1. Warm-up
Look at the cartoon. What part of the system of checks and balances does it hint at?
Why do you think the Framers of the Constitution required the Senate to approve treaties negotiated by the President?

2. Presidential powers: diplomatic and military
Unit 5
In a 1961 radio broadcast, John F. Kennedy described the pressures of the presidency this way: 'When I ran for the presidency I knew the country faced serious challenges, but I could not realize—nor could any man who does not bear the burdens of this office—how heavy and constant would be those burdens.'
•The Power to Make Treaties
•Checks and Balances: Treaties and the Senate
•Executive Agreements
•The Power of Recognition

3. US Foreign Policy
Definition: this country’s actions, words, and beliefs towards other countries.
Main goals:
protect America and Americans
support economic growth and human rights around the world
increase support for American values
Most often, the President and executive branch initiate our foreign policy responses to world events and work with the legislative branch to carry out those responses.
Examples of American values?  democracy, freedom, etc.

4. Foreign Aid
Definition: the help that we give to other countries, usually through our State Department.
Goal: to create friendships abroad and improve trade.
The most common forms of aid are economic, military, and advice.

5. Military The President is the Commander-in-Chief.
Goal: to prevent war and protect the United States.
The Department of Defense is made up of the following branches:
Army Navy
Air Force Marines
The President commands one of the largest armed forces in the world, consisting of more than 2 million active-duty and reserve personnel, with access to some 300 ships and 14,000 aircraft.
The Constitution makes the chief executive the commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces (Article II, Section 2, Clause 1), although Congress does have extensive war powers. However, the President dominates the field of military policy. In fact, the President’s powers as commander in chief have often been the source of conflict between the legislative and executive branches.
•Making Undeclared War
•Congressional Resolutions to Balance Executive Power
•Other Uses of Military Power
•Limiting Presidential War Powers

6. All of the conflicts shown on this map took place without a congressional declaration of war. Analyze Maps
Why does military power sometimes shift from Congress to the President?

7. Treaties Definition: a formal agreement
between countries that, like laws,
must be followed.
The President is responsible for
negotiating and signing treaties.
All treaties must be approved by
2/3rds of the Senate.
Example: Countries form an alliance through signing a treaty. This treaty says that if one of the countries is attacked, the others will step in to protect each other.
Comprehensive market access.  The TPP eliminates or reduces tariff and non-tariff barriers across substantially all trade in goods and services and covers the full spectrum of trade, including goods and services trade and investment, so as to create new opportunities and benefits for our businesses, workers, and consumers.  
Regional approach to commitments.   The TPP facilitates the development of production and supply chains, and seamless trade, enhancing efficiency and supporting our goal of creating and supporting jobs, raising living standards, enhancing conservation efforts, and facilitating cross-border integration, as well as opening domestic markets.   
Addressing new trade challenges.  The TPP promotes innovation, productivity, and competitiveness by addressing new issues, including the development of the digital economy, and the role of state-owned enterprises in the global economy.  
Inclusive trade.  The TPP includes new elements that seek to ensure that economies at all levels of development and businesses of all sizes can benefit from trade.  It includes commitments to help small- and medium-sized businesses understand the Agreement, take advantage of its opportunities, and bring their unique challenges to the attention of the TPP governments.  It also includes specific commitments on development and trade capacity building, to ensure that all Parties are able to meet the commitments in the Agreement and take full advantage of its benefits.   
Platform for regional integration.  The TPP is intended as a platform for regional economic integration and designed to include additional economies across the Asia-Pacific region. 
1. Secret Negotiations With Corporate Lobbyists
In drafting the TPP, government negotiators bowed to corporate influence, locking in policies to lower tariffs and regulations that will boost their profits. The deal was then negotiated in secret between the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
What’s worse is that 600 corporate lobbyists were asked to give input on the deal while civil society — that’s you and me — was left out.
Why all the secrecy?
2. The TPP Means Dead Sharks, Tigers, and Elephants
The TPP is all about reducing tariffs and taxes on imports, regardless of the consequences. Thanks to research by Ben Beachy of the Sierra Club, we know that this includes tariffs on shark fins, palm oil — whose expanding plantations threaten tiger habitat — and even ivory.
Cheaper shark fins means more dead sharks and cheaper palm oil means more rainforests cleared for plantations. The tariff reductions on legal ivory could even spur popularity and demand for illegally poached elephant ivory .
3. The TPP Gives a Future to Fracking
The TPP will also make it much easier for the United States to export natural gas from fracking.
Right now, exporting natural gas needs approval from the Department of Energy. The TPP removes any significant review of the environmental consequences by making approval automatic. And when export markets are guaranteed, fossil fuel companies in the United States will build more natural gas export facilities, infrastructure that will guarantee fracking, drive climate change, and poison our water for years to come.
4. The TPP Gives Corporations Too Much Power
Under the TPP, corporate polluters will be able to sue the United States when they don’t get what they want. Corporations are already doing everything they can to buy influence in our democracy and use their dollars to drown out the voice of the people — the last thing they need is more influence over government.
If the United States passes environmental regulations that hurt a foreign corporation’s bottom line, that company will be able to sue us in a secret a foreign tribunal whose decision is final and unappealable.
Right now, Transcanada is using similar rules under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to sue the United States for prohibiting the expansion of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Under the TPP, we could see thousands of similar lawsuits designed to reverse environmental progress.

8. Who does what?
The Constitution, the rulebook for the government, says who has which foreign policy powers. Using your notes, see if you can figure out who is responsible for which power:
Negotiates and signs treaties.
Must approve treaties by a 2/3 majority.
Makes recommendations on and signs or vetoes bills into law.
As Commander-in-Chief, can send troops around the world.
Writes and passes bills.
Declares war.

9. Executive Departments - Match each executive department to it’s function
Justice
Education
Treasury
Defense
Health and Human Services
Homeland Security
Agriculture
Transportation
Function:
Works to protect the country against terrorism and make sure the borders are safe.
Makes coins and paper money, tries to help the economy, and collects taxes.
Keeps the United States safe using the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and other military resources.

10. Executive Department:
Justice
Education
Treasury
Defense
Health and Human Services
Homeland Security
Agriculture
Transportation
Enforces federal laws, prevents crime, and punishes those convicted of federal crimes.
Supports farmers, makes sure our food is safe, and gives recommendations about good nutrition.
Works to protect the health of all Americans and offers medical and other basic services to people in need.
Builds and maintains federal highways and railroads, makes rules for air travel, and promotes transportation safety.
Provides funding to public schools and helps students pay for college.

11. Which is which?
The government wants to make sure students are learning what they should be, so it requires standardized testing in certain grades.
The government operates national parks in different parts of the country.
The United States is allied with countries around the world, which means they are partners and look out for each other’s interests.
The United States provides help to other countries when natural disasters, like earthquakes, occur.
The countries of the world meet to decide how to handle climate change, and the United States plays a role in the talks.
Read each example below and decide if it is a domestic policy—addresses issues at home—or a foreign policy—addresses issues around the world. Label each with a “D” or and “F.”

12. Which is which?
The United States is attacked, and the President, in his role as Commander-in-Chief, calls on the U.S. military to defend the U.S. by attacking the other country.
The government decides how much money Americans must pay in federal taxes.
The government makes an agreement with specific countries that none of them will attack each other.
The government cleans up land and water areas that are severely polluted.
The government enforces federal laws and sends convicted criminals to jail.

13. Warm-up
Are executive orders essential for the president to fulfill the duties of the office?
How can Congress check presidential power?
What are the limits to the President's ability to influence the economy (business & labor)?

14. President James Madison’s Message to Congress, November 5, 1811; Records of the U.S. Senate
With this evidence of the hostile inflexibility [of Great Britain], in
trampling on rights which no independent nation can relinquish,
Congress will feel the duty of putting the United States into an armor
and an attitude demanded by the crisis, and corresponding with the
national spirit and expectations.
I recommend, accordingly, that adequate provision be made for filling
the ranks and prolonging the enlistments of the regular troops…

15. Representative Peter Porter’s minutes of the House Committee on Foreign Relations Meetings February 11, 1812;
That the President deemed it a departure from the correct course of his official duties to hold formal & written communications with a committee of the House on the subject of the resolution [soliciting the President’s opinion on the needed size of the military force], and therefore declined giving the written opinion requested by the Committee.
The President has however remarked, by way of answer to the request contained in the resolution, that the committee were already in possession of the opinions of the Executive in respect to the number and species of troops proper to be provided, through the channel of informal communication hitherto pursued by the committee & the Executive.
Records of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society:

16. Speaker of the House Henry Clay to Secretary of State James Monroe, March 15, 1812; Papers of James Monroe
Altho’ the power of declaring War belongs to Congress, I do not see that it falls less within the scope of the President’s constitutional duty to recommend such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient than any other which, being suggested by him, they alone can adopt.

17. Expansion of Presidential Power
In 4 groups, you will look at a time period where the President’s military power changed.
Fill out the worksheet for your group’s two documents (each person should fill out both sides of the worksheet), and be prepared to share your answers with the class.

18. Write 1-2 paragraphs answering the following question:
What is the ideal balance of power between Congress and the President with regard to war?
Power to the President
Power to Congress
Time