Download Powers and Duties of the President

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Powers and Duties of the President
Directions Read pages 76-80 and explain the following terms and answer the
following questions
PART I – Write a simple definition for the following vocabulary words. All
definitions should be concerning government.
Pardon -
Treaty -
Impeach -
Reprieve -
Executive Agreement -
Treason -
Cabinet PART II – Answer the following critical thinking questions.
1. Does the president have the power to grant reprieves and pardons in
impeachment cases?
2. Who has the power to approve and to fire the secretaries in the president’s
cabinet?
3. Explain the State of the Union address.
4. Who has the power to decide when Congress adjourns?
5. Who decides which foreign ambassadors the president will receive?
Part III: Read and answer the following questions: What Happens if a
President Dies or Resigns?
Since 1841, eight of our presidents have died during their term of office. A ninth
president resigned. Who becomes president in such cases? The Constitution and
laws passed by our Congress provide an answer. They give a presidential
succession---the replacement of the president by another person---according to a
set order, whenever the office becomes empty. This prevents the government
from falling into confusion when a president dies or resigns.
The vice president is the first in line of succession. The writers of the
Constitution had created the office of the vice president with the problem of
succession in mind. The Constitution explains what happens if the president dies,
resigns or is unable to carry out the duties of the office: The vice president is to
take on the title of the president.
That point caused confusion the first time a president died in office in 1841. The
president was William Henry Harrison. Vice President John Tyler took over both
the duties and the title of President Harrison. He became President Tyler. No one
objected strongly and thus a custom was set. That custom has been followed ever
since. Other questions remained, however.
- What if both the president and the vice president should die or become
disabled at the same time? When the vice president becomes president, who
becomes vice president? A number of amendments to the Constitution have
answered these questions. The most recent on this subject is the 25th
Amendment. It was passed after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in
1963. This amendment cleared up any confusion about the language of the
Constitution. It says: In the case of removal of the president from office or
his death or resignation, the vice president shall become president. This made
official the custom that had been practiced all along. The 25th Amendment also
deals with the problem of an empty vice president’s office. If the vice president
dies, or resigns or becomes president, the President of the United States
nominates a new vice president. Both houses of Congress must approve the
nomination by a majority vote.
This section of the 25th Amendment had its first test in 1973. Vice President
Spiro Agnew resigned from his office after a scandal. President Richard Nixon
nominated Gerald Ford to take Agnew’s place. Congress gave its approval. Within a
year, this section of the 25th Amendment was used again. President Nixon,
threatened with impeachment, resigned in 1974. Vice President Gerald Ford then
became president. Ford then chose Nelson Rockefeller to be his vice president.
The House and the Senate approved Ford’s choice. For the first time in the
history of the United States, the country had a president and a vice president not
elected by the people.
- What if both the president and the vice president should die or be removed
from office at the same time? This has never happened, but one day it might.
The Constitution gives Congress the right to determine the order of presidential
succession after the vice president. Congress has set the following order:
Speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate and then the members
of the president’s cabinet (those people who head the top departments of the
executive branch). The members of the cabinet follow in the order in which the
departments were created: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury,
Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of the Interior, and so on…..
- What if a president is too sick to do the job? The 25th Amendment says that
the vice president can become acting president until the illness has passed. If the
vice president and members of the cabinet think that the president is not well, but
the president wants to serve again, then the Congress must decide. Unless there
is a two-thirds vote of both housed in favor of the vice president, the president w
ill take back the office.
Questions:
1-What did the Constitution originally say about what happens if a president dies
or resigns?
2-What word in the Constitution caused confusion about presidential succession?
3-Describe the custom set by John Tyler.
4-This custom later became law. What is the name of this law?
5-What does this law say about presidential death and resignation?
6-Explain the circumstances that led to Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller
becoming the first non-elected President and Vice President of the United States.