Oval Office Escape Room

Oval Office Escape Room

Article II of the Constitution establishes the Executive Branch. There are four sections that outline the different requirements, roles, and powers of the presidency.

Section 1: The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years and, together With the vice president. No person except a natural born citizen or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this constitution shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the vice president, and the congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability, both of the president and vice president.

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Section 2: The President shall be commander in chief of the army and navy of the United States. He shall have powers, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States.

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Section 3: He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information of the state of the union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed and shall commission all the officers of the United States.

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Section 4: The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

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Impeachment is the process of charging a government official (like a President, cabinet member, or Supreme Court Justice) with a crime. The Legislative branch has the power to impeach government officials.

The Senate

The House of Representatives

This house assigns the investigation to a specific committee. Their job is to interview and gather evidence that the president committed a "high crime or misdemeanor."

When the House impeaches an official, it does not mean that he or she is guilty of a crime. It means that there is evidence that the official may have committed a crime.

The Senate holds a trial and acts as judge. After hearing the evidence, the senators vote on whether the official is guilty or not guilty. Two thirds of the senators must vote guilty for the official to be convicted, or found guilty. If convicted, the official must leave his or her job.

The impeachment process is rarely used in the United States. The only U.S. presidents to be impeached were Andrew Johnson, in 1868; Bill Clinton, in 1998; and Donald Trump. President Trump was impeached twice, in 2019 and 2021. In all of the cases the Senate found the president not guilty.

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How the US Cabinet Works: 15 Offices of the Cabinet

The President’s Cabinet advises them on various matters—from education to health to defense. Though the Cabinet has no official governing power, their work impacts the lives of the American people daily. What Is the US Cabinet? The US Cabinet is a series of departments meant to advise the President on issues related to their offices. Each department has a secretary who oversees all department activity and reports to the President. The US Cabinet Secretaries are selected by the President, and nominees must be approved through a Senate confirmation hearing. Cabinet appointees may be dismissed by the President at any time without Senate approval.

The President’s Cabinet includes the Vice President, the highest-ranking member of the Cabinet. Below the Vice President are the rest of the department heads, who help oversee the various aspects of the federal government. Hover over the icons to learn about each department.

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Use the information about each Cabinet position to determine which agency would most likley execute the laws and acts:

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Use the information about each Cabinet position to determine which agency would most likley execute the laws and acts:

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Use the information about each Cabinet position to determine which agency would most likley execute the laws and acts:

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The Electoral College

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To override the code, add the following together: # of Cabinet positions + # of Electoral Votes needed to win + youngest age to become President + length of one Presidential term = override code Click the button when you are ready!

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Override the Hacker and get out of the Oval Office!

3-digit code

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CLICK HERE

Congressional District System

Maine & Nebraska use a different system in awarding their state's electoral votes. Every state is divided up into congressional districts (there is one representative in the House of Representatives for each district). In this system, an electoral vote is awarded to whoever won the popular vote in a district. A candidate could win one district/electoral vote, and another wins 2 other districts/electoral votes. Both states also award two electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the state’s popular vote overall.

Winner Takes All System

Most states, except for Nebraska and Maine use a "winner-takes-all" system. This means that whoever wins the popular vote in a state gets all of that state's electoral votes. Under this system, even if a candidate wins by a slim margin (like just 30 votes), they get all of the electoral votes for that state. Someone could get 49% of a state's popular vote, but no electoral votes.

Above is a map of Nebraska in the 2020 election. In most other states, Donald Trump would have received all 5 of the state's electoral votes, but they award their votes based on Congressional Districts. Because of this, Donald Trump got 4 of Nebraska's votes (2 district votes + 2 statewide votes) and Joe Biden got 1 Electoral vote.

REd and Blue States? Swing States?

Some states tend to vote more consistently with one party or the other, and because electoral votes matter most, this can determine how a candidate chooses to campaign. If a state tends to vote Republican, it is considered a “red” state. A “blue” state tends to vote for the Democratic party. Some states are also known for having pretty close outcomes and may go “red” or “blue”. Those states are called “purple” (because red and blue make purple) or swing states (because they could be won by either party). Ultimately, it’s up to the candidate and their campaign team to decide which states to target and how. Swing states may get a lot of attention, and states that are considered safe (like Utah) may less attention from Presidential Candidates.

After watching this video, could you describe the electoral college? What are electors? How does someone win the electoral college? Why do some states have more votes than others?

How are electoral votes determined by state?

Each branch of government has powers that allow them to "check" the other. This keeps one branch of government from becoming too powerful or abusing their powers. The president can check the power of the Legislative Branch with a veto. This means that the president rejects the bill proposed. It returns to Congress to be reviewed with suggested changes. If the president doesn't veto a bill, he signs it into law.

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When the Constitution needs to be updated, amendments are added. A few times, amendments have been specifically made to deal with the Presidency and the Executive Branch.

Popular vs. Electoral Vote

Which matters more?

Electoral College votes won’t always tell you who won the popular vote nationwide. If you’re wondering what that means or why it might be confusing, here’s why: A candidate who the majority of Americans did not vote for can win the presidency. How? By winning enough states—adding up to at least 270 electoral votes. It doesn’t really matter if one candidate is more “popular” among Americans overall. What matters is if enough Americans in the right combination of states vote for that candidate. Five times, the presidency has been awarded to a candidate who did not win the national popular vote (1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016). In the end, it’s electoral votes and not total votes that matter

Lost the popular vote by...

254,694

89,293

543,895

2,868,686

Still became president!

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Cons of Electoral College

Pros of Electoral College

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• Democracy should function on the will of the people, allowing one vote per adult.
• It can ignore the will of the people. It is possible to lose the popular vote, but get enough electoral votes to become president.
• Makes it difficult for 3rd party candidates to be successful.

• The Electoral College ensures that that all parts of the country are involved in selecting the President of the United States not just the most populated states.
• It forces presidential candidates to campaign in all parts of the country.
• Simplifies candidate choices between the two major political parties (Democrat & Republican).

Brief: Oval office Hacked

You are a member of the Secret Service. Your job is to protect the President of the United States. Someone has hacked into the White House’s security system, locking all exits. You and the President are now trapped inside the Oval Office. The windows are bulletproof glass, and each exit needs its appropriate "code" before they will unlock and allow you to enter the final override code. Using the information and codes hidden around the room, work to override the hacker and get yourself and the President out.

ENTER THE OVAL OFFICE

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