Commander in chief that runs our armed forces and

Commander in Chief that runs our armed forces and Chief Diplomat where the
President negotiates with other countries. Chief Legislator is where the President works with
Congress on the budget, introduces new legislation and signs or vetoes legislation.
The evolution of presidential power has been changed by many different presidents.
Abraham Lincoln ignored congress by expanding the army and ordering blockades without
Congress approval. Theodore Roosevelt sent Congress letters defining his legislative power and
he took the lead to make the U.S. an international power. Woodrow Wilson sent bills to
Congress that allowed him to take the lead role in international affairs. Franklin Roosevelt, the
only 4-time president, lead the nation through the Great Depression and his New Deal program
to help regulate the economy. During WWII, Roosevelt lead the country in the foreign affairs
during the war. Today’s president has been shaped by the constitutional powers and with past
presidents with strong personalities to expand the role of the president.
Checks and Balances
With three branches of our government this provides a checks and balance system. The
Legislative branch is the one who makes the laws, the Executive branch carries out the laws and
the Judicial branch interprets the laws. In the legislative branch making the laws, the checks and
balance comes in when the judicial branch finds the laws unconstitutional. The President can
veto a law but the legislative branch with enough votes can overrule the veto. The Executive
branch can declare Executive Orders, but the Judicial branch may find them unconstitutional.

5
From a Bill to a Law Process
With all the checks and balances, a bill must go through an intense process to become a
law. A Bill starts out as an idea and a draft is composed to begin the legislative process. The bill
is introduced to legislation and then the majority leader decides which committee to send it to
and the committee chair moves the bill through the process of hearings. If the bill doesn't go
through the hearing process the bill can ultimately be killed in the committee stage.