1. How is the executive branch of government organized?
o The President’s Administration – top officials who advise and assist the President in his/her job of running
the country. Get their positions based on the spoils system - ______________________________________
___________________________________________________________
 Usually ___________________________ with each new President
Identify each of the following parts of the President’s Administration:
ADMINISTRATION TITLE
Executive Office of the President (EOP): The
White House Office (WH0), Press Secretary,
Chief of Staff
RESPONSIBILITY
National Security Council (NSC)
Council of Economic Advisors (CEA)
The Cabinet: composed of the Heads of
__________________________________
o
The Federal Bureaucracy – composed of around three million civilian workers in the many government agencies and
departments. Generally keep their jobs no matter who is President.
 Civil Service Workers - _________________________________ ____________________________
 Civil Service System - __________________________________ ____________________________
 The Merit System - ________________________________________________________________
o What does the federal bureaucracy do?
1. ________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________________
What are independent agencies in the executive branch?
__________________________________________________________________
 Executive Agencies _____________________________________ __________________________
 Example ______________________________________________
 Government Corporations __________________________________________________________
o Example ______________________________________________
 Regulatory Boards and Commissions ______________________ _____________________________
o Members are appointed by the _______________________ but can only be removed from office by
_______________
Identify each of the following regulatory agencies
Agency
OSHA SEC FTC EPA FCC -
Responsibility
Identify what each of the following executive departments is responsible for:
Department of State (1789)
Department of the Treasury (1789)
Department of Defense (1789 as War
Department, changed in 1949)
Department of the Interior (1849)
Department of Justice (1870)
Department of Agriculture (1889)
Department of Commerce (1903)
Department of Labor (1913)
Department of Health and Human Services
(1953)
Department of Housing and Urban
Development (1965)
Department of Transportation (1966)
Department of Energy (1977)
Department of Education (1979)
Department of Veterans Affairs (1989)
Department of Homeland Security (2002)
Presidential Diary
For this activity you will assume the role of the President. You will write a journal/diary entry describing what you did
over the course of one day. You should include the following:



Reference to meeting with 5 Department heads
Reference to 3 of the roles you serve as President
Reference to 3 government agencies.
You should illustrate that you understand what each agency, role, or department do.
Example of what to do: “This morning, I met with the head of the Dept. of Education to hear his thoughts on how we can
improve student test scores”. (Reading this, you can infer that the Dept. of Edu. deals with student learning)
Example of what NOT to do: “This morning I met with Veterans Affairs to discuss stuff. Then I met with the VP”.