Government Term Study List

Executive Branch

Page 358

  1. Chief of State-It is the role of the President performing ceremonial functions, as the personal symbol of the nation. In this role he does things like throw out the first baseball of the season, lights the national Christmas tree, etc.
  2. Chief Executive-It is the role of the President when he enforces laws, federal court decisions, and treaties signed by the United States. He appoints, with Senate approval, high government officials to help him carry out this role. He also can grant pardons, amnesty, and reprieves to people who have violated laws.
  3. Chief Administrator – It is the role of the President as the director of the huge executive branch of the Federal Government. He directs the 2.7 million bureaucrats who carry out the day-to-day government business. The president works through the Department heads to do this. President is also under this role the major framer of the nation’s yearly budget, appointing economic officials, planning programs to lower unemployment or inflation or the national debt when needed, etc.
  4. Chief Diplomat - It is the role of the President as he directs foreign policy and represents the United States in it’s relations with other countries.
  5. Commander in Chief - It is the role of the President as leader of the nation’s armed forces. He can commit troops to battle, make secret agreements with other countries, set up military governments in conquered lands, call cease-fires, etc.
  6. Chief Legislator - It is the role of the President as he informs Congress about the condition of the country and proposes laws and gives the annual State of the Union Address as called for in the Constitution.
  7. Chief of Party-It is the role of the President as head of his political party. In this role he chooses the Vice President, tries to carry out his parties goals and tries to get more of his parties people elected to offices.
  8. Chief Citizen-It is the role of the President when he represents all the people of the U.S., works for the public interest, and sets the standard as the moral leader of the nation. President Clinton’s handling of this role caused his leadership to be investigated by the Independent Council and the House Judiciary Committee resulting in charges to be brought for impeachment. He was not convicted.
  9. Presidential Qualifications-They are three criteria a person must meet according to the Constitution to be eligible to be President of the United States. They are 1.) be a natural-born citizen, 2.) be at least 35 years old, and 3.) be a resident at least 14 years before taking office.
  10. Presidential Term Limit-It is the maximum time criteria of two terms or ten years to hold the top elected position in the United States.

Page 363

  1. President-It is the top position of leadership in the United States Government. Barack Obama is the current office holder.
  2. Presidential Succession-It is the legal procedure by which government leaders will take over the Presidency should the president die or is disabled. The order of officials in line is first the Vice-President, second the Speaker of the House, third the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, then the Secretary of each government department in order of its creation.
  3. Presidential Disability-It is the procedure given by the 25th Amendment for declaring the President unable to perform his duties and allowing the Vice-President to be acting President.
  4. Vice President-It is the position of the “just in case” the president dies or is disabled or is removed from office. The holder of this office has two official duties: to preside over the Senate and to help decide presidential disability and assume the powers of the president if necessary. Recent holders of this position have also functioned as presidential advisors.

Presidential Qualities

  1. Informal Qualifications for Presidents-They are ingredients of leadership expected to be found in Presidents of the United States. They are characteristics such as honesty, integrity, charisma, sound judgment, competence, etc.
  2. Rating Presidents-It is a system of evaluating the Presidents as to their record of accomplishment or lack thereof. Generally they are ranked in order of great to poor.
  3. Poor Presidents-They are generally considered the worst of the United States Chief Executives. They are James Buchanan, Warren Harding, Ulysses S. Grant, etc.
  4. Great Presidents-They are generally considered the best of the United States chief executives. They are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, etc.
  5. Spoils System-It is where the political party that wins the election gives out government jobs to its own party members. Andrew Jackson started this reward process.

Page 392 Presidents Executive Powers

  1. Inherent Powers-They are the powers of the government not expressly granted by the Constitution, but belonging to it because of the fact it is a government. The President exercises many of these powers.
  2. “Fourth Branch of Government”-It is a phrase describing the mass media due to their role in determining issues, events, and people in the public eye and what politicians therefore must act on.

Page 397

  1. Oath of Office – It is the president’s promise when he takes office to carry out the duties of the position to his best effort and to respect and defend the Constitution.
  2. Executive Order-It is a rule or regulation issued by the President that has the effect of law to carry out policies described in laws passed by Congress.
  3. Ordinance Power – Inherent power of the President to issue necessary orders to enforce and carry out the law.

  1. Appointment and Removal Powers-It is the power given the President in the Constitution allowing him, with the Senate’s consent, to chose people for the top government jobs. The flip side of the coin is that if the President can hire then he can fire such appointees.

Page 403

  1. Treaty – A formal agreement between two or more sovereign nations.
  2. Executive Agreements-They are binding agreements made by the president with other countries, not needing Congressional approval.
  3. Diplomacy-It is the national government’s political relations with other countries. These relations include treaties, agreements, alliances, talks, recognition, persona non grata, etc. The President leads in this area.
  4. Foreign Policy-It is the nation’s political and economic goals as related to other countries. It is also the means used to achieve these goals. The president leads in this policy area.
  5. Commander in Chief - It is the role of the President as leader of the nation’s armed forces. He can commit troops to battle, make secret agreements with other countries, set up military governments in conquered lands, call cease-fires, etc.
  6. War Powers Resolution – Toward the end of the Vietnam War Congress tried to place limits on the President’s war making powers. The Act requires that the President notify Congress within 48 hours after sending U.S. forces into action, the combat must end within 60 days unless Congress extends it, and Congress can end the combat sooner if it says so. The Constitutionality of this law is disputed.

Page 408

  1. Veto Power-It is the power of the President to reject legislation. This prevents or at least delays the bill from becoming law.
  2. Reprieve-It is a postponement of a criminal sentence imposed by a court of law.
  3. Commutation-It is the President’s reduction of a criminal sentence imposed by a court of law.
  4. Pardon-It is the release of a prisoner from punishment before or after criminal conviction.
  5. Amnesty-It is a pardon to a large group of individuals, such as President Carter’s pardon of Vietnam draft evaders.

Power and the American Presidents

  1. Presidential Limitations-They are checks on the president’s powers by Congress and the courts. Examples include the Congressional overriding of a president’s veto, Congress having the “power of the purse,” Congressional impeachment power, the War Powers act, Congressional appointment approval power, the Court’s power of judicial review, and limits to the claim of executive privilege.
  2. Executive Privilege-It is the claimed right by presidents to refuse to appear before, or withhold information from Congress on the grounds that revealing the information in question may threaten national security.

  1. Abuse of Presidential Power-It is the misuse of authority by the president. President Nixon did this when he unsuccessfully claimed executive privilege to cover up Watergate. President Clinton did this many times to cover up his many scandals.
  2. “Strong” Presidents-They are leaders who were in office during difficult times and acted decisively. Each set a precedent for the executive branch handling a certain activity. Some of these include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan.

Presidential Election and Electoral College Pages 367, 375, 384

  1. Electoral College-It is the Constitution’s method for the election of the President. It sets the number of electors of each state, based on the number of each state’s Representatives and Senators in Congress. The winner of the majority vote in this representative body wins the Presidency.
  2. Electors-They are the real people voted for when citizens vote for President. They promise to vote for their party’s candidate in the Electoral College, if he wins their state in the election.
  3. Aaron Burr-He was the running mate of Thomas Jefferson in the 1800 presidential election. He tried for the top spot after the tie vote in the Electoral College balloting. He lost in the House vote and became Vice President. He went on to such things as kill Alexander Hamilton in a duel, and be put on trial for treason for trying to split off the southwest United States and set up a new country which he would then rule.
  4. Winner-Takes-All System-It is the method of giving the entire amount of a state’s Electoral College votes to the winner of the state’s popular vote.
  5. Thomas Jefferson-He didn’t like political parties in the 1780’s, but founded one of the first in the 1790’s. He founded the Democrat-Republican party. The 1800 election resulted in a tie electoral college vote. After 36 ballots in the House of Representatives he beat his intended Vice-President Aaron Burr who tried for the top job. He became the third President of the U.S.
  6. John Quincy Adams-He lost the popular vote and came in second in the Electoral College vote in the 1824 election, yet became president. Because of the lack of majority of Electoral College votes for the top candidate, the election was decided by the House of Representatives. In the House vote, the supporters of the third place Henry Clay gave their support to him so he ended up winning the presidency.
  7. Andrew Jackson-He was the top popular vote winner and winner of the most Electoral College votes in the 1824 election. He lost in the House of Representative’s vote. He then reworked the Democrat-Republican party changing it into the Democrat Party and won the 1828 election.
  8. Twelfth Amendment-It was the 1804 fix to the Constitution to prevent repeats of the Jefferson/Burr tie vote in the Electoral College. It separated the elector’s votes into one for President and one for Vice President.
  9. Direct Election Plan-It is a reform plan for the Electoral College. This plan eliminates the Electoral College and set the election of the president by saying the candidate with the highest number of popular votes wins.
  10. Proportional Plans-It is a reform plan for the Electoral College. This plan keeps the Electoral College and distributes the electoral votes based on each states ratio of the population. It eliminates the individual electors. In a close election the loser could still become president under this plan.
  11. District Plan-It is a reform plan for the Electoral College. This plan assigns one electoral vote per congressional area, with the winner of the area receiving the vote. The state winner gets two extra votes. In a close election the loser could still become president under this plan.
  12. Bonus Plan-It is a reform plan for the Electoral College. This plan keeps the Electoral College as is, but assigns 102 extra electoral votes to the popular vote winner. In this way the popular vote winner would always be the Electoral College vote winner

Page 418

  1. Bureaucracy-It is the large government organization which carries out the laws and policies of elected government officials. It is organized by departments, agencies, etc. staffed by civil servants.
  2. Bureaucrat-It is the term used for people who work in structured hierarchical organizations, such as governments.

Organization Structure of the Executive Branch

Page 422

  1. Executive Office of the President (EOP)-They are the staff agencies and advisors who help the President carry out his major duties. The White House Office is one of these.
  2. White House Office-It is the agency consisting of the President’s key aids and their assisting staff located in the west wing of the Executive Mansion. They have daily contact with the president and give him advice and help related to problems needing the president’s attention. Their duties somewhat overlap with the Cabinet, but their only responsibility is to the president not separate government departments.
  3. National Security Council-It is the group of advisors and staff which advise the president about matters related to the safety and defense of the nation. They have been especially helpful to each president during serious war crises.
  4. Budget-It is the government’s spending plan and income estimates for each year. The president leads in this area.
  5. Fiscal Year – The twelve-month period for record keeping, budgeting and business used by the National Government. It runs from October 1 to September 30.
  6. Office of Management and Budget-It is the bureau that assists the president in preparing the proposed annual budget the president submits to Congress each year. Once Congress has approved the finished budget this bureau puts it into practice and sees that it is carried out correctly.

Page 429

  1. Executive Departments-They are the major service organizations of the United States government. They are directly accountable to the President and are responsible for performing government functions. Some of them include: Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Education, Defense, Interior, and Treasury.
  2. Department of State-It is the department which deals with foreign affairs by developing policy, negotiating treaties, protecting citizens abroad, etc.
  3. Department of Justice-It is the department headed by the Attorney General. It gives the President legal advice, enforces federal crime laws, runs the federal prisons, etc.
  4. Department of Interior-It is the department which supervises federally owned land and national parks. It also supervises Native American matters through the BIA.
  5. Cabinet-It is the advisory group chosen by the President to assist decision-making. The traditional group includes department heads and EOP officials.

Page 435

  1. Independent Executive Agencies-They are federal government agencies that have a specific function. The agency head reports directly to the President. Examples include the CIA, GSA, NSF, NASA, and the Federal Election Commission.
  2. Independent Regulatory Commissions-They are federal government organizations that function to create and implement rules and adjust private activity and protect the public interest. Examples include the Fed, SEC, FCC, and the EEOC.
  3. Government Corporations-They are businesses owned by the government. Examples include the U.S. Postal Service, FDIC, TVA, and AMTRAK.

Page 440

  1. Civil Service-It is the term used for most of the civilian employees of the federal government and generally for those who obtained employment through merit system.
  2. Spoils System – The practice of giving offices and favors of government to political supporters and friends. Andrew Jackson was notorious for this and eventually the Civil Service was created to limit the practice.

Michigan Executive Branch

  1. Secretary of State-It is the state of Michigan officer who records, certifies, and files public documents such as election records. This official is responsible for the agencies that title automobiles and issue drivers’ licenses. The official also is the keeper of the state’s great seal.
  2. Term Limits-They are the restrictions put on high Michigan officials to keep them from being in office an overly length of time. In our state it is two terms for the governor, Lt Governor, secretary of state, attorney general, etc.
  3. Governor-It is the chief executive of the state of Michigan. He/she is responsible for enforcing and administering the law along with many other duties.

West Terms not fit Magruders

  1. Impeachment-It is the charging of a high government official of a high crime or misdemeanor. This has been done to a number of federal judges over the years and two Presidents.
  2. Employee Rights-They are laws and regulations protecting our nation’s labor force.