Who makes foreign policy, and how treaties and international organizations work

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Chart F, Who does what in foreign policy (our words). President: negotiates treaties; nominates ambassadors; commands the armed forces. Senate: consents to treaties by two thirds of the senators present; consents to ambassadors by a majority. Congress as a whole: declares war; raises and funds the armed forces; pays for foreign policy through appropriations. Article II, Section 2, clause 2 (quoted in part): "He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, …" Case S1 (made-up): The President signs a treaty with a foreign nation. The Senate has not yet voted on it.

2. 1.

   Ari reads chart F, Article II and case S1. The President has signed a treaty. Is it the nation's treaty yet?

   • Not yet; a majority of both the House and the Senate must pass it first
   • Yes; the President negotiates and signs, so the treaty takes effect at once for the nation
   • Yes, once the Senate approves it by a simple majority of the senators present
   • Not yet; the Senate must consent by two thirds of the senators present

3. Use this

   Chart F, Who does what in foreign policy (our words). President: negotiates treaties; nominates ambassadors; commands the armed forces. Senate: consents to treaties by two thirds of the senators present; consents to ambassadors by a majority. Congress as a whole: declares war; raises and funds the armed forces; pays for foreign policy through appropriations. Article I, Section 8 (quoted in part): "The Congress shall have Power … To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy; …" Case S2 (made-up): Congress proposes a single appropriation that would pay for an army for three years.

4. 2.

   Bo reads chart F, Article I and case S2. Can Congress fund an army for three years in one appropriation?

   • Yes; the two-year limit applies solely to the navy, not to the army
   • No; Article I limits army appropriations to two years, so Congress must renew them
   • Yes; the President as Commander in Chief controls army money, so Congress does not limit it
   • Yes; the two-year limit is just a suggestion that Congress may set aside by law

5. Use this

   Chart F, Who does what in foreign policy (our words). President: negotiates treaties; nominates ambassadors; commands the armed forces. Senate: consents to treaties by two thirds of the senators present; consents to ambassadors by a majority. Congress as a whole: declares war; raises and funds the armed forces; pays for foreign policy through appropriations. Article II, Section 2, clause 2 (quoted in part): "He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, …" Case S3 (made-up): A new ambassador is to be sent to a foreign nation.

6. 3.

   Esme reads chart F, Article II and case S3. Who appoints the ambassador, and how?

   • The President nominates and, with the Senate's consent, appoints
   • The Senate chooses, and the President then confirms the choice
   • Congress appoints, by a majority vote in each of the two houses
   • The President alone appoints, since the President also directs foreign policy

7. Article II, Section 2, clause 2 (quoted in part)

   "He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, …" Vote card (Office of the Historian, in our words): In March 1920 the Senate voted 49 for and 35 against the Treaty of Versailles, which included the League of Nations covenant. The United States never joined the League. Suppose all 84 senators who voted were present.

8. 4.

   Jun reads Article II and the vote card. What does the 1920 vote show about how the treaty rule works?

   • The treaty failed because 49 was less than a majority of the 84 who voted
   • The treaty needed 60 votes, the number the Senate uses to end a debate
   • A majority said yes, but 56 of 84 were needed; 49 fell seven short
   • The treaty passed, since 49 yes votes were more than the 35 no votes
9. 5.

   Kira reads Article II and the vote card. A classmate says a majority of senators should be enough for any treaty. What does the text show?

   • Article II sets two thirds of the senators present for treaties
   • Article II requires the House of Representatives to vote on treaties as well
   • Article I sets a majority of each house for treaties, as it does for ordinary laws
   • The Constitution gives no rule on votes, so the Senate may choose its own number

10. Article II, Section 2, clause 2 (quoted in part)

    "He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, …" Case S6 (made-up): The Senate votes 51 to 49 to consent to an ambassador. On the same day it votes 51 to 49 to consent to a treaty. All 100 senators vote.

11. 6.

    Luz reads Article II and case S6. Both votes are 51 to 49. Which one succeeds?

    • Neither, since both ambassadors and treaties need two thirds of the Senate
    • The treaty, since treaties come first in Article II and so need fewer votes
    • Both, since 51 is a majority of 100 and a majority decides in the Senate
    • The ambassador; a majority consents to ambassadors, but treaties need two thirds

12. Use this

    Chart O, Three organizations (our words). United Nations: in the General Assembly each member has one vote; the Security Council has 15 members, five of them permanent (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States); on matters that are not procedural it needs nine votes including the concurring votes of the permanent members. NATO: a military alliance formed by the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949; Article 5 treats an armed attack on one member in Europe or North America as an attack on all. WTO: set up in 1995 to run trade agreements and settle trade disputes among its members; the United States joined when both houses of Congress approved the agreements in a law. Case S7 (made-up): A Security Council resolution gets nine yes votes, including one from each permanent member except Russia, which votes no.

13. 7.

    Milo reads chart O and case S7. Nine members vote yes, and Russia votes no. What happens to the resolution?

    • It fails, since it needs ten yes votes, which is two thirds of fifteen
    • It fails; a no vote from a permanent member blocks it
    • It passes, since nine yes votes are the number the Council needs
    • It passes, since the General Assembly can then override a permanent member

14. Use this

    Chart O, Three organizations (our words). United Nations: in the General Assembly each member has one vote; the Security Council has 15 members, five of them permanent (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States); on matters that are not procedural it needs nine votes including the concurring votes of the permanent members. NATO: a military alliance formed by the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949; Article 5 treats an armed attack on one member in Europe or North America as an attack on all. WTO: set up in 1995 to run trade agreements and settle trade disputes among its members; the United States joined when both houses of Congress approved the agreements in a law. Student note (made-up): "The WTO agreements were approved by a law passed by both houses, not by a two-thirds Senate vote."

15. 8.

    Noah reads chart O and note S8. What does the WTO approval show?

    • The Senate's treaty power passed to the House whenever trade is involved
    • The WTO is not an agreement, so no approval was needed from anyone
    • Any agreement with another country may skip Congress if the President signs it
    • A trade agreement can be approved by a law passed by both houses, not as a treaty

16. Use this

    Chart O, Three organizations (our words). United Nations: in the General Assembly each member has one vote; the Security Council has 15 members, five of them permanent (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States); on matters that are not procedural it needs nine votes including the concurring votes of the permanent members. NATO: a military alliance formed by the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949; Article 5 treats an armed attack on one member in Europe or North America as an attack on all. WTO: set up in 1995 to run trade agreements and settle trade disputes among its members; the United States joined when both houses of Congress approved the agreements in a law.

17. 9.

    Pia reads chart O. Which statement about the General Assembly and the Security Council does the chart support?

    • Each Council member has the same power, since each has one vote on each matter
    • The Assembly can block the Council's decisions, since the Assembly has more members
    • In the Assembly each member has one vote; in the Council permanent members hold a block
    • The permanent members hold the Assembly's single vote, and the Council has no vote of its own

18. Article II, Section 2, clause 1 (quoted in part)

    "The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, …" Article I, Section 8 (quoted in part): "The Congress shall have Power … To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy; …" Student note (made-up): "Only the President can start a war, since the President is Commander in Chief."

19. 10.

    Tala reads Articles I and II and note S10. What do the texts show about starting a war?

    • Congress commands the armed forces, and the President declares war
    • Congress holds the power to declare war, while the President commands the forces
    • The Constitution says nothing about declaring war, so both branches may do it
    • The note is right, since the Commander in Chief decides when forces are used