Untitled Flashcards

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1. What were the three “tough questions” that the Constitutional Convention’s delegates face in defining the Presidency? What did they conclude on each question?

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a.) Should the United States even have a president?The founders feared the English king was too powerful, but also worried that the state governments did not have enough executive power and were too feeble to govern effectively. Their job was to find a happy medium.

Front

1. What were the three “tough questions” that the Constitutional Convention’s delegates face in defining the Presidency? What did they conclude on each question?

Back

• b.) How long should a president serve? The Delegates at the Constitutional Convention considered terms, but Alexander Hamilton passionately argued that presidents should be elected for life- an elected king. The settlement was four year, with no term limits. Washington set the standard for only two terms since he stepped down at his second term. Franklin D. Roosevelt won four elections and after his passing, the 22nd amendment, ratified in 1951, bars presidents from serving more than tow terms.

Front

1. What were the three “tough questions” that the Constitutional Convention’s delegates face in defining the Presidency? What did they conclude on each question?

Back

• c.) How should the United States choose its president? Delegates to the convention feared that the public did not know enough, that the state legislatures were too self-interested, and that Congress would become too powerful if given the task of appointing the executive. They finally settled on a roundabout method, the Electoral College. The states each get electoral votes equal to the members in their congressional delegation.

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Expressed Powers?

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• It grants the president a limited number of expressed powers, or explicit grants of authority.

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Delegated Powers?

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• Congress votes on legislation and then sends it to the executive branch to put into effect. In other words, Congress grants delegated powers to the president. For example, Congress passes legislation that aims to improve hospital care. It delegates power to the executive branch, which issued detailed rules saying that hospitals will receive lower federal payments if patients develop infections after surgery

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Unitary Executive Theory?

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• The idea that the Constitution puts the president in charge of executing the laws and that therefore no other branch may limit presidential discretion over executive matters. It defends the expansion of power.

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Imperial Presidency?

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• A characterization of the American presidency that suggests it is demonstrating imperial traits, and that the republic is morphing into an empire.

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What does it mean to call the President “the first legislator?” How has that role changed over time?

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• The constitution includes presidents in the legislative process. It authorizes them to recommend measures for congress’s “consideration,” report to congress information on the state of the union, and veto legislation they oppose. Presidents can help set congress’s agenda but cannot automatically push bills to passage- especially when the president’s popularity sags.

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Presidential “Batting Average”?

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• How many of the presidents bills get through. To keep score of the “batting average”: successful passage as a proportion of all the bills the president endorses, of the most important bills, or of bills that the other party opposes.

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Presidential veto power?

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• When congress passes a law, presidents have the authority to sign or veto it. A veto blocks the legislation unless two-thirds of both chambers vote to override it, a very high bar. The veto is a formidable weapon. In the last 80 years, presidents have rejected more than 1,400 bills.