Tuesday, January 12

Please sit and take something out to write with.

Make sure you have your agenda for the week
written down!
“The President and the
Executive Branch”
The President’s Job
Inventing the Presidency:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3kcl2HDlww
The President’s Job

The job of the
President of the
United States is
often considered
the most important
job in the world.
Constitutional Qualifications

Must be at least 35
years old
 Must be a native
born American
citizen
 Must be a U.S.
resident for at least
14 years.
Presidential History

Until 2008, every
other U.S. president
has been a white
male.
 With only one
exception, all have
also been
Protestant
Christians.
Presidential History

Most also have a
college degree,
have been a
lawyer, and are
from states with a
large population.
Presidential “Firsts”
John F. Kennedy was our
first elected Catholic
president and our youngest
president elected (1960)
Geraldine Ferraro was our
first female vice presidential
candidate (1984)
Jesse Jackson was our first
African American
presidential candidate (1988)
to narrowly miss his party’s
nomination.
Presidential “Firsts”
Joseph Lieberman was
our first Jewish vice
presidential candidate
(2000).
Barack Obama became
the first African
American President of
the United States of
America (2008)
Electing the President
Electing the President

Presidential elections
take place every four
(4) years.
 These years are all
divisible by the
number four (4).
 Ex. 1996, 2000, 2004,
2008, 2012, 2016 etc.
Electing the President

Presidents are NOT
elected by the popular
vote!

They are actually
elected indirectly by
the “Electoral
College”.
Electing the President

Voters vote in the
Presidential election but
this is just to indicate their
preferences to the
“electors”--- people
appointed to vote in
presidential elections for
major candidates.

Each state gets the same
amount of electors as they
have representing them in
Congress.
Electing the President

The Electoral Voters are
determined by the number of
Representatives and Senators in
each state.
 There are a total of 538 electors
who vote (435 Representatives
and 100 Senators in Congress =
535)
 Washington DC is also given
three (3) electors.(23rd
Amendment)
 Grand total = 538
Electing the President

In most states, it is a
“winner take all”
system.

If the candidate wins
the popular vote of
that state, they
normally get all the
electoral votes as well.
Electing the President

Candidates need to
win at least 270
electoral votes (out of
the 538)
Electoral College:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9H3gvnN468
Electing the President

The Electoral College system makes it
difficult for third parties to win the
presidency.
Electing the President

The results of the “Electoral
College” are NOT official
after the election in
November.

They are official in the month
of December and they’ve been
confirmed by Congress.

This is one example of checks
and balances.
Landmark Supreme Court Case
Bush v. Gore (2000)
– Because the election was too close to call, the
Florida Supreme Court demanded a recount of
the Florida popular votes for this Presidential
Election.
– After a series of lawsuits, banter and media
pressure, the US Supreme Court decided to take
over the case because of its national concern;
the case would eventually be sent back to
Florida for action…. in the end – they realized
that there would not be a fair and equitable way
to recount the votes (deemed the recount
unequal and therefore, unconstitutional) and as a
result, Bush won the 2000 Election.
– How did this impact the US?
Presidential Terms

Presidents serve four
(4) year terms.

Most early Presidents
followed George
Washington’s
example and served
only two terms (8
years)
Presidential Terms

Only Franklin D.
Roosevelt served more
than two (2) terms
(1932-1945).

He was elected to four
terms, mainly due to
World War II.
Presidential Terms

Today, the “22nd
Amendment” limits
the President to only
two (2) terms in
office.

There is a maximum
of ten (10) years in
office.
Presidential Salary

The President of the
United States earns an
annual salary of
$400,000 (plus
benefits and
expenses).
Presidential Residences

The President lives and
works in the White House
in Washington DC (“1600
Pennsylvania Avenue”)
Presidential Residences

The President also has
access to “Camp David”, a
beautiful retreat in the
mountains of Maryland.

It has been the site of many
important meetings.
Presidential Transportation

The President travels on
“Air Force One” (the
Presidential plane)

They also have access to
cars, helicopters, and
other forms of
transportation.
Role of the Vice President

The Constitutional qualifications for
Vice President are identical to that of
the President

The only real role of the Vice
President is to preside over the U.S.
Senate (can break a tie vote if
necessary).

The most important role is to assume
the job of President if necessary (9
times in our history)
Presidential Succession

The first Vice
President to assume
the role of President
through death or
illness was John Tyler
in 1841 (took over for
William H. Harrison
after his death)
Presidential Succession

In 1947, the “Presidential
Succession Act”
established the official
presidential succession
(and the order of who
takes over)….. But we still
felt that we more
direction………….
Presidential Succession

The “25th Amendment”
sets up Presidential
Succession and states
that the Vice President
who assumes (becomes)
the role of President may
select their new Vice
President.

This must be approved
by Congress.
Presidential Succession

This amendment also
gives the Vice
President some
authority to determine if
the President is
disabled or unable to
do the job.

This amendment has
only been used 3 times
(1973, 1974, & 1985)
Presidential Succession

The Speaker of the
House follows the
Vice President,
followed by the
President Pro
Tempore of the
Senate.
The Presidents…
Presidential Boogie 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKWmlIExRAo