Chapter 6 :The Presidency As an Institution

Chapter 6 :The Presidency as an Institution

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. By 2002, foreign policy became the centerpiece of the Bush administrations agenda and in a speech at West Point, the president announced the “Bush Doctrine” of a. isolationism. b. containment. c. preemptive war. d. peace with honor.

2. The framers sought to provide “energy in the executive,” while at the same time checking the president by a. providing for an office headed by a single person. b. setting up an electoral base separate from Congress. c. creating a massive bureaucracy to share executive powers. d. giving the presidency no explicit powers independent of Congress.

3. The American presidency was established by a. Congress. b. the Declaration of Independence. c. Article I of the Articles of Confederation. d. Article II of the United States Constitution.

4. Many scholars believe that the most loosely drawn chapter of the Constitution is the one dealing with the presidency. Which part of the Constitution deals with the presidency? a. Article I b. Article II c. Article III d. Article IV

5. According to the U.S. Constitution, the executive power is vested in the a. President. b. Congress. c. Supreme Court. d. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

6. The presidency was strengthened somewhat in the 1830s with the introduction of the a. line-item veto power. b. Kitchen Cabinet system. c. linked regional newspaper system. d. national convention system for nominating presidential candidates.

7. The evolution of presidential selection has been from a. caucus to convention to primary. b. convention to primary to caucus. c. primary to caucus to convention. d. primary to convention to caucus.

8. The notion that the Constitution grants to the federal government only those powers specifically named in its text is called a. manifest prose. b. literal precision. c. expressed powers. d. articulated authority.

9. The powers specifically granted to the president in the text of the Constitution are called a. manifest prose. b. delegated powers. c. expressed powers. d. articulated authorities.

10. Powers given to the president by Congress are called a. manifest prose. b. delegated powers. c. expressed powers. d. transferred authorities. 11. Presidential powers not specified in the Constitution or the law and most often asserted during war or national emergency are termed a. latent powers. b. inherent powers. c. remissive powers. d. concealed powers.

12. The Constitution gives the power to declare war to the a. President. b. Congress. c. Supreme Court. d. Department of Defense.

13. The last time that the United States officially declared war against another nation was at the beginning of a. the Gulf War. b. the war in Iraq. c. the Vietnam War. d. World War II.

14. In 1973, the Congress overrode President Nixon’s veto to assert that the president could send American troops into action abroad only in the event of a declaration of war or other statutory authorization by Congress, or if American troops were attacked or directly endangered. This effort to revive the principle that the presidency is an office of delegated powers is called the a. Defense Authorization. b. Redeclaration Initiative. c. War Powers Resolution. d. Military Delegation Act.

15. In most instances of domestic disorder—whether from human or from natural causes— presidents tend to exercise unilateral power by a. deploying national troops. b. declaring a state of emergency. c. suspending the writ of habeas corpus. d. closing banks and other financial institutions.

16. American presidents have the power of life and death through the power to grant a. paroles and probations. b. atonements and expiations. c. reprieves, pardons, and amnesties. d. subpoenas, writs of habeas corpus, and warrants of indemnity.

17. The status of the president as head of state is exemplified by the power to a. declare war. b. make treaties. c. grant amnesties. d. amend the Constitution.

18. An agreement between the president and another country, which has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senates advice and consent, is called a. bilateral accord. b. international pact. c. presidential treaty. d. executive agreement.

19. The most important basis of the presidents power as chief executive is to be found in the section of the Constitution that stipulates the president must a. receive ambassadors. b. grant reprieves and pardons. c. appoint and remove all executive officers. d. see that all the laws are faithfully executed.

20. The claim that confidential communications between a president and close advisers should not be revealed without the consent of the president is called a. franking privilege. b. executive privilege. c. presidential privilege. d. presidential prerogative.

21. President George W. Bush has claimed the prerogative not to enforce those portions of a bill he believes to be unconstitutional through a recent technique for extending executive power known as a a. line-item veto b. signing statement. c. strike-out declaration. d. declaratory exclusion.

22. No bill vetoed by the president can become law unless both the House and the Senate override the veto by a a. majority vote. b. plurality vote. c. two-thirds vote. d. three-fifths vote.

23. Congress does not even have the option of overriding and must reintroduce the bill in the next session when the president exercises a a. pocket veto. b. line-item veto. c. executive veto. d. legislative veto.

24. Near the beginning of its session, Congress sends to the president a rather significant piece of legislation that the president agrees with for the most part. However, the bill also contains a section that the president finds completely unacceptable. Under current law, what action can the president take to help ensure that the un-favored policy contained within the larger legislative bill does not become law? a. Veto b. Pocket veto c. Line-item veto d. Impound funds 25. Which one of the following presidents has made the most vetoes while in office? a. Thomas Jefferson b. Abraham Lincoln c. Franklin D. Roosevelt d. George W. Bush

26. When the policy preferences of the president and Congress diverge, as they typically do under divided government, the president tries to convince Congress that his or her preferences are a. fully supported by the judiciary. b. more extreme than they really are. c. fully supported by the bureaucracy. d. more moderate than they really are.

27. After the attacks on September 11, a new executive agency was created called the a. National Security Agency. b. National Security Council. c. Department of Homeland Security. d. Office for State & Local Domestic Preparedness.

28. An important tool of the presidents exercising the legislative role within the executive branch is the executive a. order. b. decree. c. agreement. d. prerogative.

29. After Thomas Jefferson and until the beginning of the twentieth century, most historians agree that the only exceptions to what had been a dreary succession of weak presidents were Abraham Lincoln and a. James Polk. b. James Madison. c. Andrew Jackson. d. Andrew Johnson.

30. So few great men became presidents in the nineteenth century because a. the public could not vote for the president directly. b. there was only occasional room for greatness in such a weak office. c. their moral standing was compromised by the institution of slavery. d. they were overshadowed by the triumphs of industry leaders and world explorers.

31. Most of the policies adopted by the national government during the nineteenth century were designed mainly to a. build up military defenses. b. control the power of the railroads. c. promote the expansion of commerce. d. fight political corruption within the growing industrial cities of the north.

32. Congress began to make its first efforts to exert power over the economy beginning in 1887 with the adoption of the a. Interstate Commerce Act. b. Federal Trade and Competition Act. c. Peterson Antitrust and Development Act. d. Public Works and Economic Development Act.

33. The Supreme Court has never again seriously questioned the legitimacy of the national government in interventions of the economy or society since a. the New Deal. b. Reconstruction. c. the Trail of Tears. d. the Progressive Era.

34. The key moment that changed American political history and brought about a new shape to the national government by combining the personal brilliance and persuasiveness of a new president, economic conditions that generated an agenda of political action, a unified partisan government, and a bargaining circumstance that put a premium on coordination among kindred spirits in the Capitol and White House occurred during the a. New Deal. b. Progressive Era. c. Reconstruction Era. d. Age of Industrialization.

35. The traditional but informal designation for the heads of all the major federal government departments is the a. cabinet. b. executive office. c. White House staff. d. executive service.

36. The set of permanent agencies comprising the “institutional presidency” (such as the Office of Management and Budget) that performs defined management tasks for the president is called the a. Cabinet. b. Kitchen Cabinet. c. White House Staff. d. Executive Office of the President.

37. The largest agency in the Executive Office of the President is the a. National Security Council. b. Council of Economic Advisors. c. Office of Management and Budget. d. Government Accountability Office.

38. From a constitutional standpoint, the Vice President exists for two purposes: (1) to succeed the president in case of death, resignation, or incapacitation; and (2) to a. head the federal bureaucracy. b. prepare and submit the annual budget to Congress. c. provide geographical diversity for balancing the presidential ticket. d. preside over the Senate and cast the tie- breaking vote when necessary.

39. The main value of the vice presidency as a political resource for the president is a. personal. b. electoral. c. legislative. d. administrative.

40. A claim by a victorious candidate that the electorate has given him or her a special authority to carry out promised made during the campaign is known as a. a mandate. b. civic empowerment. c. voters authorization. d. a vote of confidence.

41. The voice of Franklin D. Roosevelt came into almost every living room in the country to discuss programs and policies and generally to assure Americans that the president was aware of their difficulties and working diligently toward solutions in his famous a. “fireside chats.” b. “kitchen table talks.” c. “backyard conversations.” d. “over-the-fence confabs.”

42. President Bill Clintons enormously high public profile as indicated by the number of public appearances that he made and his status as the most-traveled American president in history were dramatic expressions of the a. presidential junket. b. touring presidency. c. permanent campaign. d. institutional presidency. 43. The clear intent of the framers of the Constitution was for The clear intent of the framers of the Constitution was for a. judicial dominance. b. military dominance. c. executive supremacy. d. legislative supremacy.

44. In order to give the president the ability to anticipate events rather than to wait and react to events, the economy and economic trends are constantly analyzed by the staff of the a. Federal Reserve System. b. Resolution Trust Corporation. c. Council of Economic Advisers. d. National Board of Economic Assistance.

45. The era of presidential government was launched by the a. Civil War. b. New Deal. c. Great Society. d. Watergate scandal.

46. Who was the obscure political science professor who wrote a general textbook entitled Congressional Government for use in introductory American national government classes? a. Herbert Hoover b. Calvin Coolidge c. Woodrow Wilson d. Theodore Roosevelt

47. Through an executive order, President Nixon established the a. National Security Agency. b. Farm Credit Administration. c. Environmental Protection Agency. d. Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, and Firearms. 48. The Supreme Court rejected a presidents absolute immunity to congressional inquiry in the case, a. United States v. Nixon. b. Carter v. United States. c. United States v. Johnson. d. Roosevelt v. United States.

49. In the United States, the head of the nations intelligence network is the a. President. b. National Security Advisor. c. Director of Homeland Security. d. Directorate of Central Intelligence.

50. Powers given to the president by Congress are called a. manifest prose. b. delegated powers. c. expressed powers. d. transferred authorities.