Conducting Foreign Relations 7th Grade Civics Miss Smith *pgs. 584-589 (22.1)

Goals of the U.S. Foreign Policy Foreign policy is the plan a country follows for interacting with other countries The goals of U.S. foreign policy include: Maintaining national security Supporting democracy Promoting world peace Providing aid to people in need Why is it important for countries to cooperate in seeking peace, freedom, and prosperity? The world’s countries are interdependent What do you think is the most important goal of U.S. foreign policy?

Military Powers The president makes recommendations to Congress about how the military should operate The president can order the military into action, but only Congress can declare war What military powers does the president have? Making recommendations to congress about the operation of the military and ordering the military into action

Treaty-Making Powers Peace treaties end wars Alliance treaties are agreements between countries to help each other for defense, economic, scientific, and other reasons Alliance- agreement in which two or more parties commit to help each other Commercial treaties are economic agreements between two or more countries to trade with each other Senate must approve all treaties How are treaties and executive agreements similar and different? Both are agreements between countries, but treaties must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Senate

Mutual understanding between the leaders of two countries Executive Agreements Mutual understanding between the leaders of two countries

Diplomatic Powers Establishing official relations with a foreign government by sending and receiving each other’s ambassadors

Department of State Carries out U.S. foreign policy as set by the president The secretary of state advises the president and supervises the activities of U.S. ambassadors, ministers, and consuls Diplomatic corps- the secretary of state, ambassadors, ministers, consuls, and their assistants What are the secretary of state’s main jobs? Advising the president and supervising the activities of the U.S. diplomatic corps

Department of Defense Source of military information for the president Joint Chiefs of Staff are the highest ranking military officers of the branches of the military

The Peace Corp The main goals are to provide technical assistance and to promote cultural understanding between the U.S. and other nations

Other Agencies Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) gathers info about world political trends and helps combat terrorism around the world U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provides resources to people in need around the world Why did Congress create specialized agencies to help establish and carry out U.S. foreign policy? So U.S. foreign policy could include more specialized activities that were not appropriate for the diplomatic corps or the military

Approval Powers *Do NOT write What happens if the Senate refuses to approve a treaty? Why did Congress reject the Treaty of Versailles? It does not go into effect Because many senators did not want the U.S. to join the League of Nations

Both houses of Congress must approve all expenditures of public funds Financial Powers Both houses of Congress must approve all expenditures of public funds How can the financial powers of Congress affect foreign relations? Congress must approve all funding, including for national defense and all other foreign policy programs