Reflection
This assignment was unique in that it had a significant time constraint. It was not a matter of budgeting time throughout a week or two to complete a fully fleshed-out essay with sources. Instead, we were given 45 minutes to write an essay describing the nature and relative function of the United States executive branch. Maybe this is not so novel - we have timed exams in class all the time. However, (what seemed to be) a critical difference here was the fact that it was taken online at whatever time and location we choose to do so. So I plopped myself down in the quiet study section of the library, put on some noise-cancelling headphones, and resolved to get to work. This assignment taught me several lessons about being a student.
The first was the ability to remain calm under pressure. While it was clear what topics we were prompted to cover (e.g. powers of the executive branch), it was somewhat ambiguous as to what level of detail we had to go into. I therefore had some anxiety - I did not know what to do. I did not know what standards to achieve. So I estimated how much I could reasonably accomplish in 45 minutes, and resolved to do the best I can. The importance here was thinking clearly about what was realistic in the situation without a hyper-specific set of step-by-step guidelines. This timed assignment taught me to be able to organize my thoughts in a situationally appropriate manner and achieve the task at hand.
A second lesson was the importance of pre-preparation. Thankfully, I had done some good preparation before the exam. I reviewed parts of the textbook since the last exam and thought about what was likely to be on the text. I was right - it had to do with the structure of the federal government. Because I reviewed beforehand, I was able to restart my memory on key concepts and examples that I used to organize and substantiate my arguments.
This assignment was unique in that it had a significant time constraint. It was not a matter of budgeting time throughout a week or two to complete a fully fleshed-out essay with sources. Instead, we were given 45 minutes to write an essay describing the nature and relative function of the United States executive branch. Maybe this is not so novel - we have timed exams in class all the time. However, (what seemed to be) a critical difference here was the fact that it was taken online at whatever time and location we choose to do so. So I plopped myself down in the quiet study section of the library, put on some noise-cancelling headphones, and resolved to get to work. This assignment taught me several lessons about being a student.
The first was the ability to remain calm under pressure. While it was clear what topics we were prompted to cover (e.g. powers of the executive branch), it was somewhat ambiguous as to what level of detail we had to go into. I therefore had some anxiety - I did not know what to do. I did not know what standards to achieve. So I estimated how much I could reasonably accomplish in 45 minutes, and resolved to do the best I can. The importance here was thinking clearly about what was realistic in the situation without a hyper-specific set of step-by-step guidelines. This timed assignment taught me to be able to organize my thoughts in a situationally appropriate manner and achieve the task at hand.
A second lesson was the importance of pre-preparation. Thankfully, I had done some good preparation before the exam. I reviewed parts of the textbook since the last exam and thought about what was likely to be on the text. I was right - it had to do with the structure of the federal government. Because I reviewed beforehand, I was able to restart my memory on key concepts and examples that I used to organize and substantiate my arguments.
Timed Essay on the Executive Branch
The executive branch is comprised of two types of officials: elected and appointed. The President is the only elected official. He is technically elected by the electoral college: a set of representatives from each state who each cast votes for a presidential candidate. The candidate with the most electoral votes wins. Functionally, this results in an election by the people since state electors virtually never go against the decision of those who elected them. Aside from the president, the executive branch is comprised of many appointed people. As of 2016, the president directly appoints about 4,000 people, about 1,000 of which require the “advice and consent”, or confirmation by majority vote, by the Senate.
The president has several roles and responsibilities. One of the most important is to enforce laws passed by the legislature. According to Article II of the Constitution, the executive must “faithfully execute” the laws of the legislature. Functionally, this gives it broad discretion as to how to execute laws. This is the constitutional basis for the executive order, which is not actually in the constitution. Another role is to act of head of state. The President is the primary representative of the United States to foreign entities.
The president has several means to check and balance the power of the other two branches of the legislature and the judiciary. One is the power to influence legislation through executive veto. The president may unilaterally reject legislation. However, this veto can be overturned by a two-thirds supermajority vote by both houses.
Another crucial check is the discretionary power of the president on how to enforce legislation. For example, President Obama’s DACA was a constitutional measure that demonstrated his discretionary power to prosecute people who came into the U.S. illegally. Also, FEMA was created through executive order. President Bush treated FEMA as an unimportant department and treated it as a repository for political spoils. He appointed unqualified people with no emergency management experience. As a result, the Hurricane Katrina management was a failure. In contrast, President Clinton took the department seriously, and was praised for its effective response to the Oklahoma City bombing of the regional FBI building. Even though the president has limited formal power to create legislation, his power to execute laws is a huge factor in how legislation actually comes into effect.
Also, the executive checks judicial power by appointing its members. This executive power is in turn checked by the Supreme Court because judges have lifetime nominations and cannot be dismissed by the president. Some judges have in fact turned against the president. For example, FDR’s appointment to the Supreme Court declared some of his New Deal measures unconstitutional. The president then checked this power by creating more judicial seats, appointing people favorable to his legislation, and then introduced identical legislation a few years later. The power to appoint judicial officers and interpret their rulings is a huge presidential check.
Checks the judiciary by both having discretion on how to interpret rulings, as well has having the power to execute or not execute them. Supreme Court rulings have power over the executive insofar as the legislature is willing to impeach the president over a breach of law. For example, in the 1830s, Supreme Court ruled against President Jackson for violating judiciary-identified sovereignty of Cherokee Nation. Jackson infamously replied that [paraphrasing] “The Supreme Court has made its decision, now let them enforce it.” Congress took no action to go against Jackson because Jackson was a popular president and had popular support for colonizing Cherokee lands. Also, in the 1970s, President Nixon violated federal law in the Watergate scandal by spying on an office of the Democratic National Committee. The Court issued a subpoena ordering that Nixon release tape recordings he had made in his office. Nixon responded that he was under no obligation to do so because compliance would threaten national security. The Court ruled against Nixon, but the fact that Nixon had an argument to be made demonstrates the executive’s interpretive capacity of judicial rulings.
These executive powers have had massive influence on the protection of civil rights and civil liberties. For example, the president enforced the judicial ruling in Brown v. Board of Education by using his authority to control the Arkansas National Guard in 1957 to enforce school integration. A more recent example happened during President Obama’s term when he instructed the U.S. attorney general to prosecute states who violated the civil rights of non-binary students in access to bathroom facilities.
The executive branch is comprised of two types of officials: elected and appointed. The President is the only elected official. He is technically elected by the electoral college: a set of representatives from each state who each cast votes for a presidential candidate. The candidate with the most electoral votes wins. Functionally, this results in an election by the people since state electors virtually never go against the decision of those who elected them. Aside from the president, the executive branch is comprised of many appointed people. As of 2016, the president directly appoints about 4,000 people, about 1,000 of which require the “advice and consent”, or confirmation by majority vote, by the Senate.
The president has several roles and responsibilities. One of the most important is to enforce laws passed by the legislature. According to Article II of the Constitution, the executive must “faithfully execute” the laws of the legislature. Functionally, this gives it broad discretion as to how to execute laws. This is the constitutional basis for the executive order, which is not actually in the constitution. Another role is to act of head of state. The President is the primary representative of the United States to foreign entities.
The president has several means to check and balance the power of the other two branches of the legislature and the judiciary. One is the power to influence legislation through executive veto. The president may unilaterally reject legislation. However, this veto can be overturned by a two-thirds supermajority vote by both houses.
Another crucial check is the discretionary power of the president on how to enforce legislation. For example, President Obama’s DACA was a constitutional measure that demonstrated his discretionary power to prosecute people who came into the U.S. illegally. Also, FEMA was created through executive order. President Bush treated FEMA as an unimportant department and treated it as a repository for political spoils. He appointed unqualified people with no emergency management experience. As a result, the Hurricane Katrina management was a failure. In contrast, President Clinton took the department seriously, and was praised for its effective response to the Oklahoma City bombing of the regional FBI building. Even though the president has limited formal power to create legislation, his power to execute laws is a huge factor in how legislation actually comes into effect.
Also, the executive checks judicial power by appointing its members. This executive power is in turn checked by the Supreme Court because judges have lifetime nominations and cannot be dismissed by the president. Some judges have in fact turned against the president. For example, FDR’s appointment to the Supreme Court declared some of his New Deal measures unconstitutional. The president then checked this power by creating more judicial seats, appointing people favorable to his legislation, and then introduced identical legislation a few years later. The power to appoint judicial officers and interpret their rulings is a huge presidential check.
Checks the judiciary by both having discretion on how to interpret rulings, as well has having the power to execute or not execute them. Supreme Court rulings have power over the executive insofar as the legislature is willing to impeach the president over a breach of law. For example, in the 1830s, Supreme Court ruled against President Jackson for violating judiciary-identified sovereignty of Cherokee Nation. Jackson infamously replied that [paraphrasing] “The Supreme Court has made its decision, now let them enforce it.” Congress took no action to go against Jackson because Jackson was a popular president and had popular support for colonizing Cherokee lands. Also, in the 1970s, President Nixon violated federal law in the Watergate scandal by spying on an office of the Democratic National Committee. The Court issued a subpoena ordering that Nixon release tape recordings he had made in his office. Nixon responded that he was under no obligation to do so because compliance would threaten national security. The Court ruled against Nixon, but the fact that Nixon had an argument to be made demonstrates the executive’s interpretive capacity of judicial rulings.
These executive powers have had massive influence on the protection of civil rights and civil liberties. For example, the president enforced the judicial ruling in Brown v. Board of Education by using his authority to control the Arkansas National Guard in 1957 to enforce school integration. A more recent example happened during President Obama’s term when he instructed the U.S. attorney general to prosecute states who violated the civil rights of non-binary students in access to bathroom facilities.