The presidency: powers, roles and limits

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, the President's roles, a summary in our words, written today (the role names are the ones textbooks use): Chief executive: carries out the laws and leads the executive departments. Commander in chief: leads the armed forces. Chief diplomat: makes treaties and names ambassadors, with the Senate's approval. Chief of state: represents the nation at ceremonies and greets foreign leaders. Legislative leader: gives the State of the Union message, suggests laws, and signs or vetoes bills. Card B, Congress, a summary in our words: it passes bills and can override a veto. Card C, the links, from the same summary: the Legislative leader's State of the Union message and vetoes go to Congress; Congress sends laws to the Chief executive to carry out. Card D, a note from the sheet: the powers behind the roles are in Article II of the Constitution, which these cards do not quote. Examples in the questions are made up.

2. 1.

   In a made-up case, Ari's President signs a treaty with another country, then gives a medal at a ceremony. Using card A, which roles, and what is still needed?

   • Chief diplomat for both, since a ceremony is part of making treaties and the signing alone makes the treaty take effect
   • Chief diplomat for the treaty, which takes effect when it is signed, and chief of state for the ceremony and the medal
   • Commander in chief for the treaty, since treaties end wars, and chief of state for the ceremony at which the medal is given
   • Chief diplomat for the treaty, which still needs the Senate's approval; chief of state for the ceremony
3. 2.

   In a made-up case, a President vetoes a bill and Congress passes it again over the veto. Bo uses cards A to C. Which role acted, and who can have the last word?

   • The Legislative leader vetoed, and the President has the last word, since the President alone signs or vetoes bills
   • The Commander in chief ordered it, since a veto is an order, and Congress cannot answer an order from the President
   • The Chief executive vetoed, and the veto ends the bill, since the executive is the one that carries out the laws
   • The Legislative leader vetoed, and Congress can override, so Congress can have the last word on the bill
4. 3.

   Jun says the President suggests laws, so the President makes laws. What do the cards support?

   • The claim fails, since Congress merely signs bills and the President writes them and passes them in the end
   • The claim fails, since suggesting laws is merely a ceremonial act and has no effect on lawmaking
   • The President suggests, signs or vetoes; card B gives passing bills to Congress, so the claim goes too far
   • The claim holds, since suggesting a law and signing it together are what making a law means in the cards
5. 4.

   Kira asks which role card A ties to approval by part of Congress. Which role is it?

   • Chief executive, since card C shows laws going from Congress to the Chief executive to carry out
   • Commander in chief, since Congress passes the bills that pay for the armed forces and so approves their leader
   • Chief diplomat: treaties are made with the Senate's approval
   • Legislative leader, since vetoes go to Congress, which must approve each veto before it can take effect
6. 5.

   Luz says that since Congress can override a veto, the President has no real power over bills. What do the cards show?

   • The claim holds, since vetoes appear on card C solely as something that goes to Congress and nothing more
   • Both have a part: the President signs or vetoes, and Congress can override a veto
   • The claim fails, since the President can override Congress's override a second time if the bill matters enough
   • The claim holds, since an override means that Congress decides each bill in the end, whatever the President does
7. 6.

   Card A says the Commander in chief leads the armed forces. Milo says the President alone can declare war. What do the cards allow?

   • Not shown, because the card says Congress declares war and the President merely carries out its decision
   • Shown: leading the armed forces includes deciding when the nation goes to war, since the leader gives the orders
   • Not shown: the card says leads the armed forces, not who decides to go to war
   • Shown: the chief of state speaks for the nation, so the President's word is the nation's choice about war
8. 7.

   Noah says the Constitution lists these five roles as five offices. What does card D say?

   • No: the Constitution lists three roles, and the textbooks have added two more of their own
   • Yes: each role is a separate office named in Article II, in the same order that card A lists them
   • No: textbook names are made up, so they tell nothing about the real powers of the office of President
   • Not quite: the role names come from textbooks; the powers behind them are in Article II
9. 8.

   Card A says the Chief of state greets foreign leaders. Pia says greeting foreign leaders is the chief diplomat's job. What fits?

   • Wrong: greeting foreign leaders is the commander in chief's job, since foreign leaders visit the armed forces
   • Both involve foreign leaders, but card A puts greeting under chief of state and treaties under chief diplomat
   • Right: greeting is a kind of diplomacy, so card A should merge the two roles into one in its list
   • Right: treaties are signed at greeting ceremonies, so the two jobs are done together by the same role
10. 9.

    The cards say the examples are made up. Ren asks what a made-up example can show.

    • How a role works in a case we invented, not a record of what a President has actually done in office
    • What the Constitution requires, since each example follows Article II line by line and word for word
    • Nothing, since a case with no real names has no facts to which a role could be applied by anyone
    • What presidents usually do, since a made-up case is built out of many real cases that were put together
11. 10.

    Card A leaves out the Supreme Court and the Vice President. Zee says that means they have no part in the executive branch's work. What fits?

    • False, since the Vice President leads the executive departments under the President and carries out the laws
    • True, since a summary that lists each part of the government would name each one of them in turn
    • A short summary leaves things out; leaving a name out shows nothing about its part
    • True, since the roles listed are the President's own and the Court has no role of its own to list