Understanding the Cabinet
(or, See That Dog do a lot of things)
Chapter 2 in A User’s Guide to Democracy lays out the Executive branch (Click here for our podcast episode on it), which is the world’s largest employer. Over 4 million people work within it, with the President of the United States being at the very top. The mnemonic device to remember all 15 departments in the order of their creation is “See That Dog Jump In A Circle, Leave Her Home to Entertain Educated Veteran’s Homes.” Which can be hard to remember! But give it a try.
In this activity, you will pick a random department, read the section in the book about it, and answer a few questions. First, click the wheel to choose one:
Read the entry in the book explaining your department and answer the following questions:
What is the purpose of this department?
Every entry has a cartoon. What do you see in your department’s cartoon? Why do you think the illustrator drew it?
Finally, look at the graph below. It has the most recent budget of each of the departments. Do you think this is enough money to carry out the function of your department? Is it too much? Too little? Why?
