Roles of the President
List two cabinet level positions within the Executive Branch.
Vice President
Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs
Attorney General
What Article defines the powers and responsibilities of the Executive Branch?
Article II
Identify the term from the definition below:
presidential power that grants a form of executive clemency, forgiving an individual for a federal crime and relieving them of the remaining legal consequences
Pardon
What is a veto?
The ability for a president to deny the passage of a bill.
This president was the only one to serve more than two terms in office.
FDR- 16 years total (before the passage of the 22nd amendment)
Acting as this role, the president represents the United States when meeting with foreign leaders or making treaties.
Chief Diplomat
List two Enumerated Powers of the Executive Branch.
What of power does a president hold that could impact future decision making for the country long after they leave office?
Appointment of Supreme Court Justices
What was the goal of the War Powers Resolution Act?
Limit the president’s authority to commit troops overseas without Congressional approval
What President was the first and only president to serve as a Supreme Court Justice?
William Howard Taft
When the president helps set the legislative agenda and works to get bills passed through Congress, he acts in this role.
Chief Legislator
List three Informal Powers of the President. (Not outlined in the Constitution)
Executive Order, Executive Agreement, Signing Statement, Bully Pulpit
This term, coined by political scientist Richard Neustadt, describes the president’s ability to influence others — including Congress and the public — through persuasion and reputation rather than formal powers, emphasizing communication as a core element of presidential leadership.
Power to Persuade
List two ways Congress can check and balance the Executive Branch
Options:
- Impeachment
- Power of the Purse
-Approval of treaties/declaration of war
-Overriding a veto
Which president’s inauguration was the first to be broadcasted live on to people across the country?
Calvin Coolidge by radio in 1925
Truman first via TV
Clinton first via the Internet
When fulfilling this presidential role, the president uses national addresses, speeches, and media appearances to shape public opinion and rally support for policy goals — a practice often referred to as “going public.”
Chief Legislator or Chief Communicator
Who wrote Federalist No. 70, and what main argument did he make about the executive branch?
Alexander Hamilton; argued that the United States needs a single, strong, and energetic executive to ensure effective leadership.
Identify the vocab term based off the definition and give one example from history:
a public office or position of authority that provides its occupant with an outstanding opportunity to speak out on any issue.
Part 1: Bully Pulpit
Part 2:
-State of the Union Addresses
-FDR Fireside chats
-Reagan televised address prompting tax cuts
-Promoting specific policy agendas on social media
Describe the difference between an Executive Order and an Executive Agreement.
Executive orders are directives issued by the president to manage operations of the federal government, while executive agreements are international agreements made by the president with other countries that do not require Senate approval.
Who was the first President to ride in an airplane?
Theodore Roosevelt
This term describes the stable, mutually beneficial relationship between a federal agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group, which can shape policy in ways that favor their own interests over the public’s.
Iron Triangle
List the changes to the Constitution about the Executive Branch in the following amendments:
-12th
-22nd
-25th
12th- added VP to same election ticket as POTUS
22nd- two term limit for POTUS
25th- POTUS succession and process due to disability, death, impeachment, or resignation
Invoked during national crises, this controversial claim of presidential authority allows the executive to withhold information from Congress or the courts in the name of national security or confidentiality of high-level communications.
Executive Privilege
This Supreme Court case limited the president’s power by ruling that executive privilege cannot be used to withhold evidence in criminal investigations, reinforcing judicial oversight of the executive branch.
US v Nixon
What president was ambidextrous?
He could write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other at the same time.
James Garfield