessarily represented well
- Can win popular vote within the nation, but not win the presidency
- Third parties are essentially uninfluential
Cons of the Electoral College
- Manages the nation’s natural resources, examples: coal, water, land, natural gas.
- Works to protect and preserve the environment.
- Houses the office responsible for overseeing Native American affairs.
US Department of the Interior (DOI)
- Headed by Attorney General, makes sure that federal laws aimed at protecting the public and promoting competitive business practices are implemented, including immigration and naturalization statutes, consumer safeguards, and criminal prosecutions.
- The FBI falls under this authority.
US Department of Justice (DOJ)
- administers and enforces laws and regulations that ensure safe working conditions, minimum hourly pay and overtime
US Department of Labor (DOL)
- Responsible for the conduct of the nation’s foreign affairs and diplomatic initiatives.
- Personnel coordinate conferences with foreign leaders, hammer out treaties and other agreements with foreign governments, and protect the safety of US citizens traveling abroad.
US Department of State
- Cars, trucks, buses, trains, boats, airplanes, and the nation’s transportation infrastructure all fall under this authority.
- Makes it possible for citizens to travel on the holidays
- Also oversees the Transportation Security Administration, which ensures safety of passengers
US Department of Transportation (DOT)
- Prints nation’s money
- Second oldest cabinet department (1st is State Department)
- Sets domestic financial, economic and tax policy, manages the public debt and collects taxes.
- Law enforcement, Secret Service, Customers Service are all agencies of this Department
US Department of the Treasury
- Healthcare system, provides social support services, administers pensions and other veterans’ benefits, and promotes the hiring of veterans
US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Broad range of responsibilities including farming, ag products, food stamps, anti-poverty programs, and conservation and natural resource protection.
- Responsible for the safety of the nation’s food supply and USDA employees run an array of rural development programs.
- The US Forest Service
US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- In one way or another responsible for everything we buy and sell.
- Regulate everything from foreign trade to fishing to the granting of patents.
- Oversees programs that support minority businesses, and provides stats and analyses for businesses and government planners.
US Department of Commerce
- Responsible for supplying military hardware, administering personnel pay and benefits, providing information to the public and military, managing military education programs, and attempting to locate missing personnel or prisoners of war.
US Department of Defense (DOD)
- First responsibility is making sure that the nation’s public school systems provide students with proper school supplies, educational facilities, and qualified teachers.
- Promote parental involvement in their children’s education, develop financial aid policies and encourage the use of modern technology in the classroom
US Department of Education
- Works to ensure the nation has a steady, consistent and safe supply of energy.
- Work to harness the sun’s power while its physicists attempt to capture nuclear energy for civilian or military use.
US Department of Energy (DOE)
- Government’s primary agency for overseeing the health and well-being of the American people.
- Work on more than 300 programs and perform essential services ranging from food and safety to medical research to drug abuse prevention.
- Regional offices across the country
US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- First priority is to protect the nation against further terrorist attacks.
- Component agencies will analyze threats and intelligence, guard the nation’s borders and airports, protect critical national infrastructure, and coordinate the nation’s response for future emergencies.
US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- Responsible for ensuring that American families have access to decent, safe, and affordable housing.
- Insure mortgages for homes and loans for home improvement, making direct loans for construction or rehabilitation of housing projects for the elderly and the handicapped, providing federal housing subsidies for low - and moderate - income families, and enforcing fair housing and equal housing access laws.
US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Presidential Primary:
- Either chooses delegates or candidate preference
Caucuses:
- Elects delegates to go to the National Convention to vote for the best candidate for a specific party. Typically the party not in control of the White House during that time.
The National Convention:
1. The party adopts a platform
2. The party holding the convention nominates the Pres. and VP candidates
3. The party is unified behind the candidates
4. The 2nd and 3rd Sessions occur with more speeches and reports from the press
5. The party elects party officers and debate over platform issues
Final Session
1. nominate a candidate
2. Roll is called and each state chair announces their vote - goes until majority is reached
3. Candidate gives acceptance speech
Process by which a person becomes President
