Only the President Can Declare War

Michigan Education Portal ^ | Unknown | National Heritage Academies

[Nick Danger]

American System = Democracy
A democracy is based on balancing the power between each branch of the government so that one branch is not so powerful that it is able to control the whole.

Executive	Legislative		Judicial
President • is the only branch of the government that can declare war • leader of the military • can veto laws passed by the Legislature • makes appointments to many committees • suggests laws and proposes budgets • can take military action without approval of Congress	Congress • is the only branch of the government that can pass laws • makes and passes laws • passes budgets and allocates funds to departments and projects • can withhold funds for military actions, but otherwise has no military power • can pass new tax laws without a vote of the people	Supreme Court • is the only branch of the government that interprets and enforces the Constitution, Bill of Rights and codified law
	Basis of Power • elected by the population through a vehicle called the electoral college	Basis of Power • elected by a majority of votes cast in the states whom they represent		Basis of Power • appointed by the President and ratified by the Legislature
Limits on Power • two 4-year terms • has no judicial power except to pardon criminals • has no power to tax the people and must get funding from the Legislature • has no power over the Legislature except through public opinion. Has power over the Judiciary because the President appoints new judges.	Limits on Power • has no judicial power except for investigation • has no power over other branches except to impede the passage of laws or special programs	Limits on Power • has no power to write law • has no power over the military • have no power to tax the people and must get their funding through the Legislature • has no power over the other two branches except through stricter or looser interpretations of the law

[buffyt]

Only the President Can Declare War.

Oh, Hillary had that law changed for when she is president.....

[philman_36]

I tripped over this page by accident, and could not believe it.
Why couldn't you believe it? Haven't you been paying attention? None of this is new.
Did you think that people were joking around when they talked about the dumbing down of students?

[mrsmith]

Wow!

Even granting that it's for third-graders, this is bizarre.

[SC_Republican]

Here is an email received back from this organization. They will be removing this from thier course until it is corrected:

Hi again , We are removing this document from the materials. If you have time would like to make corrections/changes to it, we’d appreciate it.
So you feel this a document like this actually serves a purpose? Is there some other way to frame this or discuss this that would be better? Is a comparison necessary at this grade level?

After reading it through it, I certainly agree with most of your thoughts, and need to find the original document to see what the author said and what our editor may have changed it to! I think we need a different pool of people helping on the government materials!

Linda

I wrote the following to her (I borrowed some thought from this board):

On 2/18/03 9:12 PM:

I hope that you are not teaching this to our children.

The errors on this pages are numerous and unfathomable. I'll list a few.

American System = Democracy

Actually, The United States of America is NOT a Democracy, it is a Representative Republic. The word "democracy" does not exist in any of our founding documents.

A democracy is based on balancing the power between each branch of the government so that one branch is not so powerful that it is able to control the whole.

uh, no....a democracy is basically mob rule In a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person; in a republic they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents. - Madison, Federalist #14.

Furthermore the Constitution mandates a Republic as the form of government, not a Democracy:

Constitution Article IV Section. 4: The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.

The President "is the only branch of the government that can declare war".

From the United Stated Consitition: Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

The President "can veto laws passed by the Legislature".

The Legislature does not pass laws, they pass bills, which become Law when the President signs the bill, ignores the bill for 30 days or vetos the bill and the bill is overridden by 2/3 majority of congress to become law.

The Legislature "makes and passes laws".

Again, it passes bills that may become a law.

The Legislature "has no judicial power except for investigation".

Close, but you should include that the Congress has the power to impeach and try members of the Executive and Judicial Branches.

I'm certainly glad that they listened.

[mrsmith]

Kudos to you , and I'm impressed by their response too.

[carton253]

My brother is a public school teacher. Hardly came from the bottom of his college class. Has a master's and a grade point average of 3.98...

[general_re]

I never claimed it was universal, only a consistent trend. Congratulations to your brother - God knows, we could use more like him.