principle, that one man, the President, must have complete control. He chooses the generals, the admirals, and directs the entire movements of our armies and fleets. You can see that this, alone, gives the President of the United States a vast power. He Cannot Declare War.-Yet right here you can understand how carefully the President's powers, great as they are, have been limited so as to safeguard the people's rights. The President makes war for us through our armies and navies, but he cannot start a war. The power to declare war is reserved to Congress, composed of the House and Senate, our national legislature. Moreover, the President has no power to raise money to build ships or buy guns or anything else for army or navy. Congress has the sole right to raise money by taxation and give it to the President for these purposes. So you see that while the President commands our army and navy, he cannot say whom they shall fight or when. Division of Powers. This division of powers between President and Congress (and the courts, as you will see later) is one of the basic ideas of our government. The object is to prevent any one branch of the government from taking too much power and becoming tyrannical. You can observe this same purpose in much that follows. You will notice, for instance, that all important appointments made by the President must be approved by the Senate. This is a sweeping restriction on the entire executive power. Yet since the power of removal is given wholly to the President, his control over his subordinates is complete. 2. THE CABINET The Cabinet. The President could not possibly do all his duties himself and Congress has authorized him to appoint ten secretaries in charge of as many departments. These are his official advisers and assistants, and are known as his Cabinet though not so named in any law. They hold meetings, presided over by the President, at frequent intervals. What goes on in these meetings is confidential, and no record of them is published. Each of these secretaries receives a salary of $12,000. The ten members of the Cabinet are: Secretary of State, 1789. Secretary of the Treasury, 1789. Attorney-General, 1789. Postmaster-General, 1794. Secretary of the Navy, 1798. Secretary of the Interior, 1849. Secretary of Agriculture, 1889. These are set down in the order of their creation by Congress, with the years of their beginning. They show how the business of the government has grown with the country. Congress defines the powers of each secretary; but the President appoints them and can remove them at will. Secretary of State. The President has general charge of the foreign affairs of the nation. That is to say, he 1 These two offices were united until 1913. negotiates treaties (agreements with other countries), sends out ambassadors and consuls to represent the United States in foreign countries, issues passports (travelling papers) to our citizens who wish to go abroad, and protects our citizens and ships wherever they may be. The Secretary of State runs these affairs for him. But here again is a notable case of limiting the President's power; for all treaties must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Senate before they are binding, and the appointment of all ambassadors, etc., must be approved by a majority vote of the Senate. The makers of our Constitution felt that a treaty, being an agreement with another nation which might bring us into grave difficulties, perhaps even war, should take effect only when thus carefully considered and accepted by another branch of the government. (Art. II, Sec. 2, Par. 2.) In The Secretary of State is regarded as one of the highest and most important officers in the country. many respects he ranks next to the President in honor. Thomas Jefferson was Secretary of State under President Washington, and James Madison under President Jefferson. Secretary of the Treasury. As the head of the Treasury Department, he handles all the money affairs of the national government. He collects the tariff (the tax on goods entering the United States from other countries) and all other federal taxes. He pays out money for all the expenses of the government. He raises money by loans (such as the Liberty Loans during the Great War). He coins our money, through a |