1. American Government BTEOTLIWBAT: Opener pg 42 (left side)
Understand the qualifications and powers of the Presidency according to the Constitution by matching headlines to sections in Article II.
Channel 1

2. All Presidents

3. Reflect
Who is your favorite President and Why?

4. Constitutional Scavenger Hunt Article II
Get a book, you must work with your partner as I only have ½ class set.
Use the Constitution to find the information asked for on the paper.
Record your answers below Channel 1 on page 42.
You have 20 minutes

5. #1 Constitutional Qualifications
Must be at least 35 years old
Must have lived in the United States for 14 years
Must be a natural born citizen

6. Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Presidents
69% politicians
62% lawyers
>50% from the top 3% wealth and social class
0.5% born into poverty
69% elected from large states
100% male
100% Caucasian
97% Protestant
82% of British ancestry
77% college educated

7. Presidential Benefits
$400,000 tax-free salary
$50,000/year expense account
$100,000/year travel expenses
The White House
Secret Service protection
Camp David country estate
Air Force One personal airplane
Staff of
Christmas at the White House, 2004

8. Presidential Powers

9. Formal Powers
Constitutional or expressed powers of the presidency
Found primarily in Article II of the Constitution (the Executive Article)
Commander In Chief of the Army/Navy/Militia
Pardon power
Make Treaties
Appoint Ambassadors
Nominate Supreme Court Judges
May fill vacancies that may happen during recess of Senate
Notes

10. Informal Powers
Those powers not explicitly written in the Constitution
In the modern era (since 1933), the President’s informal powers may be significantly more powerful than his formal powers
Notes

11. Executive Agreements
International agreements, usually related to trade, made by a president that has the force of a treaty; does NOT need Senate approval
Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803

12. Executive Orders
Orders issued by the President that carry the force of law
Clinton’s “Don’t ask don’t tell” gays in the military policy
FDR’s internment of Japanese Americans
GWB trying suspected terrorists in military tribunals
Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942
Notes

13. Executive Privilege
Claim by a president that he has the right to decide that the national interest will be better served if certain information is withheld from the public, including the Courts and Congress
United States v. Nixon (1973) – presidents do NOT have unqualified executive privilege (Nixon Watergate tapes)
Notes

14. Review Constitutional Scavenger Hunt Article II
Answered
What is the Oath of Office?
Body of Congress that must approve a treaty and fraction that must approve?
Senate, 2/3
Body of Congress that approves nominations?
Senate
What can a president be impeached for?
Treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors

15. The President and the Constitution Activity

16. Headlines! (10) For each headline write what action is being referred to AND which section and clause of Article II considers the action
“Senate to Give Verdict Today on Charges Against President.”
The Senate tries cases of impeachment. Sec. 4
“President Orders Troops into War on Drugs.”
Commander in Chief of military Sec. 2, Clause 1

17. “President Moves to Have Former Aide Freed”
“President Delivers State of the Union Message to Congress”
“President Appoints Mike Binder to Be Under-Secretary of State”
“President to Meet with Queen on Sunday”
President Tells Congress More Money Should Be Spent on Roads”
“President Asks Congress to Approve New Agreement with India”
“President Asks Cabinet for Ideas on Solving Budget Deficit”
“House Officially Accuses President of Wrongdoing”