Executive Branch Essay, Research Paper

The United States is a large and complex country that is full of a diversity of citizens. It

has millions of square miles of land with fifty states and several outlying territories, including

more than a thousand islands scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. All

the citizens of the Unites States have been governed in an organized way for more than two

hundred years. The federal government is separated into three branches: the legislative,

executive, and judicial branch. Of the three branches, the executive branch is the most

complex. Its job is to enforce the laws of the United States. It is composed of the President,

Vice President, executive departments, and independent agencies.

The Presidency is the highest office in the country. To become the President, you must

be a natural born citizen of the United States, be at least thirty-five years old by the time you

serve, and have lived in the United States at least 14 years. Presidential elections occur every

four years and candidates are chosen by their political parties before the election. Each party

chooses a candidate through primary elections, conventions, or caucases in every state and one

national convention. After all candidates are chosen, the campaign begins for the general

election.

The election is held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November.

People in each state vote for the President indirectly by electing the electors who will vote for

the Presidential candidate. The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of

Representatives plus the number of Senators. The electors from each state vote for the choice of

the largest number of people in their state. The candidate with more than half of the electoral

votes wins. The President is inaugurated on January 20 and may only serve two terms which are

four years each. The President is the chief executive officer of the federal government,

administrative head of the executive department of the government, and commander in chief of

the armed forces of the nation. With these titles, he has many duties and responsibilities.

The President works with the other two branches in several ways. He is involved in the

law-making process because all bills have to go to the President before they become the law and

is considered the chief legislator because he sends bills to Congress that he wants passed. The

President appoints Supreme Court justices and judges of other federal courts. When the

President gets elected, he appoints a group of advisors which is called his Cabinet. Part of his

Cabinet are the heads of each executive department.

The Executive Office of the President consists of staff agencies that give the President

information, ideas, and advice on wide range of issues. Presidents frequently create, eliminate,

and reorganize agencies in the Executive Office of the President. The President also appoints the

heads of all the independent agencies. As the Chief Diplomat, he conducts the foreign policy by

negotiating with other countries.

The Vice-Presidency is the second highest office in the country. If the President dies,

leaves office, or cannot perform his duties, the Vice-President becomes President. The

Vice-President has to meet the same requirements as the President. If the president is disabled

for a certain period of time, then the Vice-President serves as Acting President. The Executive

Branch of government includes the President, Vice President, executive departments, and

independent agencies.

The Department of State is the executive department of the United States government that

handles relationships between U.S. and other governments. The head of the department is the

secretary of state who is the senior member of the President’s Cabinet. The department plans

actions of the United States with other nations’ governments. After the approval of the plans by

the President, they become the nation’s official foreign policy.

The main function of the department is to carry out the foreign policy. It negotiates

treaties and agreements with other governments, handles business with the foreign embassies,

speaks in international organizations, and arranges for the United States to participate in

international conferences. The Foreign Service provides information about specific countries,

enforces the foreign policy towards them, and provides services to the Americans traveling

abroad. The Foreign service also issues passports and grant visas to the people coming into the

United States. There are a number of independent agencies that come from the Department of

State. They include the U.S. Information Agency, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency,

and the Agency for International Development.

Each part of the executive branch works to make our country better and the best.