The Role of the Executive Branch
The Constitution declares that the executive power shall reside in the
president and mentions “executive departments,” but it does not go
into detail about the structure or organization of the president’s
branch of government (Pfiffner, James 118). The Constitution grants
the president limited powers, which is a good thing because we’re not
looking for an authoritarian leader to run our country. In this paper
I will discuss the powers of the executive branch, how he faithfully
executes laws, and what powers the president has that is associated
with his branch.
Article II Section I of the United States Constitution states, “The
executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of
America.” The president has many roles and performs many duties. As
chief executive, the president makes sure that federal laws are
enforced (World Book). To achieve this, the executive administers the
prisons and the police force and prosecutes criminals in the name of
the state (Wikipedia Encyclopedia). As commander in chief of the
nation's armed forces, the president is responsible for our national
defense (World Book). He is also the director of foreign policy,
which means he determines the United States relations with other
nations. As head of a political party, the president sets the tone
for the party’s positions on domestic and foreign issues.
Many people are confused of who recommends legislation. The president
has this responsibility; he is known as the legislative leader. The
president recommends legislation for consideration by the congress.
Then the congress decides if it should p...
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two people for the same position. It is not easy for a president to
communicate with his whole staff that is why these models are
implemented to make it a little easier.
The Framers of our Constitution were very cautious when granting
executive powers. They are limited for a reason. They feared of an
authoritarian dictatorship where the executive branch contained too
many powers. As a popular leader, the president tries to motivate and
inspire the American people to help accomplish the goals set in his
agenda. In doing so, he will gain the support of the people.
Reference Page
http://www2.worldbook.com/wc/popup?path=features/presidents&page=html/officepres.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_branch
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/
www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/Executive/EOP.shtml
The President of the United States is instrumental in the running of the country. He serves as the chief executive, chief diplomat, commander in chief, chief legislator, chief of state, judicial powers, and head of party. Article II of the Constitution states that the President is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress. He also is tasked with the authority to appoint fifteen leaders of the executive departments which will be a part of the President’s cabinet. He or she is also responsible for speaking with the leaders the CIA and other agencies that are not part of his cabinet because these agencies play a key role in the protection of the US. The President also appoints the heads of more than 50 independent
September 17, 1787, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; during the heat of summer, in a stuffy assembly room of Independence Hall, a group of delegates gathered. After four months of closed-door quorums, a four page, hand written document was signed by thirty-nine attendees of the Constitutional Convention. This document, has come to be considered, by many, the framework to the greatest form of government every known; the Constitution of the United States. One of the first of its kind, the Constitution laid out the frame work for the government we know today. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people; constructed of three branches; each branch charged with their own responsibilities. Article one established the Congress or Legislative branch, which would be charged with legislative powers. Article two created the Executive branch, providing chief executive powers to a president, who would act in the capacity of Commander in Chief of the Country’s military forces. The President of the United States also acts as head of state to foreign nations and may establish treaties and foreign policies. Additionally, the President and the departments within the Executive branch were established as the arm of government that is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress. Thirdly, under Article three of the Constitution, the Judicial branch was established, and consequently afforded the duty of interpreting the laws, determining the constitutionality of the laws, and apply it to individual cases. The separation of powers is paramount to the system of checks and balances among the three branches; however, although separate they must support the functions of the others. Because of this, the Legislative an...
According to John Acton in 1887, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”, meaning that if unlimited power is given to any one person, they can be corrupted by it. The framers of the Constitution recognized this and built in a plan to prevent this from happening and a result of this, the Constitution spreads power equally between the three branches of government: The Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. These built-in checks and balances are very important to our government, because they keep one branch from gaining too much power over another. This balance of power prevents any branch of our government from being “corrupted absolutely”. This thesis will argue that this part of the Constitution is as important today as it was when first
Michelsen, W.. "The Purpose of the Constitution." The constitutionality crisis. N.p., 2010. Web. 8 Dec 2011. .
The farmers of our Constitution recognized the need for separate powers as well as checks and balances among the executive, legislative and judicial branches. This in turn helps to "provide for the common defense". Separation of powers prevents one branch from becoming excessively dominant over the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.: In order to accede to the preamble and adhere in its goals, the Constitution ensures this is by clearly stating the authority of the Congress in Article I Section 8 and the authority of the President in Article II Section 2. These fixed powers in the Constitution clearly state that one cannot act without permission or authorization of another. It is designed to that one cannot take action without consent of the other branch. This is prevalent in Article I Section 7 that states the process of how a law is passed. The fact that there are clear steps to the initiation of a law states the importance of separation of powers so that a single dominant branch does not arise.
Congress and The Presidency Congress as a whole makes laws. When Bills are addressed they must meet the approval of both the House and the Senate in order to become a Law, and then the President can always veto it. Congress also deals with matters of public concern be it something that needs to be investigated or something that needs to be put before the public to raise awareness. Congress is made up of two parts: The Senate and the House of Representatives. Each is granted different powers and responsibilities.
Congress has helped develop the Presidency as we know it today. This is because Congress argues over proposals and legislation proposed by the President. They are a major determent in whether bills turn into laws. But it’s not easy. One reason for this is because there are many powerful groups out there who argue about what should be discussed such as air pollution with the EPA or jobs.
It is obvious the president was not given enough power under the Constitution. This is in part because Article II of the Constitution was written in a short period of time with little thought. Many presidents have had to make unclear decisions with little information about the circumstance in the Constitution and the president is beginning to take over the government due to increasing implied powers. However the president’s power has recently proven that it has outgrown the constitution and is swiftly evolving. The Constitution gave the president broad but vague powers, including the authorization to appoint judges and other officials with the Senate’s consent, veto bills, lead the military as commander and chief and make sure “that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Many of these powers however are shared with the Legislative Branch, and cause conflict within the government.
The Executive Office of the President was established in 1939, but has grown dramatically since then. The Executive Office of the President, also known as the White House staff, plays a very important role in politics today. The White House staff has a tremendous workload, is very politicized, and rarely last two terms. The White House Chief of Staff plays a crucial role in the White House and Washington. Without the White House staff the presidency would change greatly. They are key to everyday operations of the executive branch.
The main powers of the executive branch rest with the President of the United States of America. Powers granted to him by the constitution include serving as commander in chief of the armed forces; negotiating treaties; appointing federal judges, ambassadors, and cabinet officials; and acting as head of state. The president also has a cabinet which includes officials such as the attorney general and the secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agricu...
The legislative, executive, and judicial branches represent the constitutional infrastructure foreseen by the Founding Fathers for our nation 's governing body. Together, they work to maintain a system of lawmaking and administration based on checks and balances, and separation of powers intended to make certain that no individual or embodiment of government ever becomes too controlling. America is governed by a democratic government or a democracy which is a government by the people, in which the power is established in the people themselves. The people then elect representatives who carry out their power in a free electoral system. The United States government’s basic claim is to serve the people and only through a combined effort can we
The Executive Branch role is crucial operation of the executive branch is to assure that laws are carried out and enforced and aid the day to day responsibilities of the federal government to include “collecting taxes, safeguarding the homeland and representing the United States political and economic interests around the world” (Phaedra Trethan, 2013).
The Executive branch is all under the President's command, he is the one in charge of the final decisions. The Executive may veto the bill, all the hard work from the rest of the branches for the Executive to deny the bill. It also enforces laws which can be a major responsibility. It can also negotiate foreign treaties with other countries, in other words they inform and talk to other countries about what is happening. The President appoints the federal judge and this judge has his job for life or until he resigns.
American politics is often defined by a continuing power conflict between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. This struggle for political power between the two stronger branches of the three is inherent in the Constitution, itself. The concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances ensure that the branches of government will remain in conflict and provide a balance that keeps the entire government under control. As it was first established, the executive branch was much smaller and weaker than as we know it today. Consequently, the legislative branch was unquestionably dominant. Over the course of history, the executive branch grew in both size and power to the point where it occasionally overtook the legislative and today rivals the legislative in a much closer political battle. Today both branches have major factors that contribute to their power, but on the whole the legislative remains the lastingly dominant branch.
As we go into these scenarios that we put in place, keep in mind how they would work in a political system of a country. It is important that each branch works together in a seamless manner, and each one has its own level of powers. Like a sports team, every position is important. It is also very important to understand how all of these very different systems work.