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These lessons were excerpted fromWe the People: The Citizen & the Constitution, Level 1.

©20 Center for Civic Education

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Directed by the Center for Civic Educationand funded by the U.S. Department of Educationunder the Education for Democracy Act approvedby the United States Congress.

What is the executive branch?

Purpose of the lessonYou already learned that the executive

branch carries out and enforces the lawspassed by Congress. The president is thehead of the executive branch. In this les-son, you will learn about the powers ofthe president. You will also learn howCongress can check the powers of thepresident.

When you have finished this lesson,you should be able to describe how theexecutive branch is organized. You shouldbe able to identify the powers of thisbranch. You should also be able to explainsome of the limits on its powers.

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How did the Framers createthe executive branch?

The executive branch of our gov-ernment carries out and enforces thelaws passed by Congress. For example, Congress might pass a law to build ahighway across the country. The exec-utive branch has to carry out the law.

The president of the United States is the head of the executive branch. The Framers had many discussionsabout how much power to give to thepresident. They did not want to makethe executive branch too weak ortoo strong.

The Framers wanted to do twothings. They wanted to give the president enough power to carry outand enforce the laws. But, they did not want to give the president toomuch power. If they did, a presidentmight be able to gain unlimited power.With unlimited power, the presidentmight become a dictator.

Article II of the Constitution establishes the executive branch. Article II lists the duties and powersof the president.

How is the president selected?

Every four years on the Tuesdayfollowing the first Monday in Novem-ber, voters go to their polling placesand cast their votes for the presidentand vice president of the UnitedStates. Their votes will be counted,but the results will not guaranteethat the candidate with the mostvotes will become the president.

To select the president and vicepresident, the Framers of the Consti-tution proposed what is now called theElectoral College.

When people vote for the president,they are actually voting for electors whoare pledged to vote for the candidatewho wins most of the people’s votes.

appointArticle IIbudgetcommander in chiefElectoral Collegeimpeachpopular votetreaty

Terms to know


Each state has a number of electorsequal to the number of U.S. senators,two for each state, plus the number ofU.S. representatives, which variesaccording to the state’s population.For example, Indiana has two sena-tors and nine representatives. Indianatherefore has eleven electoral votes.

The Electoral College includes 538electors, 535 for the total number ofmembers in Congress, and three elec-tors who represent Washington, D.C.States with large populations havemore electoral votes than states withsmall populations. A candidate musthave 270 of the total 538 electoralvotes to become president.

There have been three times in ourhistory when the candidate with themost popular votes did not win theelection. The popular vote is thenumber of actual votes cast by thepeople during a presidential election,rather than the votes cast by membersof the Electoral College.

But what if no candidate getsa majority of votes in the ElectoralCollege? In that case, the House ofRepresentatives selects the presidentby majority vote. Each state is allowedone vote.

Although the Electoral College iscomplicated, the Framers thought itwas the best solution for selecting thepresident.

What is the system for selecting the president of the United States?

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A meeting of Virginia’s electoral college during the 2008 presidential election.Do you think we should change the electoral system? Why or why not?

Ideas to discussShould the candidate with the most votes win?

Many people in our countrybelieve that the candidate with themost votes should automaticallybecome president. Some people wantto change the electoral system.Do you agree or disagree?Explain why or why not.

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What are the powers andduties of the president?

The Framers gave the presidentmany powers and duties. Some of thesepowers and duties are listed below.

The president has the power to

● act as the commander in chief ofthe armed forces. The military mustobey the orders of the president.

● make treaties. A treaty is an official agreement between two ormore countries. Treaties must havethe advice and consent of the Senate.

● appoint ambassadors, with the consent of the Senate. The job of an ambassador is to represent theUnited States in another country.To appoint means to choose orname someone for an office or duty.

● appoint judges to the SupremeCourt, with the consent of the Senate; appoint other officialsof the United States.

● grant pardons for crimes againstthe United States.

The president must protect theConstitution. The president must alsocarry out the duties of the office. Thepresident has the duty to

● act as the head of the executivebranch. There are many depart-ments, or offices, within theexecutive branch. The president mustmake sure that these departmentscarry out and enforce the laws.

● suggest laws and policies. The president may ask the Congress topass certain laws. Every year thepresident prepares a budget. Thebudget is a plan for how to spendthe nation’s money. The budgetgoes to Congress for approval.

● set policy for dealing with othercountries in the world. The president is responsible for dealing with other countries.

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What types of treaties might a president sign with another country?


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How does the Constitution limitthe powers of the president?

The Framers were careful to limitthe powers of the president. Theymade the president share most powers with Congress. Here are someexamples of how Congress can checkthe powers of the president.

● Appointment The president hasthe power to appoint people toimportant jobs in the executive and judicial branches. The Senatehas to approve the person before he or she may have the job.

● Treaties The Senate must approve any treaty agreed to by the president before it can take effect.

● War The president can conduct a war. Only Congress, however, can declare a war. The president commands the armed forces,but Congress controls the moneyneeded to support the armedforces.

● Veto The president has thepower to veto a bill. Congress hasthe power to approve the samebill in spite of the president’s veto,if two-thirds of each house agree.

● Impeachment To impeachmeans to charge a public officialwith wrongdoing in office. It also means to bring the official to trial.The House of Representatives hasthe power to impeach the presi-dent. If tried and found guilty bythe Senate, the president can beremoved from office.

In the next lesson, you will learnhow the Supreme Court checks thepower of the president.

How can Congress limit thepowers of the president?


How is the executive branch organized?

George Washington was elected thefirst president of the United States.The Framers knew that the presidentwould need help in running the execu-tive branch. But, the Framers did not have a plan. The Constitution does notsay how the executive branch shouldbe organized. Instead, the Framersleft it up to President Washington andCongress to decide how to organizethe executive branch.

Washington and Congress workedtogether to decide what advisors thepresident would need. Congress created four departments to help the president.

● Department of State to handlerelations with other countries

● Department of the Treasuryto handle the money of the federal government

● Department of War, now calledthe Department of Defense, to handle the defense of the nation

● Attorney General, now the headof the Department of Justice, to bethe chief law enforcement officer

The people in charge of thesedepartments act as advisers to thepresident. These advisers becameknown as the president’s cabinet. The cabinet now includes the vicepresident and the heads of fifteenexecutive departments.

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Why do you thinkdepartments were createdto help the president?


Review the lesson

1 Explain the process forselecting a president.

2 What are some duties and powersof the president of the UnitedStates?

3 Explain four ways that Congresscan check the power of the president.

4 What does the president’scabinet do?

5 Who holds each of these officesin the United States today: thepresident, the vice president, thesecretary of state, the secretaryof the treasury, the secretary ofdefense, and the attorney general?

1 What are the qualifications forbeing president of the UnitedStates? To answer this question,see the Constitution, Article II, Section 1.

2 Article I, Section 1, says that the president is to be elected by“electors” appointed in each state.How many electors does your statehave? How are they chosen? Findmore information about the processfor electing the president. Sharewhat you learn with the class.

3 Today there are fifteen membersof the president’s cabinet. Find thenames of the fifteen cabinet offices.Create a chart that shows thepresident’s cabinet. On the chart,explain what each member does.

4 Find newspaper articles about aduty that the president is carry-ing out. Be prepared to share thearticles with your class. Usethe articles to create a classbulletin board.

5 Find newspaper articles aboutCongress or the Supreme Courtchecking something the presidentwants to do. Write a report thatexplains what is happening.Use quotes from the article.Present the report to the class.

6 When in our history did thecandidate who won the popularvote not win the ElectoralCollege vote?

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Activities to do


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