The Presidency
Standard
• SSCG13: The student will describe the
qualifications for becoming President of
the United States
Duties of the President
The constitutional
duties of the nation’s
first president,
George Washington,
and those of a
modern president are
much the same.
However, presidents
today have enormous
power and
responsibility.
Duties of the President
Among the duties of the
president are:
1) Commander in chief
of armed forces
2) Appoints (with
Senate consent)
heads of executive
departments,
federal court judges
and other top
officials
Duties of the President
3 Makes treaties with the advice
and consent of the Senate
4 Meets with heads of state
5 Hosts foreign officials
Duties of the President
6) Appoints ambassadors to represent the
United States in other countries
7) Ensures that all the laws of the United
States are “faithfully executed” (a vast
bureaucracy assists the president)
Duties of the President
6) Pardons people convicted of federal
crimes, except impeachment
7) Reduces a person’s jail sentence or
fine
Duties of the President
6) Delivers an annual State of the Union
Address to Congress
7) Leadership role in proposing policy
changes
President’s Term
• Originally, the Constitution did not specify
how many four-year terms a president
could serve.
• George Washington set a long held
precedent when he served eight years and
refused to run for a third term
President’s Term
• In 1940 and
1944, Franklin D.
Roosevelt broke
this tradition
when he ran and
was elected for a
third and fourth
term.
President’s Term
• In 1951, Congress
proposed and the
states ratified the 22nd
Amendment as a
reaction to
Roosevelt’s four
terms and concern
over too much
executive power.
President’s Term
• This amendment secured the traditional
presidential limitation of two terms, while
allowing a vice president who takes over
the presidency and serves two years or
less of the former president’s term to serve
two additional terms. Thus it is possible
for a president to serve up to 10 years.
Salary and Benefits
• Salary - $400,000
annually
• Nontaxable travel
allowance - $100,000
annually
• Congress cannot
increase or decrease a
the salary during a
president’s term
Salary and Benefits
• Air Force One, other planes, helicopters
and limousines are made available
• Free medical, dental and health care
Salary and Benefits
• Live in the White House, a 132-room
mansion with a swimming pool, bowling
alley, private movie theater and tennis
courts
• http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/insidewhite-house/interactive-tour
• Large White House
domestic staff
• Pays all expenses of
operating the White
House that relate to
government business
• Free office space, free
mailing service and
$96,000 annually for
office help
Salary and Benefits
• Lifetime pension of $148,400 annually
when they retire
• After the death of the president, the
spouse is eligible for a pension of $20,000
annually
Presidential Qualifications
Constitutional Requirements
• Natural-born citizen of the United
States
• At least 35 years old
• Resident of the United States for at
least 14 years before taking office
These requirements are found in
Article II, Section I of the
Constitution. The same
requirements apply to the vice
president. Why?
Unwritten Presidential
Qualifications
• Experience in government (provides the
opportunity to form political alliances and gain
name recognition)
• Money (candidates must have the ability to raise
money to pay for very costly campaigns)
• Political views (both parties tend to choose
people with moderate party views to appeal to a
wide variety of people)
Personal Characteristics of Past
Presidents
• Northern European family backgrounds
• Middle – class backgrounds (some
exceptions)
• Male
• White (Obama is exception)
• Married
• Protestant (exception – John F. Kennedy –
Catholic)
The VP and Electoral College
The Vice President
The Role of the Vice President
The Constitution gives the vice president only
two duties.
1) The vice president presides over the
Senate as President of the Senate and vote
in that house in case of a tie.
2) The vice president helps decide if the
president is disabled and acts as
president should that occur.
25th Amendment
• Article II is unclear about what will happen if a
president is unfit to do his job. Congress amended
the Constitution to include:
– Section 4: Emergency provision that allows
the Vice President and members of the
Cabinet to declare the President unfit to carry
out the duties of the Presidency.
• Fourteen vice presidents have become
president.
• Nine of these have succeeded to the office
upon the death or resignation of the
president.
Modern Responsibilities
Vice President Joe Biden
• A vice president’s work
and power depend upon
what responsibilities, if
any, the president assigns.
• The presidents before
Eisenhower usually
ignored their vice
presidents.
• Since Eisenhower,
presidents have tried to
give their vice presidents
more responsibility.
Modern Responsibilities
• Participate in policy discussions
• Special assignments such as making
speeches to defend the president’s
policies
• Diplomatic activities such as representing
the president overseas
• Member of the National Security Council
So… how do we actually elect
a president?
Electoral College (clip)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok_VQ8
I7g6I
What do the following four
men all have in common?
•
•
•
•
A. Andrew Jackson
B. Samuel Tilden
C. Grover Cleveland
D. Al Gore
The Answer
• They all won the popular vote in a
Presidential election but did not
become President.
1824
• Popular Vote
Andrew Jackson 43%
John Q. Adams
30.5%
Electoral Vote
Jackson
99 votes
Adams
84
* Adams elected by House of
Representatives when Jackson did
not receive a majority of the Electoral
votes
1876
• Popular Vote
Samuel Tilden
R. B. Hayes
Electoral College
Tilden
Hayes
Winner: Hayes
51%
48%
184
185
1888
• Popular Vote
Grover Cleveland
Benjamin Harrison
Electoral College
Cleveland
Harrison
Winner: Harrison
48.5 %
47.8 %
168
233
2000
• Popular Vote
Albert Gore
George W. Bush
Electoral College
Gore
Bush
Winner: Bush
48.7%
48.5%
266
271
Why?
• We do not pick our President by direct
ballot. We only select electors. These
electors form what is called the Electoral
College and are the people who officially
elect the President.
Terms to Know
• General election: held every four years and
includes the presidential election as well as
congressional, state, and local elections.
• Electoral College: A group of people named by
each state legislature to select the President and
Vice President
Terms to Know
• Elector: member of a political party chosen
in each state to formally elect the president
and vice president
• Electoral vote: official vote for president and
vice president by electors in each state
• Popular vote: the vote for a U.S.
presidential candidate made by the qualified
voters, as opposed to that made by the
electoral college
Election Day
• By US law the general election day is:
– the first Tuesday after the first Monday of Nov.
• During the General Election when casting
a popular vote for a particular candidate,
voters are actually voting for whom the
electors will cast a ballot. These electors
in turn cast an Electoral vote for that
candidate in the Electoral College.
Why was it Created?
• Un-informed voter
protection
• States were given a voice
in choosing the President
• To maintain regional
balance
The Electoral College was devised
for 3 reasons
1.
The framers of the Constitution feared
direct democracy. Hamilton and the other
founders did not trust the population to
make the right choice.
“election should be made by men most
capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to
the station” – James Madison
The Electoral College was devised
for 3 reasons
2.
The founding fathers wanted to protect
the interests of smaller states and rural
areas
The Electoral College was devised
for 3 reasons
3.
The Electoral College helps give
everyone a say in the election by creating
a balance between heavily populated
areas that may not share the same
concerns as other regions in the country
• Presidential Electors are nominated by their
state political parties in the summer before
the Popular Vote on Election Day
ELECTORS
The number of electors for each state is based on
# of senators
+
# of representatives
Georgia has 16 Electoral votes
All states have a minimum of 3 electoral votes
The party that wins a state gets to
cast all of the electoral votes.
This is known as a
Winner Take-all System
(2 exceptions: Maine & Nebraska)
The Presidential Electors meet in
their respective state capitols in
December, 41 days following the
election, at which time they cast
their electoral votes. Thus the
"electoral college" never meets as
one national body.
Candidates must receive
a majority of the
electoral vote to be
declared the Presidentelect or Vice-Presidentelect
ELECTORAL VOTES
435 U.S. Representatives
+
100 U.S. Senators
= 535 electoral votes
+ 3 electoral votes (Washington D.C.)
----------------------------------------= 538 total electoral votes (majority: 270)
If no candidate for President
receives an absolute electoral
majority 270 votes out of the 538
possible, then the House of
Representatives is required to go
into session immediately to vote for
President.
(an even split would be 269 votes)
As of 2012, the House of
Representatives has elected the
President on two occasions, in
1801 (Thomas Jefferson) and in
1825 ( John Quincy Adams).
Wait a second….
• What are the drawbacks to the Electoral
College???
What are the drawbacks to the
Electoral College?
•
•
•
•
•
Encourages low voter turnout
Diminishes third party influence
Person with most popular votes may not win
Leads to tactical, insincere voting
If there is no majority winner in the Electoral
College, the election goes to the H.o. R and
there is a loss of separation of powers
Why low voter turnout?
• The Electoral College is a winner take all
system of deciding who receives a states
electoral votes. Consequently, if a person
gets 50.1% of the popular vote (in a two
man race), he get 100% of the electoral
votes. Therefore, many people feel that
their vote does not matter and choose to
not vote.
Third Parties
• The Electoral College discourages 3rd
parties because a candidate must have a
broad based, national platform to have a
chance to gain the highest office. Rarely
are 3rd parties financially and politically
able to do this.
Tactical Voting
• Voters often resort to tactical voting in
Presidential elections because the person they
truly support cannot win the all of the electoral
votes. For instance, many people would have
preferred Ralph Nader (of the Green Party) in
the 2000 Presidential election but knew that he
was not going to win. Instead, they often voted
for Al Gore because he was the major candidate
with the platform closest to Nader.
Electoral Map after the 2000 Election
The 2008 Presidential Election
In-Class Activity
• Given the electoral map on the previous slide,
students will be asked the following hypothetical
question; If you were running for President with
limited money and could only focus on a few
states, where would you focus your campaign?
• (Only 11 states are needed to become
President.)
The Electoral Map
1. Which state has the most electoral votes? How many?
2. What is the least number of electoral votes per state? Explain
3. Do you think that the Electoral College is a good way to elect the
president? Why or why not?
Presidential Powers
• Many presidential powers are not listed in
the Constitution.
• The Office of the President and it’s powers
are influenced by the actual person in the
office.
Roles of the President
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Head of State
Chief Executive
Chief Legislator
Economic Planner
Party Leader
Chief Diplomat
Commander in Chief
• The president has broad powers.
• The president can issue rules, regulations, and
instructions called executive orders, which
have the binding force of law upon federal
agencies but do not require congressional
approval.
• The president may also negotiate with foreign
countries "executive agreements" that are not
subject to Senate confirmation.
Head of State
• The president represents
the nation and performs
many ceremonial roles.
• The president is both
head of state and chief
executive. In most
countries, these two roles
are held by separate
people.
• Hosts kings, queens, and
heads of
governments…throws out
first pitch.
Chief Executive
• Carries out laws
passed by Congress.
• The executive branch
employs more than
two million people to
enforce the laws and
programs passed by
Congress.
Chief Legislator
• President proposes
legislation to
Congress.
• The president
describes his
legislative program in
the annual State of
the Union address.
Economic Planner
The Employment Act of 1946 expanded the
president’s role as economic planner by
1) requiring the president to submit an
annual economic report to Congress
2) creating a Council of Economic Advisors
3) requiring the government to promote the
economic development of the country
4) requiring the president to prepare an
annual budget
Party Leader
• He may give
speeches or attend
fundraisers to help
raise money for the
party.
• President appoints
chairperson, and
plans future elections.
• Presidents are
expected to appoint
party members to
available jobs.
(patronage)
Chief Diplomat
• The president (and
Congress) make key
decisions about the
relations the United
States has with other
countries.
• The president has an
advantage because
s/he has more access
to information than
Congress.
Commander in Chief
• Although other
military leaders run
the military on a dayto-day basis, the
president is
responsible for key
military decisions.
• The president may
also use the military
to control serious
disorders in the
nation.
The Cabinet
• One of the president’s
first duties is to organize
and staff the executive
branch of government.
• Today, the president
appoints the secretaries
that head the 15 major
executive departments.
• The 15 secretaries, the
vice president and
several other top officials
make up the president’s
cabinet.
Major Factors in Appointments
• A major consideration is that the appointee have
a compatible background with the department
he or she will lead.
• Another consideration is geographic
balance.(ex: Secretary of Ag is typically from a
farm state, Sec of HUD is from a big city.)
• Acceptability to interest groups is also important.
(Secretary of Labor must be acceptable to labor
groups)
• Experience in the role they are assuming is also
important, along with race and gender balances.
• As women and minority groups have gained
political power, presidents have considered race
and gender when selecting their cabinet.
• Robert Weaver became the first AfricanAmerican department leader when Lyndon
Johnson appointed him as the head of HUD.
FDR appointed the first woman to the cabinet
with Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins.
The Role of the Cabinet
• The cabinet is intended to serve as an
advisory body to the president.
• The cabinet meets when the president
calls it together.
• Recent presidents have used their
cabinets as more of a sounding board for
ideas rather than the advisory body that
President Washington had envisioned.
The Executive Office
• The Executive Office of the President (EOP)
consists of individuals and agencies that directly
assist the president.
• Today’s EOP consists of the White House Office
and several specialized agencies that all report
directly to the president.
• The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) is
the largest agency in the EOP.
• The OMB prepares the national budget that the
president proposes to Congress each year.
The White House Office
• The White House Office has
become one of the most
important parts of the EOP.
• These top assistants become
the inner circle around the
president.
• Positions include the
president’s chief of staff, White
House counsel, and press
secretary.
• Key aides to the president
decide what or who gets
through to the president.
Presidential Succession
• Eight presidents have died in office (four were
assassinated and four died of natural causes)
• After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, the country
realized that the rules for presidential succession
established by the Constitution were inadequate.
• The Twenty-fifth Amendment ratified in 1967 established
the order of succession to the presidency and spelled
out what happened when the vice presidency becomes
vacant.
• This amendment was first applied in 1973 after Vice
President Spiro Agnew resigned and was replaced by
Gerald Ford. Less than a year later, Nixon resigned and
Ford became president and nominated Nelson
Rockefeller as vice president. This has been the only
time in our nation’s history that neither the president nor
the vice president were elected.
Presidential Succession
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18)
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
Secretary of Housing
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Homeland Security
Presidential Disability
The Twenty-fifth Amendment sets forth a series of rules to be
followed when a president is disabled. The amendment provides
that the vice president becomes acting president under one of the
following two conditions:
1) if the president informs Congress of his or her inability
to perform the duties of the office
2) if the vice president and a majority of the cabinet or
another body authorized by law informs Congress that the
president is unable to perform the duties of the office
The provisions of this amendment allow the president to resume the
powers and duties of president at any time by simply notifying
Congress that the disability no longer exists. If the vice president, a
majority of the cabinet or other authorized body disagrees with this
assessment, Congress has to settle the dispute within 21 days.
Unless the Congress decides in favor of the vice president by a 2/3’s
vote in each house, the president may resume office.
Inauguration, Impeachment
Inauguration
• The new president is
called the presidentelect until the
inauguration which
takes place at noon
on January 20th in the
year following the
election.
Inauguration
• The president-elect rides with the outgoing
president from the White House to the
Capitol for the ceremony.
Inauguration
• The Constitution
requires the president
to take a simple oath.
• The chief justice
administers the oath
and the new president
makes an inaugural
address.
Impeachment
• Expressed power of
the legislature to bring
formal charges
against a government
official for crimes
committed in office.
• Removal of an official
on conviction is
separate from
impeachment.
Impeachment
Article II, Section 4 (US Const)
• “The President, Vice
President, and all civil
Officers of the United
States shall be
removed from Office
on Impeachment for,
and Conviction of,
Treason, Bribery, or
other High Crimes
and Misdemeanors.”
• Ben Franklin noted
that the removal of
“obnoxious” chief
executives had been
accomplished by
assassination. He
suggested that a
proceduralized
mechanism for
removal would be
preferable.
Impeachment
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Two presidents have been impeached:
Andrew Johnson
Bill Clinton
Both were acquitted before being removed
from office.
Impeachment
• Andrew Johnson
• Impeached for
intentionally violating the
Tenure of Office Act.
• Impeachment voted for
in the House, 128 to 47.
• The Senate fell one vote
short of the 2/3rds
majority required for
conviction.
Impeachment
• Bill Clinton
• Impeached for perjury
(228-206) and
obstruction of justice
(221-212).
• The Senate fell 17
votes short of the
2/3rds majority
required for
conviction.