Executive Branch & Presidents Concepts
The big picture: What you need to know and why.
The Presidency
Only 3 formal qualifications for presidency: 35 years old, native-born citizen, resident for past 14 years President's duties include: head of state, commander-in-chief of military, chief executiv...
The Presidential Election Process
Presidents are chosen by Electoral College Constitution established convoluted system; each state gets a number of Electoral College votes equal to its number of senators plus representatives Elec...
Growth of Presidential Power
Presidents have become more powerful over timeIf you do win, the power rush is huge. The President of the United States is certainly the most powerful person in the world—but, interestingly,...
The Cabinet and Executive Agencies
Presidents oversee huge federal bureaucracy Power is delegated to cabinet officials, who oversee executive departments and agenciesThe presidency grew dramatically during the twentieth century. Th...
The Power of Appointment
President has power to appoint key officials in all executive departments and agencies US Senate must confirm presidential appointmentsPerhaps the biggest way that the president influences the dep...
The State Department and the Growth of American Foreign Policy
Secretary of State is most prestigious cabinet official Executive branch is most powerful in realm of foreign policyThe Secretary of State is considered the most high-ranking cabinet position̵...
Limits on Presidential Power
Vietnam War and Cold War spy scandals caused Congress to reassert its power over foreign affairs in 1970sWar Powers Act of 1973 limited presidents' power to deploy troops without receiving an offic...
The Unitary Executive
G.W. Bush argued that "unitary executive" power exempted him from most congressional oversightPresident Bush's use of signing statements was part of larger theory of the presidential office labele...