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Submitted to:
Dr. Avinash Samal
(Asst. Professor, Political Science)
Submitted by:
Ayushi Dwivedi
Semester IV, Batch XIII, B.A. LL.B (Hons.)
Section A, Roll no. 47
Paper: Major Political systems in the World
Submitted on: 07/04/2015
Declaration
I hereby declare that the project work entitled Working of the Presidential System of
Government in The United States of America submitted to HNLU, Raipur, is record of an
original work done by me under the able guidance of Dr. Avinash Samal , Assistant Professor
(Political Science), HNLU, Raipur.
Ayushi Dwivedi
Roll No. 47
Semester-IV
Acknowledgements
With a deep sense of gratitude, I acknowledge the help of all those people who have made the
completion of this project possible. I would like to thank my Political Science teacher Dr.
Avinash Samal for his help and guidance and also for putting his faith on me by giving me such
a topic to work on. Sir, thanks for the opportunity which helped me grow.
My gratitude also goes out to the staff and administration of HNLU for the infrastructure in the
form of our library and IT Lab that was a source of great help for the completion of this project.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my family and all my friends who helped me do this
project by sharing their ideas when we discussed together.
Ayushi Dwivedi
Semester IV
Section A
Roll No. 47
Contents
Declarationi
Acknowledgements....ii
Acronyms & Abbreviations...iv
1. Introduction1-3
2. Presidential System of Government..4-5
3. The American President.6-8
4. Powers and Functions of the American President.9-14
5. The Vice President of the United States.15
6. Office of Great Power and Dignity..16
7. The Presidents Cabinet...............17-18
8. Similarities and Differences.19-20
9. Conclusion.21
10. References..22
&
And
i.e.
That is
eg.
Example
Asst.
Assistant
Govt.
USA
Government
United States of America
1. Introduction
1.1 A Contextual Outline
The United States Constitution vests executive power in the hands of one individual- the
President of United States of America. His powers are so enormous, wide and overwhelming that
he has been described as the foremost ruler in the world. The office of the American President
has been organised on the basis of non-parliamentary of Presidential form of government. There
are Presidents in parliamentary form of government too. But their authority is greatly limited.
They are Constitutional or nominal head of the States. The Indian President for example, cannot
go against the advice of the Council of Ministers which is responsible to the Parliament. In the
USA, on the other hand, the President and his Cabinet is not answerable to the Legislature. The
President of USA is supreme in executive sphere, making of course due allowance of some
devices of internal checks and balances. The American President is not bound down by Cabinet.
He chooses his own Cabinet, which is at his best personal team of advisers. It has been rightly
characterised as the Presidents Family, and head of the Family, the President, inevitably
dominates them.1 Ogg rightly describe him as the greatest ruler of the world. According to
Henry he exercises the largest amount of authority ever wielded by any man in democracy.
Quite a number of factors are responsible for this State of affairs. The Constitution is very clear
and unequivocal in giving all the executive powers to the President. Secondly, though he is
indirectly elected by the Electoral College, in actual practice his election has become direct. As
such he enjoys a greater measure of popular support.
Indeed, the American Constitution has made the President a real executive head rather than a
titular one as is the case in parliamentary form of government. The American President, in
respect of his powers, is best compared to the Prime Ministers of parliamentary democracies
enjoying the support of a stable majority in the legislatures. Now he is both, the head of the State
as well as head of the government. In many other nations, there is a chief of State whose duties
are largely protocol in nature while the Prime Minister is the centre of power. But the American
President is the nations principal spokesman of both domestic and foreign policy.
The President of United States is both more and less than a king; he is also both more and less
than a Prime Minister.
Hypothesis
The American system of government, begun as an experiment in liberty and democracy in 1776,
has proven to be remarkably resilient and adaptable. While often categorized as a democracy, the
United States is more accurately defined as a constitutional federal republic and a Presidential
system of Government. To a visiting observer, the U.S. government may seem straightforward:
the Congress makes the laws and the President implements them. A closer inspection reveals a
much more complex system of interactions and infl uences. As a republic, the ultimate power
within the American system rests with the people. This power is exercised through regular,
scheduled elections in which voters select the President, members of Congress, and various state
and local officials. These officials and their staffs formulate policy, make laws, and direct the
day-to-day operations of government.
1. Introduction: This section introduces the topic & highlights the objectives, methodology
scope & limitation of the study.
2. Presidential System of Government: This section explains the concept of Presidential System
3.
4.
5.
etc.
The Vice President of the United States: This section deals with the owers and functions of
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
References: This section underlines the different references used to complete this project.
The title president has persisted from a time when such person personally presided over the
government body, as with the US President of the Continental Congress, before the executive
function was split into a separate branch of government and could no longer preside over the
legislative body.2
Presidential systems are numerous and diverse, but the following are generally true:
The executive can veto legislative acts and, in turn, a supermajority of lawmakers may
override the veto. The veto is generally derived from the British tradition of royal assent in
which an act of parliament can only be enacted with the assent of the monarch.
The president has a fixed term of office. Elections are held at regular times and cannot be
triggered by a vote of confidence or other parliamentary procedures. Although in some
countries there is an exception, which provides for the removal of a president who is found to
have broken a law.
The executive branch is uni-personal. Members of the cabinet serve at the pleasure of the
president and must carry out the policies of the executive and legislative branches. Cabinet
ministers or executive departmental chiefs are not members of the legislature. However,
presidential systems often need legislative approval of executive nominations to the cabinet,
judiciary, and various lower governmental posts. A president generally can direct members of
the cabinet, military, or any officer or employee of the executive branch, but cannot direct or
dismiss judges.3
The president can often pardon or commute sentences of convicted criminals.
Countries that feature a presidential system of government are not the exclusive users of the title
of President. For example, a dictator, who may or may not have been popularly or legitimately
elected may be and often is called a president. Likewise, leaders of one-party states are often
called presidents. Most parliamentary republics have presidents, but this position is largely
ceremonial; notable examples include Germany, India, Ireland, Israel and Italy. The title is also
2 Sundquist, James (1992). Constitutional Reform and Effective Government. Brookings Institution
Press. p. 11.
3 David Sirota (August 22, 2008). "Why cult of presidency is bad for democracy". San Francisco
Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-09-20
4 Nelson, Dana D. (2008). Bad for Democracy: How the Presidency Undermines the Power of the
People. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-8166-5677-6.
5 Gerhard Robbers, Encyclopaedia of World Constitutions, Vol. I, 2010, Viva Books Pvt. Ltd.
Advised by the Departments of Defence and Homeland Security, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
the President also serves as Commander In Chief of all United States military forces deployed
around the world.6
The President is the administrative head of the executive branch of the Government, which
includes numerous agencies, both temporary and permanent, as well as the 15 executive (Cabinet
level) department.
Election of the American President:
Qualifications for being the President of United States of America:
Only native-born U.S. citizens (or those born abroad, but only to parents who were both
citizens of the U.S.) may be president of the United States, though from time to time that
requirement is called into question, most recently after Arnold Schwarzenegger, born in
Austria, was elected governor of California, in 2003. The Constitution originally provided a
small loophole to this provision: One needn't have been born in the United States but had to be
a citizen at the time the Constitution was adopted. But, since that occurred in 1789, that ship
has sailed.
One must also be at least 35 years of age to be president. John F. Kennedy was the youngest
person to be elected president; he was 43 years old when he was inaugurated in 1961. There is
no maximum age limit set forth in the Constitution. Ronald Reagan was the oldest president;
at the end of his term in 1988, he was nearly 77.
Finally, one must live in the United States for at least 14 years to be president, in addition to
being a natural-born citizen. The Constitution is vague on this point. For example, it does not
make clear whether those 14 years need to be consecutive or what the precise definition of
residency is. So far, however, this requirement has not been challenged.7
Every fourth November, after almost two years of campaign hype and money, over 90 million
Americans vote for the presidential candidates. Then, in the middle of December, the president
and vice president of the United States are really elected by the votes of only 538 citizens -- the
"electors" of the Electoral College.
How the Electoral College Elects the President:
When one votes for a Presidential candidate he is really voting to instruct the electors from his
state to cast their votes for the same candidate. For example, if one votes for the Republican
candidate, he is really voting for an elector who will be "pledged" to vote for the Republican
candidate. The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all the pledged votes of the
state's electors.
The Electoral College system was established in Article II of the Constitution and amended by
the 12th Amendment in 1804.
Each state gets a number of electors equal to its number of members in the U.S. House of
Representatives plus one for each of its two U.S. Senators. The District of Columbia gets three
electors. While state laws determine how electors are chosen, they are generally selected by the
political party committees within the states.
Each elector gets one vote. Thus, a state with eight electors would cast eight votes. There are
currently 538 electors and the votes of a majority of them , 270 votes , are required to be elected.
Since Electoral College representation is based on congressional representation, states with
larger populations get more Electoral College votes.
Should none of the candidates win 270 electoral votes, the 12th Amendment kicks in and the
election is decided by the House of Representatives. The combined representatives of each state
get one vote and a simple majority of states is required to win. This has only happened twice.
Presidents Thomas Jefferson in 1801 and John Quincy Adams in 1825 were elected by the House
of Representatives.8
While the state electors are "pledged" to vote for the candidate of the party that chose them,
nothing in the Constitution requires them to do so. In rare instances, an elector will defect and
not vote for his or her party's candidate. Such "faithless" votes rarely change the outcome of the
election and laws of some states prohibit electors from casting them.9
8 Anup Chand Kapur, K.K. Mishra, Select Constitutions, 16th ed. 2014, S Chand & Company Pvt. Ltd.,
New Delhi.
9 Vishnoo Bhagwan, Vidya Bhushan, Vandana Mohla, World Constitution- A Comparative Study, 2013,
Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.
The President of the United States is commonly referred to as the most powerful person in the
free world, but his legislative powers are strictly defined by the Constitution and by a system of
checks and balances among the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the government.
4.1.1 Approving Legislation
Although it is the responsibility of Congress to introduce and pass legislation, it is the president's
duty to either approve those bills or reject them. Once the president signs a bill into law, it goes
immediately into effect unless there is another effective date noted. Only the Supreme Court may
remove the law, by declaring it unconstitutional.
The president may also issue a signing statement at the time he signs a bill. The presidential
signing statement may simply explain the purpose of the bill, instruct the responsible executive
branch agencies on how the law should be administered or express the president's opinion of the
law's constitutionality.
4.1.2 Vetoing Legislation
The president may also veto a specific bill, which Congress can override with a two-thirds
majority of the number of members present in both the Senate and the House when the override
vote is taken. Whichever chamber of Congress originated the bill may also rewrite the legislation
after the veto and send it back to the president for approval.
The president has a third option, which is to do nothing. In this case, two things can happen. If
Congress is in session at any point within a period of 10 business days after the president
receives the bill, it automatically becomes law. If Congress does not convene within 10 days, the
bill dies and Congress cannot override it. This is known as a pocket veto.
of someone or something that has contributed to American society. A president may also issue
an executive order, which has the full effect of law and is directed to federal agencies that are
charged with carrying out the order. Examples include Franklin D. Roosevelt's executive order
for the internment of Japanese-Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbour, Harry Truman's
integration of the armed forces and Dwight Eisenhower's order to integrate the nation's schools.
Congress cannot directly vote to override an executive order in the way they can a veto. Instead,
Congress must pass a bill cancelling or changing the order in a manner they see fit. The president
will typically veto that bill, and then Congress can try to override the veto of that second bill.
The Supreme Court can also declare an executive order to be unconstitutional. Congressional
cancellation of an order is extremely rare.
4.1.3 The Presidents Legislative Agenda
Once a year, the president is required to provide the full Congress with a State of the Union
address. At this time, the president often lays out his legislative agenda for the next year,
outlining his legislative priorities for both Congress and the nation at large.
In order to help get his legislative agenda passed by Congress, the president will often ask a
specific lawmaker to sponsor bills and lobby other members for passage. Members of the
president's staff, such as the vice president, his chief of staff and other liaisons with Capitol Hill
also will lobby representatives to try to garner support for the legislation.
A presidential veto is the rejection of a bill passed by the majority votes of both the House of
Representatives and the Senate. While Congress can vote to override a presidential veto, causing
the bill to become law without the president's approval, this is rarely done. More often than not,
the threat of presidential veto is sufficient motivation for Congress to modify the bill prior to its
final passage. This article provides a brief overview of procedures involved in vetoing a bill and
the ways Congress can respond to a presidential veto.10
4.1.4 The Veto Process
10
When a bill is passed by both the House and Senate, it is sent to the president for his signature.
All bills and joint resolutions, except those proposing amendments to the Constitution, must be
signed by the president before they become law. Amendments to the Constitution, which require
a two-thirds vote of approval in each chamber, are sent directly to the states for ratification.
When presented with legislation passed by both houses of Congress, the president is
constitutionally required to act on it in one of four ways: sign it into law within the 10-day period
prescribed in the Constitution, issue a regular veto, let the bill become law without his signature
or issue a "pocket" veto.
Regular veto
When Congress is in session, the president may, within the 10-day period, exercise a regular veto
by sending the unsigned bill back to the chamber of Congress from which it originated along
with a veto message stating his reasons for rejecting it. Currently, the president must veto the bill
in its entirety. He may not veto individual provisions of the bill while approving others.
Rejecting individual provisions of a bill is called a "line-item" veto. In 1996, Congress passed a
law granting President Clinton the power to issue line-item vetoes, only to have the Supreme
Court declare it unconstitutional in 1998.
Bill becomes law without Presidents signature
When Congress is not adjourned, and the president fails to either sign or veto a bill sent to him
by
the
end
of
the
10-day
period,
it
becomes
law
without
his
signature.
11
i)
Head of Administration: He is the head of the administration. It is his duty to see that
the Constitution, laws and the treaties of the United States and judicial decisions rendered
by the federal courts are duly enforced throughout the country. In the fulfillment of his
duty, he may direct the heads of departments and their subordinates in the discharge of
the functions vested in them by the Acts of Congress. The Constitution empowers him to
require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
Air Force and of the militia of the States when called into the service of the United States.
Power in Foreign Affairs: The conduct of foreign affairs is in the hands of the President,
vi)
but a treaty made by him requires ratification of two third of the senate.
Power in war: Though the power to declare war belongs to congress as a whole, clearly
vii)
executive action may bring negotiations to such a pass as to make war almost inevitable.
Control over Cabinet: It should be noted that the Cabinet, as a collective body for the
purpose of formulating the policy of the nation, is not mentioned in the Constitution. It is
12 Our Government ,The Executive Branch, The White House, www.Whitehouse.com, accessed on 5th
March, 2011.
made up of his personal choices and is completely subordinate to him. He is not bound by
its decisions.13
indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term of office.The
vice president is the first person in the presidential line of succession, and would ascend to the
Presidency upon the death, resignation, or removal of the President.15
The vice president is also president of the United States Senate. In that capacity, he is allowed to
vote in the Senate when necessary to break a tie. While Senate customs have created
supermajority rules that have diminished this Constitutional power, the vice president still retains
the ability to influence legislation (e.g. the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005).Pursuant to the
Twelfth Amendment, the Vice President presides over the joint session of Congress when it
convenes to count the vote of the Electoral College.16
While the Vice President's only constitutionally prescribed functions aside from Presidential
succession relate to his role as President of the Senate, the office is commonly viewed as a
component of the executive branch of the federal government. The United States Constitution
does not expressly assign the office to any one branch, causing a dispute amongst scholars
whether it belongs to the executive branch, the legislative branch, or both.The modern view of
the Vice President as a member of the executive branch is due in part to the assignment of
executive duties to the Vice President by either the President or Congress, though such activities
are only recent historical developments
The President of the United States, says Harold Laski, is both more and less than a king, he is
both more and less than a prime minister.
Amaury de Reincourt observes, In truth, no mental effort is required to understand that the
President of the United States is the most powerful single human being in the world today. Future
crisis will inevitably transform him into a full-fledged Caesar, if we do not beware.
In the words of Justice William O Douglas of the Supreme Court, the great office of President is
not a weak and powerless one. The Presidents represents the people and is their spokesman in
domestic and foreign affairs. The office is respected more than any other in the land.It gives a
position of leadership that is unique. The power to formulate policies and mould opinion inheres
in the Presidency and conditions our national life.
17 Basu Durga Das, Constitution of the World, Lexis Nexis Butterworths Publications, Fourth Edition, 2004.
The Cabinet, a creation of custom and tradition dating back to George Washington's
administration, functions at the pleasure of the President. Its purpose is to advise the President
upon any subject, relating to the duties of the respective offices, on which he requests
information (pursuant to Article II, section 2, of the Constitution).
The Cabinet is composed of the heads of the 15 executive departments--the Secretaries of
Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and
Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Homeland
Security and the Attorney General. Additionally, during the Clinton administration, Cabinet-level
rank was accorded to: the Chief of Staff to the President; the Director of Central Intelligence; the
Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers; the Counselor to the President; the Administrator,
Environmental Protection Agency; the Director, Federal Emergency Management Agency; the
Director, Office of Management and Budget; the Director, Office of National Drug Control
Policy; the Administrator, Small Business Administration; the U.S. Representative to the United
Nations; and the U.S. Trade Representative.
The Vice President also participates in Cabinet meetings, and from time to time, other
individuals are invited to participate in discussions of particular subjects. A Secretary to the
Cabinet is designated to provide for the orderly handling and follow-up of matters brought before
the Cabinet.
Fifteen cabinet members are appointed by the president after he is elected to run the
government's executive departments; the Senate must approve all appointments. The Cabinet
includes:
The Department of Agriculture, among other functions, ensures that the food
Americans consume is safe and regulates the nation's vast farming infrastructure.
The Department of Commerce helps regulate trade, banking and the economy; among
its agencies are the Census Bureau and the Patent and Trademark Office.
The Department of Defence, which includes the U.S. Armed Forces, protects the
nation's security and is headquartered at the Pentagon.
The Department of Energy keeps the U.S. plugged in, regulating utilities, ensuring the
security of power supplies and promoting new technology to conserve energy resources.
Health and Human Services helps keep Americans healthy; its agencies include the
Food and Drug Administration, the Centre for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health
and the Administration on Aging.
The Department of Homeland Security, established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, is
charged with preventing terrorist attacks in the U.S. and helping to fight the war on terror and
includes the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Interior is dedicated to protecting and nurturing natural resources, national parks and
wildlife. Among its agencies are the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian
Affairs.
Justice, led by the Attorney General, enforces the nation's laws and includes, among
other agencies, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and
the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The Department of Labour enforces labour laws and keeps workers' safety and rights
protected.
State is charged with diplomacy; its representatives reflect the United States as part of
the world community.
Treasury ensures the country's financial and economic stability, manages federal
finances and collects taxes.
Veterans Affairs provides medical care for wounded or ill veterans and administers
veterans' benefits.
predominantly on English common law. Defendants in criminal cases have the right to a public
trial by jury and the right to be represented by counsel. One major difference in the judiciary,
however, is the power of the U.S. Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional, thereby
nullifying them. Few other countries vest such authority in their judiciaries. Finally, the revenues
and expenditures of the U.S. government are much smaller than most of its counterparts in other
industrialized nations when measured as a percentage of gross domestic product. Much of the
difference is due to the social services and benefits (such as health care and old-age pensions)
that governments in some other nations pay for. In the United States, many of these services are
delivered by the private sector or are not funded to the same extent by the government, and thus
are not counted in government expenditures.20
20 "Constitution of the United States of America Amendment XII". U.S. National Government. June 15,
1804. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
9. Conclusion
The President of the United States is by far the best known politician both within the United
States and around the world. Americans who struggle to recall the name of their representative,
senator, or governor almost certainly know the name of the president. Citizens of other countries
from Iraq to China, Australia to Russia, are generally familiar with the president's name and
photograph and have an opinion on his performance in office. The fame that U.S. presidents
enjoy today is appropriate, for the person who holds that office is at the centre of both American
politics and world affairs. Yet the president is not all-powerful at home or abroad. U.S. presidents
are often frustrated overseas (for example, in their attempts to bring peace to the Middle East or
Northern Ireland), and domestically it is well to remember that, as the political scientist Charles
O. Jones has emphasized, the United States does not have a presidential system of government in
the sense that presidents are free to make and implement policy. It is not true that presidential
democracies are chronically prone to deadlocks between the executive and the legislative. The
best estimate is that deadlock situations, that is, situations in which the legislature approves a bill
that is vetoed by the president and the legislature cannot overcome the presidential veto, could
emerge represent no more than one-third of all cases of presidential democracies. It is also
known that a decentralized mode of decision-making is not inherent to presidentialism. There are
ways to structure the decision-making process in presidential democracies so as to neutralize
most of the centrifugal forces that may operate in these regimes. What this means, thus, is that
presidential regimes may work and that, if there is some independent reason for adopting one, it
may be more efficient to concentrate in designing a presidential system that works, rather than
spending resources in pre-empting that choice
10. References
I. Bibliography
Books
1. Basu Durga Das, Constitution of the World, Lexis Nexis Butterworths Publications, Fourth
Edition, 2004.
2. Bhagwan, Vishnu & Bhushan, Vidya, World Constitution, Sterling Private Limited
Publications, Seventh Revised Edition, 1998.
3. Kapur, Anup Chand, Select Constitution of World, S. Chand and Company Ltd. Ram Nagar
New Delhi, Edition 2002
4. Kritzer, Herbert, Legal Systems of the World, Vol I, 2005, Pentagon Press.
5. Pylee, M V, Constitutions of the World, Universal Law Publishing Company, Second Edition,
2003.
Articles
1. Our Government ,The Executive Branch, The White House, www.Whitehouse.com, accessed
on 5th March, 2011.
2. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61025/stephen-m-walt/taming-american-power,
accessed on 5th March, 2011.
3. The "Veepstakes": Strategic Choice in Presidential Running Mate Selection, by Lee
Sigelman and Paul J. Wahlbeck, American Political Science Review, December 1997.
II. Webliography
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
www.scribd.com
www.sparklenotes.com
www.whitehouse.com
www.jstor.org
www.brookings.org