The Executive Branch
The Presidency
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Qualifications
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Formal Qualifications:
• 35 years old
• Natural Born Citizen
• U.S. resident for 14
years
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
What is a natural born citizen?
• Anyone born inside the United States
• Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are
citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.
• Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen
and lived in the U.S. for at least one year
• Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and
lived in the U.S. for at least one year
• Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage
cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not
provided by age 21
• Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and
as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the
U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service
included in this time)
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
“Informal”
Qualifications:
• All have shared similar
characteristics
 White males
 Protestant
 British ancestry
 most attended college
(only 9 did not)
 had careers as
lawyers (22 of 42)
President John Adams
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
“Informal”
Qualifications:
– Evidence of change
1.) 1960: JFK became
1st Catholic President
2.) 1984: Dem. party
nominated Geraldine
Ferraro as the first
Vice-Presidential
candidate
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
“Informal”
Qualifications:
– Evidence of Change
cont.
3.) 1988: Jesse Jackson
became the first African
American to come in a
close second in the
race for the Democratic
Presidential nomination
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Salary and Benefits
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
History of Salary:
Position
Salary
President
1789
$25,000
1873
50,000
1909
75,000
1949
100,000
1969
200,000
2001
400,000
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Benefits:
• Receives $50,000/year for expenses and up to
$100,000/year for travel
• Salary cannot be changed during term
• Free lodging at the White House and Camp David
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Benefits:
• President and family receives finest medical care
possible and personal protection (secret service)
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Benefits:
• President has plane (Air Force One) and a personal helicopter
(Marine One) at his disposal
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Elections and Terms of
Office
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Elections:
• Elections held every 4 years
• President elected by an electoral college
• Candidate with most electoral votes wins the election
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Term of Office:
• 4 years = 1 presidential
term
• Constitution originally
placed no limit on number
of Presidential terms
• George Washington
established a tradition
when he stepped down
after 2 terms
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Term of Office:
• 1940: FDR became the
1st President to not step
down after 2nd term – was
elected 4 times
• 1951: 22nd Amendment
added to Constitution
 Limits President to 2
consecutive terms
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Presidential Succession
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Presidential Succession:
• 1841: William Henry Harrison became 1st President to die while
in office
• Vice President John Tyler set a tradition by declaring himself
President
 1967: 25th Amendment turned tradition into law; says if
Presidency is vacant, the VP becomes President and then
appoints a new VP
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
• Since ratified, 25th Amendment has been used 3
times:
1.) 1973: VP Spiro Agnew resigned; Pres. Nixon replaced
him with Gerald Ford
2.) 1974: Pres. Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford became
President
3.) 1985: Pres. Reagan was shot and during surgery VP
George Bush became president for 8 hours
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
• 8 U.S. Presidents have died while in office:
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Presidential Succession:
• 1947: Congress passed the Presidential Succession Act
which indicates the order of succession to the
Presidency
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Line of Succession:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Vice President
Speaker of the House
President pro tempore of the Senate
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Homeland Security
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
Presidential Roles
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
• 7 Major Roles of the President
1.) Chief Executive
 Carries out the nation’s laws
 Issues Executive Orders (rule or command the
President issues that has the force of law; usually
during time of crisis)
 Appoints cabinet members, ambassadors, judges, heads
of govt. agencies
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
2.) Chief Diplomat
 Responsible for making treaties with other countries with
Senate approval
 Meets with foreign leaders
 Can make Executive Agreements with leaders of other
countries
 Has the force of law but does not require Senate
approval
 Responsible for appointing ambassadors with Senate
approval
 An official representative of a country’s government
The Executive Branch:
The Presidency
3.) Commander in Chief
– President is final authority over all military matters
o Founding Fathers believed in civilian control over the
military; person elected by the people has final say over
all military matters
– President can use military in times of war or peace
1957: President Eisenhower sent Federal
Troops into Little Rock, Arkansas when
attempts to integrate public schools led to
violence between locals and police
The Executive Branch
The Presidency
Commander in Chief , cont..
President Barrack Obama
with his Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Executive Branch
The Presidency
3.) Commander in Chief, cont..
– Stretching of this power by former Presidents
has led to legislation limiting the President’s
power over the military
President Truman sent
troops to fight in Korean
War, but we never declared
War (1950-53)
Presidents Eisenhower,
Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon
sent troops to Vietnam,
but we never declared war (1954-75)
The Executive Branch
The Presidency
3.) Commander in Chief, cont….
– 1973: War Powers Act passed by Congress
President must notify Congress when troops
sent
anywhere
Troops must be brought home after 60 days
unless
Congress declares war, or gives approval for
troops to stay
The Executive Branch
The Presidency
4.) Political Party Leader
– Supports party members in election campaigns
and
helps unify the party
– Appoints members of party to key govt. jobs
President Bush confers w/ Republican
members of Congress
The Executive Branch
The Presidency
5.) Legislative Leader
– Proposes legislation and uses many tactics to get
the bill passed
– Prepares the federal budget
– Approves or vetoes legislation
The Executive Branch
The Presidency
6.) Judicial Leader
– Appoints judges to Federal Courts and the U.S.
Supreme Court
 Appoints Justices whose point of view is similar to
their
own
President Obama announces Mrs. Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee to the Supreme Court
The Executive Branch
The Presidency
Judicial Leader, cont…
• Can issue pardons, reprieves and amnesty to
those convicted of federal crimes:
Pardon – declaration of forgiveness and freedom
from punishment
 Reprieve – an order to delay a person’s punishment
until a higher court can rule on the case (usually
death sentence
 Commutation – substitutes a less severe punishment
for the one originally imposed by the court
 Amnesty – same as a pardon; applies to a group of
people rather than an individual

The Executive Branch
The Presidency
456 total pardons. Over 100
on the day before he left office
President Carter gave amnesty
to all Vietnam draft dodgers who
fled to Canada
The Executive Branch
The Presidency
7.) Chief of State
– Role is symbolic – President is representing
people from all 50 states
– Gives a human face to American govt.
– Can be demonstrated in many ways
Greeting heroes
Throwing first pitches at baseball games
Inviting musicians to perform at White House
Attending funeral of another country’s leader, or
past Presidents of U.S.
Speeches and ceremonies
The Executive Branch
The Presidency- Chief of State
President and First Lady
at Pope’s funeral and at
former President Reagan’s
funeral
The Executive Branch
The Presidency
The Vice President
The Executive Branch
The Presidency – Vice President
• Qualifications
 Same as the President
• Duties and Responsibilities
 Serves as President of the Senate (only
Constitutional duty)
 President delegates out many responsibilities to
VP:
 Taking part in Presidential Cabinet meeting
 Helping with Diplomatic relations with other
countries
 Advising and helping President make important
decisions
The Executive Branch
The Presidency – Vice President
Vice President’s Duties and Responsibilities
The Executive Branch
The Presidency – Vice President
• Salary and Benefits
 $198,000/year
 Receives $10,000/year for expenses
 Benefits similar to President’s
Free Residence
Large Staff
Variety of personal services – Secret
Service protection
The Executive Branch
The Presidency – Vice President
• Elections and Terms of Office
 Original procedure for electing a VP was:
- Electoral college members in each state voted
for 2 candidates for President – candidate with
most votes became President and runner up
became the VP
 After tie of 1800, procedure changed
12th Amendment: electoral college votes for
president and VP on separate ballots
 VP term of office is not limited (although no VP
has ever served more than two terms)