The PresidencyLeader of the USA

The PresidencySWBAT:

• Understand the key roles of the President• Explain the ideas behind the President’s

qualifications and term• Trace Presidential succession• Outline Presidential selection in the United States• Understand the use of the Electoral college by

charting past elections• Synthesize written and audio/visual material to form

a coherent view of the American President

Presidential Qualifications and Term

• Natural Born Citizen– Jus sanguinis– Jus Soli

• At least 35 years old

• Have lived in the US for at least 14 years

• Term 4 years– Originally no limit on terms– 22 amendment sets limit to 2 terms

Presidential Characteristics

• So far all have been– Male– Christian– Above 43 and more have been over 50– Married with pets

• Most have been– From large states– governors

Salary and Benefits

• 2010 – 410,000.00 per year

• & for staff

• Travel and entertainment expenses

• White House

• Camp David

• Pension

• Lifelong security

Vice President

• VP becomes pres if the president dies, resigns or is removed from office

• President of the Senate

• Usually chosen to “balance the ticket” – get votes the president can not get him/her self.

• It is up to the president on how much of a factor the VP will be.

Presidential Succession and the Vice Presidency

• 25th Amendment to the Constitution was added in 1967. It deal with Presidential succession– VP– Speaker of the House– President pro tempore of the Senate– Secretary of State– Secretary of Treasury– Secretary of Defense– Secretary of …

Vice President

• Over a dozen VP have become President• Constitution gives the VP two duties

– President of the Senate– Helps decide Presidential disability

• Today– Take part in cabinet meeting– Acts a resource for the President

– “Balance the Ticket”

Presidential Roles

• Chief of State• Chief Executive• Chief Diplomat• Commander in Chief• Chief Legislator• Chief Guardian of the Economy• Chief of Party• Chief Citizen

The President as Chief of State

Ceremonial head of government

- Attends historical celebrations, dedicates new buildings and national parks, presents awards to war heroes, and invites distinguished Americans to the White House among other things.

-The President represents the United States in visits to other countries.

-In addition, the chief executive greets visiting foreign officials and often hosts formal White House dinners for them.

The President as Chief Executive

The role the president as head of the executive branch of government- Manages the agencies and departments of the Executive Branch- Appoints high level officials- Reads department reports

The President as Chief Diplomat

The Constitution gives the President power to appoint ambassadors, make treaties, and receive foreign diplomats.

The President also proposes legislation dealing with foreign countries. Treaties and ambassadors appointed by the President must be approved by the Senate. The President may make executive agreements with foreign leaders. Such agreements resemble treaties but do not and therefore need legislative branch approval.

Some Presidents have played a key role in settling disputes between foreign nations. For example, Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping end the Russo-Japanese War, and Woodrow Wilson helped work out the peace treaty that ended World War I.

The President as Commander in Chief

The President’s main duties as commander of the nation’s armed services are to defend the country during wartime and to keep it strong during peacetime.

Appoints all the nation’s highest military officers and helps determine the size of the armed forces. Only the President can decide whether to use nuclear weapons.

Only Congress can declare war. But Presidents have sent troops into conflicts that were equal to war though none was declared.

Congress generally allows the President to exercise broad powers in wartime. During World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt created many emergency agencies, took control of factories, and even imprisoned American citizens of Japanese descent.

The President as Chief Legislator

The President greatly influences the passage of many laws passed by Congress. At the beginning of each session of Congress, the President delivers a State of the Union Address to the lawmakers. In this message, the President discusses the major problems facing the nation and recommends a legislative program to solve them

The Constitution allows the President to veto any bill passed by Congress.

The President as Chief of Party

As leader of a political party, the President helps form the party’s position on all political candidates’ important issues

A strong party makes it easier to pass the President’s legislative program. However, Presidents cannot always control members of their party in Congress. Senators and representatives are usually loyal to the people in their state and local district. They may vote against a bill favored by the President if it meets with opposition at home.

Chief Guardian of the Economy

The President keeps a watch over American jobs and businesses through meetings with cabinet officials and business officials

The President as Chief Citizen

• The President is the moral leader for all Americans

• The President needs to do what's best for the whole nation not just special interests

Presidential Selection

• Political Parties have presidential primaries– An election in which voters of each party

choose delegate for the national convention– Rules differ from state to state– Run from January to June in an election year– New Hampshire and Iowa are the first two– A candidate must win the support of more

than half of the party’s delegate in order to get that parties nomination

Primaries

• Cost time and money

• Inter party “fight among candidates

• Democratic way of choosing candidates

The National Convention

• Political parties hold their national convention every four years– They adopt the party’s platform– The pick the party’s candidates– The unite behind these candidates to beat the

opposing party

The Campaign

• During the Summer of a Presidential election year

• Travel throughout the country

• Hitting the key states

• Debates are held

Election Day• The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November…..Why?

• ". . . For much of our history, America was a predominantly agrarian society. Law makers therefore took into account that November was perhaps the most convenient month for farmers and rural workers to be able to travel to the polls. The fall harvest was over, (remember that spring was planting time and summer was taken up with working the fields and tending the crops) but in the majority of the nation the weather was still mild enough to permit travel over unimproved roads.

• Why Tuesday? Since most residents of rural America had to travel a significant distance to the county seat in order to vote, Monday was not considered reasonable since many people would need to begin travel on Sunday. This would, of course, have conflicted with Church services and Sunday worship.

• Why the first Tuesday after the first Monday? Lawmakers wanted to prevent election day from falling on the first of November for two reasons. First, November 1st is All Saints Day, a Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics. Second, most merchants were in the habit of doing their books from the preceding month on the 1st. Apparently, Congress was worried that the economic success or failure of the previous month might prove an undue influence on the vote!"

Electoral College

• What is it?

• How does it work?

• Why do we have it?

• In our last episode…– President Selection

• 3 years before a Presidential election potential candidates are “testing the water”, polling, and traveling around the country deciding if they might want to run and if determining if they can win

• At some point before January of an election year they “throw their hat into the ring”

• January to June the State hold Primary elections (elections within their own party; Dems v. Dems & Repubs v. Repubs

• National Convention held in late summer of election year. Each party chooses nominee and running mate, announces platform, and unites behind their candidate

• Late summer through October - The Presidential Campaign; Debates, speeches, advertisements, travel

• Nov – Election Day…The first…• The winner is unofficially declared? Why?• The Electoral College!!!

Electoral College

• What is it?

• How does it work?

• Why do we have it?

The Presidential Puzzle

• Who were our best and worst presidents?

• What qualities do you look for in our nations leader?

How the Electoral College Works

• Activity

• Describe a game or set of rules you do not understand. For example, I do not understand in Tennis the scoring goes from Love, 15, 30, 40, and game point but you have to win by two.

But First….

A Quiz