PS 201 Chapter 7

Question 1

Pre-modern Presidency Formal Powers

Answer 1

The President’s formal constitutional powers in the arena of foreign policy-–particularly as it would have been viewed in the 18th and 19th centuries—appear to be greater than those in domestic policy.
Commander-in-Chief
Treaty-making authority (with the advise and consent of the Senate)
Appoint ambassadors
Receive foreign ministers

Question 2

Pre-modern Presidency Formal Powers
a. Problems with their limited powers?

Answer 2

Inability to take swift action during times of crisis
less power over foreign affairs
any action taken must go through congress, which is never immediate (Time Costs).

Question 3

Progressive Era (we are moving toward the modern presidency)

Answer 3

Belief in the capacity of government to do good
Anti-corruption (spoils system)
Roosevelt is often credited with being the first “modern president” because he greatly expanded the powers of the office. He believed the president had a duty to act as a steward for the people, taking action to solve problems and promote reform, even without direct congressional approval.
The Progressive Era presidents, especially Roosevelt and Wilson, expanded the scope of the federal government in regulating the economy, addressing social issues, and ensuring public welfare, tasks traditionally left to the states.

Question 4

Pendleton Act

Answer 4

eliminated the spoils system in the 1880s, switching the way that bureaucrats and other appointees were selected to a merit based system.

Question 5

Characteristics of the Modern Presidency

Answer 5

Significant role for the president in domestic policy
Dominant role for president in foreign policy
Substantial administrative state
Vast federal government with expansive policy responsibilities

Question 6

Cabinet Government

Answer 6

A style of government in which the cabinet members hold more power than the actual executive. While the US executive branch has a presidential cabinet, they have nowhere near as much influence as the president

Question 7

Responsibilities of the modern president (need to be able to describe them)
a. Commander in Chief and Head of State

Answer 7

Commander in Chief – Oversees the functioning of the US military and militias, heavily involved in wartime activities and decisions.
Head of State – Must deliver the State of the Union Address, oversees the nomination of political appointees, and exerts some control over executive agencies

Question 8

Responsibilities of the modern president (need to be able to describe them)
b. Chief Executive

Answer 8

Responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by congress. Appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the cabinet.

Question 9

Responsibilities of the modern president (need to be able to describe them)
c. Chief Legislator

Answer 9

Oversee the legislative process and influence policy. Recommending legislation, presenting a legislative agenda, communicating with congress, vetoing legislation. Shape policy by asserting influence over what congress discusses and what bills attempt to pass.

Question 10

President’s unilateral policymaking tools

Answer 10

Executive orders
Proclamations
Signing statements

Question 11

Unitary Executive Theory

Answer 11

Constitutional law theory according to which the president of the united states has sole authority over the executive branch
Original grant of executive authority provides the basis for unilateral control over the executive branch

Question 12

Institutional Presidency

Answer 12

Refers to the idea that the role of the “president” is greater than the man; that the role is instead made up of the collection of agencies and cabinet members working together to run the country

Question 13

Executive Office of the President

Answer 13

The EOP has responsibility for tasks ranging from communicating the President’s message to the American people to promoting our trade interests abroad.

Question 14

Sources of presidential power
a. Legal authority

Answer 14

Article II, Section I vests the executive branch’s powers in a single person: the President of the United States. However, one person cannot run the entire United States. The president’s powers allow them to appoint other officials to help them govern.

Question 15

Sources of presidential power
b. Bargaining skill

Answer 15

Presidents’ ability to make bargains, that is, to persuade, depends on their professional reputation. Presidents gain professional reputation by using authority, strategically forming mutually advantageous alliances, and following through on promised actions.

Question 16

Sources of presidential power
c. Personal popularity

Question 17

Sources of presidential power
d. Extralegal activities

Question 18

Going public

Answer 18

When a president takes his policies and issues directly to the public, hoping to garner widespread popularity and support in order to increase their policy making power

Question 19

Presidential Greatness

Question 20

Veto

Answer 20

Veto – The formal power of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of Congress. A veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in each house.
Veto Threat – The formal power of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of Congress.
A veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in each house.
Legislative Veto – A procedure that allows one or both houses of Congress to reject a veto given by the president or an executive agency.
1983 – Supreme Court declared legislative vetoes unconstitutional, but Congress continues to enact legislation incorporating the veto.
Line-Item Veto – (1997) permits a president to cancel amounts of new discretionary appropriations (budget authority), as well as new items of direct spending (entitlements) and certain limited tax benefits, unless Congress disapproves by law within a specified period of time.
Was declared unconstitutional in 1998.
Pocket Veto – A method by which the president vetoes a bill passed by both houses of Congress by failing to act on it within ten days of Congress’s adjournment.