TITLE: WHO GETS THE JOB?
AUTHOR: Jeanette Jackson, Caldwell High School, Caldwell, Idaho
GRADE LEVEL: Appropriate for grades 9 - 12.
OVERVIEW: While the federal bureaucracy is one of the least understood
aspects of U.S. Government, it affects the American people most directly.
Few Americans give any thought as to how the heads of this huge
bureaucracy, the Cabinet, are chosen.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand that
even though Senate approval is needed for presidential Cabinet
appointments, there are no qualifications or standards set for each
position.
OBJECTIVES:
Students will complete the following as a result of this lesson:
1) Match Cabinet positions with current secretaries.
2) Evaluate the qualifications of each secretary with respect to his/her
position.
3) Develop a set of qualifications for two Cabinet positions.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS: The biographical sketches do not need to be
current in order to fulfill the purpose of this lesson. However, as
Cabinet secretaries change or when a new administration begins, teachers
may want to update the sketches. Keeping the sketches current also makes
the lesson more relevant to students as they study current news.
Biographical information on the Cabinet can be obtained from Congressional
Research Service, The Library of Congress, Washington D.C., 20540. Your
Senator or Congressman may be helpful in getting this information from CRS
quickly.
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
1) Divide the class into small groups of 3 - 4 students.
2) Distribute the material titled "Who Gets the Job". Read the
introduction out loud and answer any questions students may have.
3) Allow the groups 15 - 20 minutes to complete the activity.
4) Have each group announce its choice of Cabinet position for each
biographical sketch. Group members must justify their choices. After each
biographical sketch has been discussed, tell them the correct position and
the name of the current secretary.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: After discussing each biographical sketch, have
the students list common characteristics found in the members of the
Cabinet. These qualities should be listed on the chalkboard. Next, assign
each group 2 or 3 Cabinet posts and have them develop a specific set of
qualifications for the head of each department. This activity could be
turned in as a graded assignment.
WHO GETS THE JOB?
Introduction:
We have been studying the presidency and the executive departments,
specifically the role of the Cabinet. You have read a description of what
each Cabinet department does. Keep this in mind as you read the
biographical sketches below. The sketches give some facts about the
current members of the Cabinet under President George Bush. The persons
are not identified by name in the sketches. As you read each sketch,
decide which executive department each person would be best qualified to
head.
Cabinet Positions:
Sec. of State Sec. of Labor
Sec. of the Treasury Sec. of Health and Human Services
Sec. of Defense Sec. of Housing and Urban Development
Attorney General Sec. of Transportation
Sec. of the Interior Sec. of Energy
Sec. of Agriculture Sec. of Education
Sec. of Commerce Sec. of Veterans Affairs
Individual One - ___________ Individual Three - ___________
Age: 52 Age: 61
Former public school Campaign chairman for
teacher Pres. Bush
Served in Illinois House Served in Marines
of Representatives Trustee for Woodrow
Served in Illinois Senate Wilson International
Served in Congress from Center for Scholars
Illinois (10 yrs.) White House Chief of Staff
National co-chairman for under Reagan
Bush-Quayle Lawyer
Presidential campaign Undersecretary for Dept.
of Commerce
Secretary of Treasury
under Reagan
From Texas
Individual Two - ___________ Individual Four - ____________
Age: 51 Age: 55
Lawyer Owner of taxi company
Former Governor of Tennessee Illinois State legislator
(8 yrs.) Served in Congress from
Legal assistant to Sen. Illinois (18 yrs.)
Howard Baker Chairman of Republican
resident of University Research
Committee
Tennessee Served on House Agriculture
Member of President's Task Committee
Force on Federalism
Chairman of National Governors Assoc.
Individual Five - ____________ Individual Ten - ___________
Age: 64 Age: 61
Independent Texas oil and gas M.B.A. Harvard University
producer U.S. Senator from New Jersey
Chief Executive officer & Chairman and chief executive
chairman of Mosbacher officer of an investment
Energy Co. and securities firm
Chairman of Nat'l Petroleum Served in MX missile
Council development options panel
National finance chairman for Served on Central America
Bush for President Study Commission
Director New York Life Ins. Co. Chairman of President's
o-chairman of Republican Commission on Executive,
National Finance Committee Legislative, and
Judicial Salaries
Individual Six - ___________ Individual Eleven - __________
Age: 50 Age: 59
Congressman from Wyoming Lawyer
(10 yrs.) U.S. Attorney for Pennsylvania
Aide to Governor of Governor of Penn. (8 yrs.)
Wisconsin Asst. Atty. General for Dept.
eputy Assistant to Pres. of Justice
Ford Director of Institute of
Assistant Director of Cost Politics, JFK School of
of Living Council Government,Harvard Univ.
Republican leader in House
of Representatives
Individual Seven - ___________ Individual Twelve- ________
Age: 65 Age: 58
Served in Illinois Physician
legislature Associate Professor of
Congressman from Illinois Medicine, Boston Counselor
(24 yrs.) and under- University (6 yrs.)
secretary in Dept. of Dean of School of Medicine,
State Morehouse College
elegate to the U.N. (14 yrs.)
General Assembly
Individual Eight - __________ Individual Thirteen- ________
Age: 56 Age: 63
Special Asst. to governor Insurance and real estate
of Calif. businessman
Congressman from New York Served on President's
(18 yrs.) National Commission on
Professional football player Space
(13 yrs.) Congressman from New Mexico
Public relations officer for (20 yrs.)
bank Chairman of House Science,
Ran for Republican Space, and Technology
nomination for Pres. Committee
1987 - 1988
Served on President's Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports.
Individual Nine - __________ Individual Fourteen- _________
Age: 64 Age: 53
U.S. Naval Academy Lawyer
graduate Salesman for IBM
Chairman of Presidential Asst. U.S. Attorney for
Commission on the Illinois
HIV (AIDS) Epidemic U.S. Attorney for Illinois
Admiral in U. S. Navy Chairman of Regional
Commander in Chief of U.S. Transportation Authority
Pacific Fleet for Illinois
Served on advisory boards Served in U.S. Army
in education and energy Vice Chairman of the
fields President's Commission
on Organized Crime
Illinois Campaign Director
for Bush
Answers for "Who Gets the Job?"
Individual One - Secretary of Labor - Lynn Martin
Individual Two - Secretary of Education - Lamar Alexander
Individual Three - Secretary of State - James A. Baker, III
Individual Four - Secretary of Agriculture - Edward Madigan
Individual Five - Secretary of Commerce - Robert Mosbacher
Individual Six - Secretary of Defense - Dick Cheney
Individual Seven - Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Edward Derwinski
Individual Eight - Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Jack
Kemp
Individual Nine - Secretary of Energy - James D. Watkins
Individual Ten - Secretary of the Treasury - Nicholas Brady
Individual Eleven - Attorney General - Richard Thornburgh
Individual Twelve - Secretary of Health and Human Services - Louis
Sullivan
Individual Thirteen - Secretary of the Interior - Manuel Lujan, Jr.
Individual Fourteen - Secretary of Transportation - Samuel Skinner
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