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Basics Project
PO Box 583
Downers Grove, IL 60515
info@basicsproject.org
(877) 660-2902
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Constitutional Literacy |
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United States Constitution |
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Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the
United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four
Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be
elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and
Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no
Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit
under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for
two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same
State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted
for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and
certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United
States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate
shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all
the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the
greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a
Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more
than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the
House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for
President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on
the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in
chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the
Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this purpose
shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a
Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case,
after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of
Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should
remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by
Ballot the Vice President.
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on
which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout
the United States.
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States,
at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the
Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who
shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen
Years a Resident within the United States.
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death,
Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said
Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may
by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability,
both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then
act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the
Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a
Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the
Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within
that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following
Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will
faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to
the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States." |
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History |
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The constitutional doctrine that the executive has a special prerogative, or
reserved power, to rule by decree in times of crises was rejected by
the Framers. The American constitutional tradition has never embraced the
doctrine of royal absolutism that emergencies create power. |
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Philosophy |
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Examination |
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Self Evaluation |
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Section 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United
States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the
actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing,
of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any
Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall
have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United
States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
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, Judges of the
supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose
Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such
inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the
Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen
during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire
at the End of their next Session. |
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History |
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Philosophy |
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Examination |
The Commander-in-Chief Concept
The President is the supreme commander of the Armed Services, the first
among generals and admirals, a civilian chief executive who cannot be
court-martialed nor made subject to any military discipline. The concept of
civilian control of the military is unique in world history, and further
implemented in the Defense secretary being a civilian as well as the service
secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Military leaders serve on the
Joint Chiefs of Staff or the National Security Council which are advisory
groups. Command means decision, commitment, direction, dispatch, secrecy,
and control. These duties are delegated to one person only, the President,
who is duty-bound to meet force with force without waiting for legislative
authority. The President must determine what degree of force the crisis
demands. In wartime or with the approach of war, the President has
additional extraordinary powers to protect the war machine from peril (by
rooting out spies and saboteurs), to act on any military necessity (by
martial law), to compel service from citizens (selective service or
conscription), and to order regulatory agencies to impose sanctions (such as
rent control or ration coupons). A string of national emergencies would
trigger the same powers, as would any unusual or extraordinary threat, which
has its source wholly or in part from outside the U.S., to the national
security, foreign policy, or economy of the U.S., and Presidents have used
this power to unilaterally intervene in places like the Dominican Republic,
Lebanon, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and the Persian Gulf, to name a few.
Presidents are also expected to protect U.S. citizens in foreign countries,
and are free to act accordingly in such matters without interference from
Congress. Neither is Congressional approval needed for U.S. participation in
any U.N. peacekeeping action. The only time the Constitution says Congress
must approve is any troop action against a sovereign state in such a way as
to constitute war. Needless to say, Congress resents this, and passed the
War Powers Act which requires the President to report to Congress within 48
hours after troops are committed, and to withdraw such troops within 60 days
unless Congress declares war or extends the period. However, all Presidents
since its passage have regarded the War Powers Act as unconstitutional and
largely ignored it. After any military action, the President can acquire
and possess the territory of another nation, and set up a temporary
government there until Congress sets up a more permanent regime. Congress
often never gets around to this, so the U.S. has ended up with numerous
possessions and territories.
Source:
Constitutional Structure |
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Self Evaluation |
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Section 3
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of
the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall
judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene
both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them,
with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as
he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public
Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and
shall Commission all the Officers of the United States. |
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History |
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Philosophy |
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Examination |
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Self Evaluation |
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Section 4
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States,
shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. |
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History |
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Philosophy |
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Examination |
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Self Evaluation |
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