Apush Chapter 6 Summary

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Chapter 12: The Presidency I. Presidents and prime ministers A. Characteristics of parliaments 1. Parliamentary system twice as common 2. Chief executive chosen by legislature 3. Cabinet ministers chosen from among members of parliament 4. Prime minister remains in power as long as his or her party or coalition maintains a majority in the legislature B. Differences 5. Presidents are often outsiders; prime ministers are always insiders, chosen by party members in parliament 6. Presidents choose their cabinet from outside Congress; prime ministers choose members of parliament 7. Presidents have no guaranteed majority in the legislature; prime ministers
always have a majority. The United States usually has a divided government. 8. Presidents and the legislature often work at cross-purposes a. Even when one party controls both branches b. A consequence of separation of powers c. Only Roosevelt and Johnson had much luck with Congress II. Divided Government C. Divided versus unified government 9. Fifteen of twenty-two congressional/presidential elections since 1952 produced divided government 10. Americans dislike divided government because it can lead to gridlock. D. Does gridlock matter? 11. But divided government enacts as many important laws as a unified government 12. Reason: Unified government is something of a myth in U.S. E. Is policy gridlock bad? 13. Unclear whether gridlock is always bad; it is a necessary consequence of representative democracy 14. Representative democracy opposite direct democracy III. The evolution of the presidency F. Delegates feared both anarchy and monarchy 15. Idea of a plural executive 16. Idea of an executive checked by a council G. Concerns of the Founders 17. Fear of military power of president who could overpower states 18. Fear of presidential corruption of Senate 19. Fear of presidential bribery to ensure reelection H. The electoral college 20. Each state to choose own method for selecting electors 21. Electors to meet in own capital to vote for president and vice president 22. If no majority, House would decide I. The president's term of office 23. Precedent of George Washington and two terms 24. Twenty-second Amendment in 1951 limits to two terms 25. Problem of establishing the legitimacy of the office 26. Provision for orderly transfer of power J. The first presidents 27. Prominent men helped provide legitimacy 28. Minimal activism of early government contributed to lessening fear of the presidency 29. Appointed people of stature in the community (rule of fitness) 30. Relations with Congress were reserved; few vetoes, no advice K. The Jacksonians 31. Jackson sought to maximize powers of presidency 32. Vigorous use of veto for policy reasons 33. Challenged Congress L. The reemergence of Congress 34. With brief exceptions the next hundred years was a period of congressional ascendancy 35. Intensely divided public opinion 36. Only Lincoln expanded presidential power d. Asserted "implied powers" and power of commander in chief e. Justified by emergency conditions 37. President mostly a negative force to Congress until the New Deal 38. Since the 1930s power has been institutionalized in the presidency 39. Popular conception of the president as the center of government contradicts reality; Congress often policy leader IV. The powers of the president M. Formal powers found in Article II 40. Not a large number of explicit powers 41. Potential for power found in ambiguous clauses of the Constitution, such as power as commander in chief and duty to "take care that laws be faithfully executed" N. Greatest source of power lies in politics and public opinion 42. Increase in broad statutory authority 43. Expectation of presidential leadership from the public V. The office of the president O. The White House Office 44. Contains the president's closest assistants 45. Three types of organization f. Circular g. Pyramid h. Ad hoc 46. Staff typically worked on the campaign: a few are experts 47. Relative influence of staff depends on how close one's office is to the president's P. The Executive Office of the President 48. Composed of agencies that report directly to the president 49. Appointments must receive Senate confirmation 50. Office of Management and Budget most important i. Assembles the budget j. Develops reorganization plans k. Reviews legislative proposals of agencies Q. The cabinet 51. Largely a fiction, not mentioned in Constitution 52. President appoints or controls more members of cabinet than does prime minister 53. Secretaries become preoccupied and defensive about their own departments R. Independent agencies, commissions, and judgeships 54. President appoints members of agencies that have a quasi-independent status 55. Agency heads serve a fixed term and can be removed only "for cause" 56. Judges can be removed only by impeachment VI. Who gets appointed S. President knows few appointees personally T. Most appointees have had federal experience 57. "In-and-outers"; alternate federal and private sector jobs 58. No longer have political followings but picked for expertise U. Need to consider important interest groups when making appointments V. Rivalry between department heads and White House staff VII. Presidential character W. Eisenhower: orderly X. Kennedy: improviser Y. Johnson: dealmaker Z. Nixon: mistrustful [. Ford: genial \. Carter: outsider ]. Reagan: communicator ^. Bush: hands-on manager _. Clinton: focus on details `. Bush: a different kind of outsider VIII. The power to persuade a. Formal opportunities for persuasion b. The three audiences 59. Other politicians and leaders in Washington, D.C.; reputation very important 60. Party activists and officials inside Washington 61. The various publics c. Popularity and influence 62. Presidents try to transform popularity into support in Congress 63. Little effect of presidential coattails 64. Members of Congress believe it is politically risky to challenge a popular president 65. Popularity is unpredictable and influenced by factors beyond the president's control. d. The decline in popularity 66. Popularity highest immediately after an election 67. Declines by midterm after honeymoon period IX. The power to say no e. Veto 68. Veto message 69. Pocket veto (only before end of Congress) 70. Congress rarely overrided vetoes in 1996 f. Executive privilege 71. Confidential communications between president and advisers 72. Justification l. Separation of powers m. Need for candid advice 73. U.S. v.Nixon (1973) rejects claim of absolute executive privilege g. Impoundment of funds 74. Defined: presidential refusal to spend funds appropriated by Congress 75. Countered by Budget Reform Act of 1974 n. Requires president to notify Congress of funds he does not intend to spend o. Congress must agree in forty-five days X. The president's program h. Putting together a program 76. President can try to have a policy on everything (Carter) 77. President can concentrate on a small number of initiatives (Reagan) 78.
Constraints p. Public reaction may be adverse q. Limited time and attention span r. Unexpected crises s. Programs can be changed only marginally 79. Need for president to be selective about what he wants 80. Heavy reliance on opinion polls 81. Impact of dramatic events and prolonged crises i. Attempts to reorganize the executive branch 82. An item on presidential agendas since the administration of Herbert Hoover 83. Bush and the Department of Homeland Defense t. White House Office of Homeland Security created in aftermath of terrorist attack of September 11 1. Small staff 2. Little budgetary authority 3. No ability to enforce decisions u. Bush's call for a reorganization 4. Creation of third largest cabinet department encompassing twenty-two federal agencies 5. 170,000 employees and an annual budget of almost $40 million v. Fate of proposal is pending, but it is neither the first of its kind nor the largest 84. Reasons for reorganizing w. Large number of agencies
x. Easier to change policy through reorganization 85. Reorganization outside the White House staff must be by law XI. Presidential transition j. Few presidents serve two terms k. The vice president 86. May succeed on death of president y. Has happened eight times z. John Tyler defined status of ascending vice president: president in title and in powers 87. Rarely are vice presidents elected president {. Unless they first took over for a president who died |. Only five instances otherwise: Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren, Nixon, and Bush 88. "A rather empty job" }. Candidates still pursue it ~. Preside over Senate and vote in case of a tie . Leadership powers in Senate are weak l. Problems of succession 89. What if the president falls ill?
Examples: Garfield, Wilson 90. If vice president steps up, who becomes vice president? �. Succession Act (1886): designated secretary of state as next in line �. Amended in 1947 to designate Speaker of the House 91. Twenty-fifth Amendment resolved both issues �. Allows vice president to serve as "acting president" if president is disabled; decided by president, by vice president and cabinet, or by two-thirds vote of Congress �. Requires vice president who ascends to office on death or resignation of the president to name a vice president 6. Must be confirmed by both houses 7. Examples: Agnew and Nixon resignations m. Impeachment 92. Judges most frequent targets of impeachment 93. Indictment by the House, conviction by the Senate XII. How powerful is the president? n. Both president and Congress are constrained o. Reasons for constraints 94. Complexity of issues 95. Scrutiny of the media 96. Power of interest groups | |