| A | B |
|---|
| 22nd Amendment | A president cannot serve more than two 4-year elected terms—a total of 8 years. Terms do not have to be consecutive. A president can serve a maximum of 10 years (2 years unelected). |
| 25th Amendment | Succession of the presidency. If a president is removed, dies, or is incapacitated, the VP becomes president. The new president appoints a new VP which goes to the Senate for approval. |
| Appointment | An act of designating or assigning a job or position to someone. |
| Article II of the Constitution | explains the rules for being president, including qualifications, powers, roles and limits. |
| Bush v. Gore (2000) | U.S. Supreme Court case that determined that states cannot violate the Equal Protection Clause under the Fourteenth Amendment when conducting election recounts. |
| Cons of the Electoral College | In most states the winner of the popular vote wins all of that state’s electoral votes, even if the election was very close. (A few states distribute electoral votes proportionally.) Under this system a candidate who loses the popular vote can still win the presidency. This has happened 4 times in our nation’s history, most recently in 2000. |
| Electoral College | A group of electors selected by each state legislature to cast electoral votes for the president and vice president. Each state has the same number of electors as it has members of Congress, also D.C. has 3 electors. There are a total of 538 electors in all. The candidate who wins the majority of electoral votes, 270—is the winner of the election. |
| Executive Branch | The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who also acts as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible for enforcing the laws written by Congress and he appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. |
| Executive Departments (Cabinet) | focus on day-to-day law enforcement and the administration of federal laws. Each department is led by a secretary selected by the president and approved by the Senate. |
| Executive Order | A rule or order issued by the president to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law. |
| Federal Bureaucracy | The agencies, bureaus, and departments of the executive branch of the federal government. Consists of the roughly 500 departments, agencies, administrations, authorities, and commissions that carry out responsibilities assigned to them through Congressional legislation |
| Foreign Aid | the help or assistance that the U.S. gives to other countries, usually through the State Department. The purpose of foreign aid is to create friendships and trading partners with other nations. |
| Government Corporations | Some parts of the executive branch are businesses that the gov’t owns. For example: Post Office Amtrak (passenger trains) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation |
| Independent Federal Agencies | These are gov’t organizations outside the 15 executive departments. They are controlled by boards. The president selects the members of these boards, but he cannot remove them. Examples: CIA – Central Intelligence Agency EPA – Environmental Protection Agency NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration NSF – National Science Foundation |
| Limits on the Executive Branch | -Congress can override a veto with a 2/3 vote -Congress can impeach the President and remove him from office -Supreme Court can declare presidential actions unconstitutional -Citizens of the U.S. can choose not to elect him for a 2nd term. |
| Military (Department of Defense | The DOD is made up of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and many other agencies. The goal of the U.S. Military is to make sure our armed forces are prepared to protect American citizens. |
| Pardon | The action of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or offense; |
| Political Party | is an organized group of people who share similar views and work to influence the government in support of those views. |
| Popular Vote | The votes cast by individual citizens in a presidential election as opposed to electoral votes. |
| Presidential Appointments | In the federal government of the United States, "advice and consent" is a power of the United States Senate — in this instance, the power to approve appointments by the President of the United States to public positions, including Cabinet secretaries, federal judges, and ambassadors. |
| Presidential Line of Succession Act | This act explains who will become president if something happens to both the president and vice president. |
| Presidential Powers | -Carry out and enforce laws -Commander in Chief of Armed Forces -Maintain a cabinet of advisors -Negotiate treaties with other countries -Appoint justices, judges, ambassadors, etc. -Grant pardons and reprieves -State of Union address to Congress |
| Presidential Qualifications | 1. Be a natural born citizen 2. Live in the U.S. for 14 years 3. Be 35 years old |
| Primary Election | voters choose the candidate they want for their party’s nomination.Then each party’s top candidate will run for president in the general election. |
| Regulations | The rules the executive branch makes about how a law will be carried out. |
| Reprieve | Cancel or postpone the punishment of (someone, especially someone condemned to death); to provide relief ( i.e. debt) |
| Treaty | a formal agreement between countries that, like laws, must be followed. The president is responsible for negotiating and signing treaties. |
| U.S. Foreign Policy | Our government’s actions, words and beliefs toward other countries. Main goals of U.S. foreign policy: -Protect American citizens -Support economic growth and human rights -Support freedom and democracy |
| Veto | To reject; a constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a law-making body. |
| Vice President | Besides becoming president if necessary, the V.P. is also president of the Senate. |
