Objectives
To describe extra-Constitutional roles of the U.S. president.
To assess impact extra-Constitutional roles have on American presidential power.
To analyze visual and audio material for specific content.
Before Viewing C-SPAN Have students review Article II of the U.S. Constitution looking for specific references to the president as either a) world leader or b) voice of the American people. (They will not find references to either.) Ask students: Why has the American president become recognized as a/the world leader?
Lead students to bring out the following points: president's stature has grown as America's has; America's military and foreign policy powers are heavily centered in the executive branch; increasingly effective media and mass communication capabilities have given the president a direct conduit to the American people and the rest of the world.
Lesson III: Extra-Constitutional Duties: The President as
Life Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt Clip #3 - Audio of Roosevelt asserting the rights of the people to interpret the Constitution.
Access complete video from C-SPAN's 