Deck 8: The Chief Executive

Question 1

What is the difference between an executive agreement and a treaty?

A)Executive agreements require the consent of the Senate; treaties do not.
B)The Senate plays a key part in negotiating executive agreements; presidents tend to negotiate treaties alone.
C)Unlike treaties,the Supreme Court has declared executive agreements unconstitutional.
D)Executive agreements are mentioned in the Constitution; treaties are not.
E)Treaties require the advice and consent of the Senate; executive agreements do not.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

President George W.Bush's deployment of U.S.troops to Iraq in 2003 is an instance where

A)the president took military action and had a statement of congressional support.
B)Congress issued a formal declaration of war.
C)Congress limited the president's power by terminating funding and recalling the troops.
D)the president took military action without a statement of congressional support.
E)the president took military actions in spite of an explicative congressional directive not to.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which presidential statement is required under the Employment Act of 1946?

A)State of the Union address
B)Annual economic report
C)National budget message
D)"Fireside chats"
E)Weekly televised speeches to the American people

Answer 3

B

Question 4

How many U.S.presidents have been impeached?

A)None
B)One
C)Two
D)Five
E)Seven

Question 5

As chief legislator,the president

A)formally introduces bills in Congress.
B)uses the media to gain support for his or her policy proposals.
C)extends diplomatic recognition to foreign countries.
D)declares war.
E)leads his or her political party.

Question 6

A president greeting a group of students on the White House lawn or meeting the head of a foreign nation is acting in the role of

A)chief of state.
B)commander in chief.
C)chief administrator.
D)chief legislator.
E)party leader.

Question 7

What presidential role arises because the president is the symbolic center of the national government and the spokesperson for the American people?

A)Chief of state
B)Chief diplomat
C)Chief administrator
D)Chief legislator
E)Party leader

Question 8

The American president acts as a leader for

A)the democratic world.
B)corporate America.
C)special interests.
D)African nations.
E)nongovernmental organizations.

Question 9

The president's power to send and receive ambassadors illustrates his role as

A)chief legislator.
B)chief diplomat.
C)chief administrator.
D)commander in chief.
E)party leader.

Question 10

Turning over control of the Panama Canal to Panama was accomplished through a(n)

A)treaty.
B)executive agreement.
C)joint resolution of Congress.
D)multinational corporation.
E)judicial review.

Question 11

By agreeing to exchange ambassadors with another nation,the president grants that country

A)national recognition.
B)diplomatic recognition.
C)normalized national status.
D)presidential immunity.
E)advice and consent.

Question 12

The United States does not have diplomatic relations with Cuba.Who has the power to grant diplomatic recognition to Cuba?

A)The president
B)The House
C)The Senate
D)The Department of State
E)The Joint Chiefs of Staff

Question 13

President Richard Nixon's opening of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1972 is an example of the role of

A)chief of state.
B)chief legislator.
C)chief administrator.
D)commander in chief.
E)chief diplomat.

Question 14

Which one of the following is true with respect to presidential conduct of foreign policy?

A)Presidents rely exclusively on their secretaries of state to help conduct foreign policy.
B)Modern presidents increasingly have become involved in conducting foreign policy by negotiating with the heads of foreign governments.
C)The vice president and the secretary of defense are the president's primary links with the State Department.
D)Presidential foreign policy deals only with military conflicts and sending American troops into war zones.
E)Presidents are rarely called upon to make important foreign policy decisions; most of those decisions are made by Congress.

Question 15

The phrase in Article II,

Question 16

In order to build support in Congress for their legislative agenda,presidents have often relied on

A)gerrymandering.
B)promises of patronage.
C)Supreme Court decisions.
D)the franking privilege.
E)executive agreements.

Question 17

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001

A)enhances presidential power in surveillance,immigration,and money laundering.
B)expands Americans' civil liberties.
C)was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court immediately after its passage.
D)restricted the ability of the president to engage in diplomatic,strategic,and economic alliances.
E)promotes cultural understanding and acceptance of Islam.

Question 18

In 1951,President Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur as his commanding general because of MacArthur's public criticism of the president's military policy in Korea.This demonstrates

A)the importance of the secretary of state.
B)the strong role played by military authority.
C)civilian control of the military.
D)the apolitical nature of military decisions.
E)the power of the secretary of defense.

Question 19

All U.S.presidents must be

A)forty years old and have lived in the United States their whole lives.
B)forty-five years old,a lawyer,and have lived in the United States for fifteen years.
C)thirty-five years old,have served in elective office,and have lived in the United States for thirty years.
D)thirty-seven years old and born in the United States.
E)thirty-five years old and a fourteen-year resident of the United States.

Question 20

In 2002,when President George W.Bush dismissed both his secretary of the treasury and director of the National Economic Council,the president acted in the role of

A)chief legislator.
B)commander in chief of the military.
C)chief of state.
D)party leader.
E)chief administrator.

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT a duty of the president in his or her role as party leader?

A)Appointing party members to various positions
B)Helping local party candidates gain support
C)Meeting with foreign heads of state
D)Officially presenting his party's platform to the nation
E)Raising money

Question 22

When President Nixon attempted to prevent major newspapers from publishing the Pentagon Papers,

A)the Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
B)the Supreme Court said the government could not prevent the study's publication.
C)he succeeded in preventing the study from being published.
D)the issue was resolved without involvement by the Supreme Court.
E)the Court said the study violated Congress's power to declare war.

Question 23

The Constitution states that a president must have lived in this country at least fourteen years and must be at least fifty years old.

Question 24

If the president dies while in office,the vice president automatically becomes the new president.

Question 25

Which president is said to have invented the White House press conference?

A)Thomas Jefferson
B)Grover Cleveland
C)Warren Harding
D)Theodore Roosevelt
E)Richard Nixon

Question 26

The power of a chief executive to cancel specific items in an appropriation or tax bill is called the

A)veto.
B)pocket veto.
C)legislative veto.
D)line item veto.
E)appropriation veto.

Question 27

How powerful is the vice presidency?

A)It is strong on domestic issues and weak on foreign policy issues.
B)It is strong on foreign policy issues and weak on domestic issues.
C)It was strong before the Great Depression and weak afterward.
D)It was weak before the Great Depression and strong afterward.
E)It is generally fairly weak.

Question 28

Which of the following presidents suspended the writ of habeas corpus and imposed martial law?

A)Andrew Jackson
B)Thomas Jefferson
C)John Adams
D)Abraham Lincoln
E)Franklin Roosevelt

Question 29

Congressional approval is required before the president can sign an executive agreement.

Question 30

The Supreme Court's decisions in cases involving the policies of the Bush administration against Al Qaeda terrorists have

A)affirmed the constitutionality of the Bush administration's antiterrorism policies.
B)claimed the Court lacks the authority to hear the cases of terrorists.
C)required the vice president to become more involved in presidential decision making.
D)limited the president's veto power over Congress.
E)restricted presidential power in combating terrorism.

Question 31

The Employment Act of 1946 enhanced the president's responsibility

A)for managing the economy.
B)in diplomatic affairs.
C)in the affairs of state.
D)in international affairs.
E)for expanding the federal bureaucracy.

Question 32

Impeachment is the power to indict or formally accuse an official of wrongdoing.

Question 33

Public approval of the president tends to

A)increase throughout a president's term of office.
B)increase in the honeymoon period during the president's final year in office.
C)be stable throughout a president's term.
D)have little impact on presidents' abilities to implement their legislative agendas.
E)decline throughout a president's years in office.

Question 34

In his famous "fireside chats" during the Great Depression of the 1930s,President Franklin D.Roosevelt was using his skills as

A)chief administrator.
B)chief diplomat.
C)manager of the economy.
D)national opinion leader.
E)chief of state.

Question 35

If the president does not act on a bill within ten days of being passed and if Congress has adjourned,the bill

A)temporarily becomes law until the start of the next legislative session.
B)becomes law.
C)must be approved by the Conference Committee.
D)goes to the Supreme Court for judicial review.
E)dies under a pocket veto.

Question 36

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 proclaims that the president must

A)notify Congress shortly after engaging in military action.
B)refrain from military engagement in the absence of a declaration of war.
C)always consult with Congress before American troops are introduced to a hostile environment.
D)secure funding for the duration of the war before committing troops.
E)use sufficient military power to bring about an "immediate and unconditional" end to hostilities.

Question 37

When does the vice president vote when serving as the president of the Senate?

A)When a conference committee cannot achieve consensus
B)In unanimous votes only
C)Only to break a tie
D)Never
E)On any bill he or she pleases.

Question 38

The president is the main authority in foreign affairs.

Question 39

The Watergate scandal resulted in

A)the impeachment of Richard Nixon.
B)enactment of the War Powers Resolution.
C)the only resignation of a U.S.president.
D)corruption charges levied against several media agencies.
E)the burglary of the Republican National Committee's headquarters.

Question 40

Which presidential role is not mentioned or described in the Constitution?

A)Commander in chief
B)Chief administrator
C)Party leader
D)Chief legislator
E)Chief diplomat

Question 41

The presidential pardon power is subject to congressional control.

Question 42

Almost all state governors have the authority to use a line item veto.

Question 43

The public has come to expect a high level of service from the national government and holds the president responsible when expectations are not met.

Question 44

If the president does not act on a bill sent to him or her within ten days and if Congress is still in session,the bill dies.

Question 45

The judicial branch exercises control over the president through judicial review of presidential action.

Question 46

Recess appointments are rare.

Question 47

The Supreme Court has not decided the extent to which the president can engage in military action without a formal declaration of war by Congress.

Question 48

An executive agreement is an understanding between the president and the chief executive of a foreign nation.

Question 49

The Watergate scandal erupted over Richard Nixon's acceptance of illegal campaign contributions.

Question 50

A president who is faced with opposition from Congress can go over the heads of legislators and talk directly to the American people.

Question 51

Most modern presidents can be considered to be strong presidents.

Question 52

A president's ability to implement his or her program normally decreases over time.

Question 53

The War Powers Resolution requires the president to always consult with Congress before American troops are introduced into hostile situations.

Question 54

The most famous presidential pardon concerns former slave owners after the Civil War.

Question 55

Presidents are more likely to enter into executive agreements than treaties.