Structure of the Bureaucracy - AP Government and Politics

The Department of Homeland Security, set up in 2001, is tasked with protecting the American people from terrorist attacks on American soil. It differs from the Department of Defense, which deals with foreign conflicts and dangers to American lives abroad.

The Department of Homeland Security was first proposed at the beginning of 2001 and was then expedited to meet the growing threat of terrorism after 9/11. Thus it was created during the Presidency of George W. Bush. The primary function of the Department of Homeland Security is to protect the citizens of the United States from terrorist attacks on American soil.

The term, "bureaucratic imperialism," is used to describe the belief that government agencies will always and inevitably grow in size and cost. The idea is that government agencies grow, without taking into account whether their growth confers any added benefit.

The national census is conducted by the Department of Commerce. The Department of Commerce is also responsible for issuing patents and granting trademarks, along with the research into and promotion of trade.

The Department of Homeland Security was first proposed in the early months of 2001, and it was promptly expedited following the terrorist attacks of September 11th. It was created during the Bush Administration. The Department of Homeland Security, as its name suggests, is tasked with protecting American citizens from terrorist attacks and responding to such attacks, as well as to national disasters.

The Cabinet has been greatly expanded in the years since 1789, but all of these answer choices were original cabinet positions. The Departments of State, Treasury, and Defense were all created in 1789.

The Department of State is responsible for negotiating foreign treaties, as well as advising the President on foreign policy in general.

Federal bureaucrats do not engage in public policy creation, their sole purpose is to implement policy. The bureaucracy implements laws made by the legislature and executive actions, they do not advise the President or the Cabinet, nor compete in the private sector. Congressmen protect and represent the interests of their constituencies.

The U.S. Postal Service is an example of a government run corporation, a business run by government. An independent regulatory agency would be something like the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates TV and media broadcasts. Government corporations usually provide a specific service and are not influenced by special interests. Government corporations tend not to trade in stocks or dividends.

The National Parks Service is under the Department of the Interior, which primarily deals with natural resources and public lands within the United States. It is sometimes confused with the National Forestry Service, which is a separate agency that is located in the Department of Agriculture.

The Postmaster General is the head of the U.S. Postal Service. The Postmaster General used to an office given out as a political reward to a supporter of the president and because the office was appointed by the president it was in the Cabinet and in the Presidential Line of Succession from 1829 until 1971. In 1971 the Postal Service went through changes and became an independent agency outside of the executive branch so the position was taken out of the Cabinet and the Line of Succession. All other offices that were listed in the question do hold the status of Cabinet-rank, even if not in the Presidential Line of Succession.

Soon after the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks President Bush established the Office of Homeland Security to determine how to discover and prevent future terrorist attacks. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 officially created the Department of Homeland Security as a new Cabinet agency and brought together various agencies that concerned security and law enforcement, previously under other departments, and placed them within this new agency.

The Department of War was established in 1789 to handle the military affairs of the young nation and was headed by the Secretary of War. The Navy split from it after it was given its own department in 1798, but the War Department continued to govern the Army and later the Army Air Corps. In 1947 the War Department was split into the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force in order to form the National Military Establishment with the Department of the Navy. All three departments were combined in 1949 under the Department of Defense.

The agency was originally in the Treasury Department, as its founding purpose was to stop counterfeiters. The agency was moved to the then-recently established Department of Homeland Security in 2003 so that it could focus on threats against the president and other national leaders.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is an agency under the Department of Health and Human Services that is responsible for regulating and ensuring the safety of food, medicine, medical equipment, animal food, and other products that are ingested or directly applied to people or animals. The agency was founded in 1906 to enforce regulations passed by Congress.

Max Weber is the German sociologist responsible for creating the 6 characteristics of all bureaucracies. They include: (1) a formal hierarchical structure; (2) management by rules; (3) organization by functional specialty; (4) an in-focused mission; (5) purposely impersonal; and (6) employment based on technical qualifications.

This should have been a relatively simple question. The correct answer is “that everyone is treated the same…” This, of course, is the longer explanation of the fifth Weberian tenet of bureaucracy—“purposely impersonal.” In slightly more detail, this means that bureaucrats treat everyone the same—Bill Gates, a high school janitor, the CEO of Delta Airlines, etc. Everyone is treated the same, regardless of their status. This doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone is treated well (think your neighborhood DMV) just that everyone is treated the same.

This should have been a relatively easy question. The correct answer is “technical expertise,” although “political connections” may have been an incredibly tempting answer (and not entirely incorrect). While political connections are (oftentimes) important in bureaucratic appointments, according to Weber’s 6th tenant of bureaucracy, technical expertise is the most important—note that “political connections” are not among the Weberian tenets.

This should have been a relatively simple question. In American Politics, if the position begins with “Secretary,” there’s a fair (nearly certain) chance that the position is a cabinet-level position. That said, the head of the Department of Justice is called the “Attorney General,” yet is still a member of the cabinet. The Vice President, interestingly enough, is also a member of the cabinet. All of these represent top-ranking bureaucrats.