The job of being president of the United States is one of great significance and responsibility. In addition to proposing and promoting his plans for the country (remember, he can accomplish very little unless he gets the US Congress to agree with his wishes), being the Commander in Chief of US Forces, and working with the UN and other nations to contribute to international affairs, the president is also responsible for being the chief administrator of the country. That by itself is an intense job, and one that requires the assistance of the best and most qualified team he can assemble.
The first president, George Washington, created a group of advisors called a "cabinet." Since Washington is considered such an icon, the name has become a permanent part of our political system. The first cabinet had only three members: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and Secretary of War. Today the cabinet consists of many more departments, and the Department of War has a warmer, friendlier name: the Department of Defense. The president nominates men and women to fill the posts as long as he is in office (although most of them only stay a few years) and they must be approved by the US Senate (after long, sometimes nerve-racking hearings that are broadcast live on TV - no pressure for the nominee, huh?).
If you were president, what kind of individuals would you seek to fill cabinet posts? Follow the link http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/cabinet to the White House web site which lists the cabinet-level departments. After reviewing the information available, which three cabinet secretaries have the most important responsibilities today and why do you think so?
Historical setting: George Washington served as president from 1789 to 1797. His Secretary of State was Thomas Jefferson; his Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton; his Secretary of War was General Henry Knox. Jefferson and Hamilton were intense rivals, each with very different visions of how the new country should develop. Those two men are the philosophical founders of today's two principal political parties, the Republicans (Hamilton) and the Democrats (Jefferson).
Be sure your essay is at least 200 words, and you must repsond to at least two of your classmates' submissions (total of 150 words). Keep your essays on topic (answer the actual questions that are posed in the assignment!) and read your classmates' responses carefully before providing feedback.
Thanks for your hard work, guys - you're doing a great job!
After looking up and reading a summary of all 22 departments of the cabinet listed on the website, I found it extremely hard to decide the 3 most important of these departments. Each department has a special role in our government and they all do such different things that it’s hard to compare them and decide a top one. I find that each one is very important in a different way but I finally narrowed it down to the 3 that arguably seem like the most important to our country currently. Although, vice president, Joseph Biden, is an important individual in certain cases I did not include him in my top 3. I feel that The Council of Economic Advisors is very important to our nation right now for obvious reasons. These 3 people analyze our current economic state and advise the president on what path to take to provide a solution to our problem. Secondly, I chose the Department of State. The Dos deals with our relationship with foreign countries. With this being said, the head of Dos is known as the Secretary of State which is currently Hilary Clinton. She pretty much makes sure we are cool with other countries so we don’t have any issues when traveling abroad and trading and such. Lastly, I felt that Department of Homeland Security deserved a spot in the top 3 simply because of our national security. We hear a lot about this department specifically in airports because they are dedicated to making sure that our nation stays as safe as possible. This was created in response to the September 11th attacks and helps protect us from terrorist attacks, natural disasters and any other national issue occurring in the US.
ReplyDeleteI think that the top 3 for the most important cabinet secretaries are:
ReplyDelete3)United States Department of transportation, They are responsible for our transportation, they make highways and bridges also aviation, merchant marine, car, buses, and bikes, etc...I think it's an important cabinet because they make sure of keep U.S.A release by highways and roads they also know what things get in the country from other nations.
2)United States Department of Energy,
Their responsabilities are the nations' nuclear weapon program,energy conservation, nueclear reactors for the United States Navy, radioactive-waste,and scientific innovation.
I think their job is important because without them a lot of the trash from nuclear reactors would be in oceans and forest infecting animals and infcting us, they also discover new things and they are worry about biological things that happens in the country. That shows very well the green side of USA.
1)Department of Commerce,
it's concerned with promoting economic growth and it's number one for me beacuse one of the most imprtant things in this country it's the economy, if the economy is not doing good here a lot of countries get bad too, economy and commerce is just a topic that will never get old. Their job also is to create jobs and improve health and security.
It was hard to choose just 3 cabinets because all of them are important for the country and the people, as Emma said each one of them has a special role in government but these are more important for me.
I believe that each of the departments has a special job and are pretty important to keep our country operating. But, if I had to choose the three most important I would chose the Department of Defense, Department of the State, and the Department of the Treasury. I chose the Department of Defense because after things like 9/11 it’s good to know that at least we have a department of people dedicated to the protection of our country. Secondly, I chose the Department of State because it keeps our ties with other countries, protects U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad, keeping U.S. informed about foreign policy and relations, and providing support for international activities the U.S. is involved inn. To me all those things are pretty important to our nation because we do a lot of things outside our “home turf” especially since 9/11 and the war. Lastly, the Department of Treasury is vital to America because right now we do not have the best economy. While our economy is suffering greatly, the department has a lot of responsibility. For example for example collecting tax, managing federal finance, producing stamps and currency, managing federal finance, and Etc.
ReplyDeleteSo all in all it is no easy task to be president or a member of the cabinet, but it is a very important part of our country. Even if there are flaws in the departments, nothing on earth is perfect, and it still helps make America the great nation we are.
The three most important departments of the Cabinet, to me, are the Departments of Treasury, Commerce and Education. The Department of Treasury is important because they make all our money, they collect taxes, they supervise national banks, and they make stamps. If they didn’t do all these things, then we wouldn’t have a postage system, the country would be in even more debt than we already are, the banks would be ripping people off, and we would have no standard currency. The Department of Commerce is important because it promotes the economy, gathers economic and demographic information for businesses and decision-making, and setting industrial standards. If the Department of Commerce didn’t do these things, then the economy would be worse than it is right now, businesses wouldn’t be sure how to predict the economy, and certain industries would become out of control if they were not regulated in some way. The Department of Education is important because it coordinates federal assistance to public education, collect data on US schools, and enforce laws regarding education. If they didn't do this, then there would be no schools unless parents started them, no estimate on how many schools are needed in each area, and some parents wouldn’t even send their kids to school. These three departments are important because chaos would overcome the country if they didn't exist.
ReplyDeleteI believe that each of the departments each have a special job to do to keep our country going. If I had to pick 3 that were most important, I would have to pick the Department of State because they keep our country “friendly” with other surrounding countries. I think it would be one of the most important because it also keeps us safe as were traveling around the world or anywhere life might take us, and by creating jobs at home by opening markets around us or abroad. Secondly the department of defense, this department regulates our military forces, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and Army. They are assigned with protecting all citizens in these affairs. I think this is one of the more important ones because this is support for our military and so on. I think that all of these are so important I spent a while trying to figure out which ones were the most important to me, and I had to narrow them down but I feel these are most important. So, lastly the department of Treasury serves the American people and strengthen national security by managing the United States Government's finances effectively, promoting economic growth and stability, and ensuring the safety, and security of the United States and international financial systems."
ReplyDeleteCatelyn, i really liked your essay because it was very well said and was informative and all that jazz and overall i thought it was a great essay, so good job!
ReplyDeleteEmma, i lovedd your essay because if i werent an american or didnt understand what any of the departments were or what they did then your essay would definatley help me understand them fully!. Yours was very well written and i thought you did an awesome job on it!
After watching the White House Web site I realized that there are so many delegates that are part of the Cabinet. Each one plays an important role in American society. Without one of these a sector wheel may fall down and maybe in turn could fall down all the others .. Of all of these I have chosen:
ReplyDelete-United States Department of Defense: This part of the Cabinet defends the country from military attacks. With a good army people can live with more support. The enemies cannot overcome the soldiers and many fewer people may die.
-Another very important part is the United States Department of Labor. This part of the Cabinet defends the rights of workers and helps the unemployed to find work. It is important to have a government that helps these people, there would be many more people on the street to beg.
Today is also very important-United States Department of Treasury. It stabilizes the United States economy and with United States Department of Labor helps people to improve working conditions.
What are the three important departments?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the Department of Homeland Security is the most important Department. It protects the United States from attacks and it is now something like the Department of Defense. Because there is no more big enemy like the former Soviet Union left, the Department of Defense is not very important. But the Department of Homeland protects us against the invisible enemy, terrorism.
I think the second important Department is the Department of the Treasury, because without this Department nothing could work, nobody, who is working for the government, would getting paid and the Government could not use the taxes they receive or even collect them. Without the Department of the Treasury it is also very easy to collect the taxes in their own pockets.
The third important Department is the Department of Justice, this department is so important, because without a justice it is nearly impossible to protect the rights of the people. It is hard to life with each other without a working justice and it is also very easy for rich and powerful people to take over and do what they want, when nobody is there to protect the law and the people.
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ReplyDeleteTo answer the first part of the assignment, if I were president the people I would look for is noble and honest people and who knew what they were doing. They would have to be educated and well spoken. To answer the second part, the three most important to me are the department of defense, department of education, and the department of Veteran Affairs. Department of defense, to me, is so important. Personally, I like protection and the fact I don’t have to worry because there is a specific department to protect us. We need those people in, like Rebecca posted in 9/11. I am thankful of them. Secondly, is the department of education. Education is a problem in today’s society. This department helps people go to school and provides schools (public schools) for kids to go to. Kids need school to go through life and it teaches them how to live. Lastly is the department of Veteran Affairs. I am thankful for people who fight for our country and who sacrifice their lives for us. It makes me almost cry to think about those men and women who care so much about us and our country to fight for us. I think the least is to provide some of their needs.
ReplyDeleteIf I was president I would want to pick trust worthy, hard working, and intelligent people for my Cabinet. I would want people I had known for most of my life so that I knew I could count on them. I would most likely choose Christians if I could just so I would know there priorities were straight and that they were putting God first. I believe the top three most important secretaries in the Cabinet are: defense, labor, and agriculture. I believe defense is important because every nation needs protection for its borders. Defense might be the most important job in the whole U.S. government. Labor is important because jobs and employees need to be protected. The labor department really influences the stability of the whole nation. Agriculture is also important because without our crops and recieving goods from other countries America would be in terrible shape. The department of agriculture protects farmers and keeps them in business after all kinds of disasters. In conclusion, I believe the cabinet of the president is a very important "cog" in our government's system today and in some cases essential.
ReplyDeleteRebecca:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the department of defense is definitely a essential for any country. It allows all of America's citizens to feel at least a little bit more safe when they go to bed at night. If we didn't have defense we would mostly likely loose our county's freedom that we take for granted today. Treasury is definitely important to our nation. Without money our nation couldn't do much and wouldn't succeed either. Money is connected to everything without it we couldn't have defense systems or any other part of the government.
Bethany:
Veteran affairs is very important. None of our military should live in destitution. All the soldiers have worked hard and sacrificed their lives for our nation's freedom.
Marta:
The department of Labor is so influential to America. Jobs need to be provided for our citizens so we can thrive.
Even though all of the Cabinets are special and important, the 3 most important I would pick would be the Department of Defense, Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Transportation. The Department of Defense is what keeps America safe. They are able to react quickly if needed on short notice. If America didn’t have the military, terrorists would see the opportunity to attack without much stopping them.
ReplyDeleteDepartment of the Treasury is what promotes economic prosperity and financial security. Right now America is in a huge debt crisis, over $14,000,000,000,000 in debt, and rising almost $3.94 billion a day! I defiantly think that the Department of Treasury is important because it advises the President on how to slowly remove the debt and start economical growth.
The Department of Transportation is what manages America’s roads and transportation. Every day at anytime there is some kind of transportation being used. Cars are the most used type of transportation, but without paved roads and stoplights driving cars would be very difficult. The Department of Transportation makes sure that roads are safe and have the proper signs. Every day they repair roads and make new ones for smoother and faster travel. Transportation is also a huge part of transferring Items between states either by trucks or planes.
Well first of all, i would choose somebody that is smart, wise, and knows what the people want, and can see things from their point of view. The department of homeland security is an extremely vital role in our nation. If it wasnt for the department of homeland security, we wouldnt have all of our soldiers out fighting for our freedom while we sit here and go through our daily lives. The department of the treasury is important because it controls the way we spend our money. It is espacially important today because of the enormous amount of debt we have. Finally, the department of labor is becoming a more important role because of all of the jobs we are losing each day.
ReplyDeleteLydia:
ReplyDeleteGood job! Picking Christians and trustworthy people are defiantly important. You would need someone you could trust because there decision affects the whole nation. Farming is slowly becoming less popular, since a quick trip to the store is so much easier. But I’m glad for the department of agriculture because it keeps those who do farm keep farming.
Catelyn:
I agree with you fully, without the department of education most people wouldn’t bother taking their kids to school. Nobody would really know what to teach their kids anyways, except for the obvious. There would also be no colleges, which divide most jobs between knowledge.
I chose the Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, and Department of Health and Human Services.
ReplyDeleteFirst the Department of Agriculture.
I think this Department is very important because it helps farmers and ranchers. It is also necessary for the department to keep the food safe to eat. They control for example the meat, the eggs, and the poultry, to keep us from eating food that makes us sick. The department also take care of water quality and surveys the soil.
Second the Department of Energy
This Department is important because they search for other forms to produce energy and controls the transportation of the electricity.
It is important to search for other renewable energy such as solar, water and wind power. Because the fossil resources are not renewable and nuclear power can be dangerous. The department improves and controls the transportation of electricity so that everyone has power.
Third Department of Health and Human Services
The last department that I chose is also important for me because they control the quality of the vaccine and educate people about disease prevention. One part of the department is the administration for Children and families. They take care of welfare of children and child abuse.
I think the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Labor are the most important departments.
ReplyDeleteFirst, any country needs money. If they want to build a building they need lots of money because it is expensive to build a building, they should create jobs, pay cost of materials, and buy land etc. That is why the Department of the Treasury is important. I’ll use a good economic adviser for this department because this is about money, a lot of money, so I should use them.
Second, if the country doesn’t have an army, other countries will attack that country, and they can make money with an army. For example my country is A, the other countries are B and C and are fighting with each other. Now I can loan my army to B or C and then they’ll pay money to me because they have more army for fighting. So the army is really important because I can protect myself and make money. That is why the Department of Defense is important. I’ll use a general who has good judgment because if suddenly some country attacks my country I will need someone with the right judgment.
Last, the Department of Labor because countries should make something to make money but they can’t make lots of money without labors. If my country’s labors are really less than other countries and then my country can’t make much money, I can’t pay money to labors and soldiers. So many soldiers will be angry, they won’t fight for country and I don’t have army. It’s really awful. Anyway I think labor delegate will be really good adviser to me because that man know about what the laborers want from the government and he or she can advise me very well.
Jaeseung Lim
After I read all of them, the three most important departments of the Cabinet, for me, the first one is the Departments of Treasury. Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. It is important because we need it so much. It goes with the public; treasury promotes economic growth. It needs in business, treasury reaches out to businesses large and small. It is important in financial institutions, the treasury Department works with financial institutions to encourage economic growth. And it is necessary to government; treasury works closely with the Congress. So that’s why it is important, we can’t be without it. The second one is the Departments of Commerce. Acting Secretary Dr. Rebecca M. Blank. It is very important to economy, to people, and to business too. We need it, then the economy will goes right, the business will goes right, so everybody can goes right too. The third one for me is the Departments of the Education. Secretary Arne Duncan. It is very important, for us, and for the country, the world too. Education will decide the country’s future, the world’s future, and especially, our future, what we are going to be. The world can’t live without it now, or we will go back to where we started. Those three are very important, we can’t be without them, the country won’t work without them, the world won’t go right without them; so that’s why they are necessary.
ReplyDeleteCateyln,
ReplyDeleteI am totally agreed with you, that’s right, and for us, especially the education, it is very necessary. Good point.
Lydia,
I understand what you think, but you can’t just choose Christians, because that’s not fair to others, then it won’t work. For me, I think we should choose people who really want to help the country, and have the right opinion, the right way to look at the world. It doesn’t matter where you from in the country, what you believe, if you have a heart to do it, you have a good way to do it, then we should choose you.
Lydia,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree on your standards if you were president on how you would choose your people. Labor does provide stability. I think people get scared of the word work and don’t even consider labor. Even though it may be hard to labor we have to do it. Great job one your essay!!
Rebecca,
I like your very first sentence how you said every department has a good reason being there. Even though sometimes we may not like every department but it does probably either benefit us or someone else who isn’t like us. Great Job on your essay!!
Catelyn,
I like your department of education. I also, think education is so important and it is necessary to be educated. People take the education for granted, I think, because the government gives them free schooling and sometimes I wonder if they realize how blessed they are. Good Job on yours!!
For my essay this week I choose three cabinet level departments. The first one is Executive Office of the president. I made this my first choice because I find that this person is very importat because their there to help the presidet. The president has many tasks and one person can only keep up with so much. The Executive Office takes care of many things such as messages for the president to promoting trade. I find my second chice Chief of Staff Bill Delay takes on much responsibility for the president such as overseeing a department of over 40,000 people. My third option is Counselor to the President Pete Rouse he does a little less but yet a lot in that. He helps camagine for the election . Wich clearly helps us get our president. If the president had to do this all on his own there would be hardly any time to do anything else. On top of just sayin hey vote for me you give speaches, travle, advertize in many many ways. All in all I decided that these three thing s would be the best ones to write about. The Executive Office of the president, Chief of staff Bill Delay, and Counselor to the president Pete Rouse.
ReplyDeleteLydia I really enjoyed reading your essay. It was written vert well. I really agree with the part where you said you would pick christians so you would know their priorites were straigtht. We need a lot more christians in our government. We would be so much better off. Some of the people we have working in our government are the last people we need working for us at all in any way, shape, or form. All in all your essay was very good. =)
ReplyDeleteCindy I really enjoyed your essay also. It was very well written. I completely agree that the Department of Treasury would be very very important. It has many responsibilitys. Not only taking care of the money but it helps our economy like you said. All in all your essay was very good and I really enjoyed reading it. Good job! =)
ReplyDelete@ Daniel Gonzalez
ReplyDeleteVery good essay Daniel! I really like it. You have some very good arguments, especially about the Department of Energy. I never looked on it this way, but you are right. I also like the part about the Department of Commerce it is very interesting to read about this. I think it is kind of funny, that you choose all these Departments, because they are very different from the original three one.
@ Patricia Smith
I like your essay too. I think the fact that the debt is growing so fast is very interesting, because it shows the people that they have to react and that they have to do something against this huge debt. I think it is very good, that you mentioned the fact that the Department of Transportation is responsible for the transport of goods and items. But I am a little confused about the Department of Defense, because I thought the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for terrorists.
Lydia,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your essay it was very interesting to see which departments and characteristics of a president you think were most important. I defiantly agree with you that we need intelligent, Christian, trustworthy, and hard-working people as the leader of our country. The department of agriculture is important because 1.) Because we need to eat and 2.) Because agriculture is a main source of income for the country. Overall I thought your essay was fantastic! Good Job
Patricia,
I enjoyed your essay as well! I defiantly agree with you about the Department of defense, Department of Treasury, and Department of Transportation. Could you imagine America without a military, or roads, or no economic system at all? Life, not only here, but all over the world would be completely different and not in the good way. I believe that each of the departments you mentioned play an important role in our country. Good job
Daniel:
ReplyDeleteI really debated on using the Department of Commerce in my essay as well. If I had gotten to pick 4 it would have definitely been in there. It is a very important part of our government especially now in this time in our country. I totally agree with you on that one.
Rebecca:
I agreed with your essay for the most part, especially on the Department of defense. It has become a very important part of our nation in the past 10 years because of the attacks. Good job on the assignment.
I my opinion I believe that all the parts of our government are important in their area and are crucial to making our government wok as smooth as possible, but since I have to pick three main parts I would have to choose the department of defense, United States ambassador to the United Nations and the department of justice. I believe that the department of defense is so important because without a defensive force these past couple of years there is no telling how many more attacks on our country would have occurred. I also believe the Ambassador to the United Nations is a big deal because without peace with foreign countries we would not have the products we have and we would not be the country we are without foreign investors and foreign trade. Lastly I believe that the department of justice is a HUGE part of our government and should be a HUGE part in every government. I think it is such a big deal because without laws the world would be in utter chaos and anyone could do anything they pleased. The department of justice enforces laws and attempts to keep our country safe and out of harms way.
ReplyDeleteIt’s difficult to choose the “most important responsibilities” among the cabinet secretaries because of the diversity of each of their roles. They all have such different jobs in which all are necessary.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Council of Economic Advisors, the Department of Homeland Security, and Department of State (in no specific order) are the three most important for the way our society works today. The Council of Economic Advisors consists of three people who advise our president on the needs of our current economic state and try to find a solution. Secondly, the Department of Homeland Security has been responsible for the strict policies in our airports through out the last decade. This department is dedicated to keeping our country safe and was created because of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. They take care of terrorist attacks, natural disasters and other national crises. Finally, the Department of State takes charge of our foreign relations. Hilary Clinton is our current Secretary of State and she takes care of our foreign relationships so we have no problems with travel and trade.