President of the United States
- For the rock band, see Presidents of the United States of America
Because of the superpower status of the United States, the American President is often dubbed "the most powerful person on earth" and the current occupant is often one of the world's best-known figures. During the Cold War, the President was sometimes referred to as "the leader of the free world," a phrase that is still occasionally invoked today.
Section one of Article II of the U.S. Constitution establishes the requirements one must meet in order to become President. The president must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years of age, and have been a resident of the United States for 14 years. But the natural-born requirement was waived for U.S. citizens at the time of the adoption of the Constitution.
The natural-born citizenship requirement has been the subject of some controversy in recent years. Some commentators argue that the clause should be repealed because it excludes qualified people based on technicalities, and fails to appreciate the contributions made by immigrants to American society. Prominent public officials that are barred from the presidency because they were not born US citizens include California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Under the Constitution, the President serves a four-year term. Amendment XXII (which took effect in 1951 and was first applied to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952) limits the President to either two four-year terms or a maximum of ten years in office should he have succeeded to the Presidency previously and served less than two years completing his predecessor's term.
U.S. presidential elections are held every four years. Presidents are elected indirectly, through the U.S. Electoral College. The President and the Vice President are the only two nationally elected officials in the United States. (Legislators are elected on a state-by-state basis; other executive officers and judges are appointed.) Originally, electors voted for two people for President. The votes were tallied and the person receiving the greatest number of votes (provided that such a number was a majority of electors) would be President, while the individual who was in second place became Vice President.
The ratification of Amendment XII in 1804 clarified the electoral process by directing the electors to use separate ballots to vote for the President and Vice President. To be elected, a candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes, or if no candidate receives a majority, the President and Vice President are chosen by the House of Representatives and Senate respectively as necessary. Since 1937, with the ratification of Amendment XX, a newly-elected President, or a re-elected incumbent, is sworn in (usually by the Chief Justice) on January 20 of the year following the election, an event called Inauguration Day.
The modern Presidential election process begins with the primary electionss, during which the major parties (currently the Democratss and the Republicanss) select a nominee to unite behind; the nominee in turn selects a running mate to join him on the ticket as the Vice Presidential candidate. The two major candidates then face off in the general election, usually participating in nationally televised debates at least twice before Election Day and campaigning across the country to explain their views and plans to the voters. Much of the modern electoral process is concerned with winning swing states, through frequent visits and mass media advertising drives.
In accordance with Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 8 of the Constitution, upon entering office, the President must repeat the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Only presidents Franklin Pierce and Herbert Hoover have chosen to affirm rather than swear. The oath is traditionally ended with, "So help me God," although for religious reasons some Presidents have said, "So help me."
The office of president of the United States is one of the most powerful offices of its kind in the world. The president, the Constitution says, must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." To carry out this responsibility, the president presides over the executive branch of the federal government — a vast organization numbering about 4 million people, including 1 million active-duty military personnel. In addition, the president has important legislative and judicial powers.
Within the executive branch itself, the president has broad powers to manage national affairs and the workings of the federal government. 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. As commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, the president may also call into federal service the state units of the National Guard. In times of war or national emergency, the Congress may grant the president even broader powers to manage the national economy and protect the security of the United States.
The president nominates — and the Senate confirms — the heads of all executive departments and agencies, together with hundreds of other high-ranking federal officials. (See United States Cabinet, Executive Office of the President.) In 2003, more than 3000 executive agency positions were subject to presidential appointment, with more than 1200 requiring Senate approval. The large majority of federal workers, however, are selected through the Civil Service system, in which appointment and promotion are based on ability and experience.
The President is also responsible for preparing the budget of the United States, although the Congress must approve it. (See Office of Management and Budget)
Despite the constitutional provision that "all legislative powers" shall be vested in the Congress, the president, as the chief formulator of public policy, has a major legislative role. The president can veto any bill passed by Congress and, unless two-thirds of the members of each house vote to override the veto, the bill does not become law.
Much of the legislation dealt with by Congress is drafted at the initiative of the executive branch. In annual and special messages to Congress, the president may propose legislation he believes is necessary. The most important of these is the annual State of the Union Address traditionally given in January. Before a joint session of Congress, the President outlines the status of the country and his legislative proposals for the upcoming year. If Congress should adjourn without acting on those proposals, the president has the power to call it into special session. But beyond this official role, the president, as head of a political party and as principal executive officer of the U.S. government, is primarily in a position to influence public opinion and thereby to influence the course of legislation in Congress.
To improve their working relationships with Congress, presidents in recent years have set up a Congressional Liaison Office in the White House. Presidential aides keep abreast of all important legislative activities and try to persuade senators and representatives of both parties to support administration policies.
Among the president's constitutional powers is that of appointing important public officials. Presidential nomination of federal judges, including members of the Supreme Court, is subject to confirmation by the Senate. Another significant power is that of granting a full or conditional pardon to anyone convicted of breaking a federal law — except in a case of impeachment. The pardoning power has come to embrace the power to shorten prison terms and reduce fines.
Under the Constitution, the president is the federal official primarily responsible for the relations of the United States with foreign nations. The president appoints ambassadors, ministers, and consuls — subject to confirmation by the Senate — and receives foreign ambassadors and other public officials. With the secretary of state, the president manages all official contacts with foreign governments. On occasion, the president may personally participate in summit conferences where chiefs of state meet for direct consultation. Thus, President Woodrow Wilson headed the American delegation to the Paris conference at the end of World War I; President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with Allied leaders during World War II; and every president since then has sat down with world leaders to discuss economic and political issues and to reach bilateral and multilateral agreements.
Through the Department of State, the president is responsible for the protection of Americans abroad and of foreign nationals in the United States. The president decides whether to recognize new nations and new governments, and negotiate treaties with other nations, which become binding on the United States when approved by two-thirds of the Senate. The president may also negotiate "executive agreements" with foreign powers that are not subject to Senate confirmation.
Because of the vast array of presidential roles and responsibilities, coupled with a conspicuous presence on the national and international scene, political analysts have tended to place great emphasis on the president's powers. Some have even spoken of "the imperial presidency," referring to the expanded role of the office that Franklin D. Roosevelt maintained during his term.
One of the first sobering realities a new president discovers is an inherited bureaucratic structure that can be difficult to manage and slow to change direction. The president's power to appoint extends only to some 3,000 people out of a civilian government work force of about 3 million.
The president finds that the machinery of government (the civil service) often operates independently of presidential interventions, has done so through earlier administrations, and will continue to do so in the future. New presidents are immediately confronted with a backlog of decisions from the outgoing administration. They inherit a budget formulated and enacted into law long before they came to office, as well as major spending programs (such as veterans' benefits, Social Security payments, and Medicare health insurance for the elderly), which are mandated by law. In foreign affairs, presidents must conform with treaties and informal agreements negotiated by their predecessors in office.
As the happy euphoria of the post-election "honeymoon" dissipates, the new president discovers that Congress has become less cooperative and the media more critical. The president is forced to build at least temporary alliances among diverse, often antagonistic interests — economic, geographic, ethnic, and ideological. Compromises with Congress must be struck if any legislation is to be adopted. "It is very easy to defeat a bill in Congress," lamented President John F. Kennedy. "It is much more difficult to pass one."
Despite these constraints, every president achieves at least some of his legislative goals and prevents by veto the enactment of other laws he believes not to be in the nation's best interests. The president's authority in the conduct of war and peace, including the negotiation of treaties, is substantial. Moreover, the president can use his unique position to articulate ideas and advocate policies, which then have a better chance of entering the public consciousness than those held by his political rivals. President Theodore Roosevelt called this aspect of the presidency "the bully pulpit," for when a president raises an issue, it inevitably becomes subject to public debate. A president's power and influence may be limited, but they are also greater than those of any other American, in or out of office.
Though constrained by various other laws passed by Congress, the President's executive branch conducts most foreign policy, and his power to order and direct troops as commander-in-chief is quite significant. (The exact limits of what a President can do with the military without Congressional authorization are open to debate.)
The United States presidential line of succession is a well-defined sequence of who is to fill the Presidential office upon the death, resignation or removal from office (by impeachment and conviction) of a sitting President. The first three in the long line are:
Requirements to hold office
Presidential elections
Presidential powers
Executive powers
Legislative powers
Judicial powers
Foreign Affairs
Constraints on Presidential power
Succession
| # | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Party | Vice President(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Washington | 1789 | 1797 | no party | John Adams |
| 2 | John Adams | 1797 | 1801 | Federalist | Thomas Jefferson |
| 3 | Thomas Jefferson | 1801 | 1809 | Democratic-Republican | Aaron Burr and George Clinton (politician)>George Clinton**** |
| 4 | James Madison | 1809 | 1817 | Democratic-Republican | Elbridge Gerry**** |
| 5 | James Monroe | 1817 | 1825 | Democratic-Republican | Daniel D. Tompkins |
| 6 | John Quincy Adams | 1825 | 1829 | Democratic-Republican | John C. Calhoun |
| 7 | Andrew Jackson | 1829 | 1837 | Democrat | John C. Calhoun and Martin Van Buren |
| 8 | Martin Van Buren | 1837 | 1841 | Democrat | Richard Mentor Johnson |
| 9 | William Henry Harrison | 1841 | 1841 | Whig | John Tyler |
| 10 | John Tyler | 1841 | 1845 | Whig* | none |
| 11 | James Knox Polk | 1845 | 1849 | Democrat | George M. Dallas |
| 12 | Zachary Taylor | 1849 | 1850 | Whig | Millard Fillmore |
| 13 | Millard Fillmore | 1850 | 1853 | Whig | none |
| 14 | Franklin Pierce | 1853 | 1857 | Democrat | William R. King*** then none |
| 15 | James Buchanan | 1857 | 1861 | Democrat | John C. Breckinridge |
| 16 | Abraham Lincoln | 1861 | 1865 | Republican | Hannibal Hamlin and Andrew Johnson |
| 17 | Andrew Johnson | 1865 | 1869 | Democrat** | none |
| 18 | Ulysses Simpson Grant | 1869 | 1877 | Republican | Schuyler Colfax and Henry Wilson**** then none |
| 19 | Rutherford Birchard Hayes | 1877 | 1881 | Republican | William A. Wheeler |
| 20 | James Abram Garfield | 1881 | 1881 | Republican | Chester A. Arthur |
| 21 | Chester Alan Arthur | 1881 | 1885 | Republican | none |
| 22 | Stephen Grover Cleveland | 1885 | 1889 | Democrat | Thomas A. Hendricks**** then none |
| 23 | Benjamin Harrison | 1889 | 1893 | Republican | Levi P. Morton |
| 24 | Stephen Grover Cleveland | 1893 | 1897 | Democrat | Adlai E. Stevenson |
| 25 | William McKinley | 1897 | 1901 | Republican | Garret A. Hobart**** then none then Theodore Roosevelt |
| 26 | Theodore Roosevelt, Jr | 1901 | 1909 | Republican | Charles W. Fairbanks |
| 27 | William Howard Taft | 1909 | 1913 | Republican | James S. Sherman**** then none |
| 28 | Thomas Woodrow Wilson | 1913 | 1921 | Democrat | Thomas R. Marshall |
| 29 | Warren Gamaliel Harding | 1921 | 1923 | Republican | Calvin Coolidge |
| 30 | John Calvin Coolidge, Jr | 1923 | 1929 | Republican | none then Charles G. Dawes |
| 31 | Herbert Clark Hoover | 1929 | 1933 | Republican | Charles Curtis |
| 32 | Franklin Delano Roosevelt | 1933 | 1945 | Democrat | John Nance Garner and Henry A. Wallace and Harry S. Truman |
| 33 | Harry S. Truman | 1945 | 1953 | Democrat | none then Alben W. Barkley |
| 34 | Dwight David Eisenhower | 1953 | 1961 | Republican | Richard Nixon |
| 35 | John Fitzgerald Kennedy | 1961 | 1963 | Democrat | Lyndon Johnson |
| 36 | Lyndon Baines Johnson | 1963 | 1969 | Democrat | none then Hubert H. Humphrey |
| 37 | Richard Milhous Nixon | 1969 | 1974 | Republican | Spiro Agnew and Gerald Ford |
| 38 | Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr | 1974 | 1977 | Republican | Nelson Rockefeller |
| 39 | James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr | 1977 | 1981 | Democrat | Walter F. Mondale |
| 40 | Ronald Wilson Reagan | 1981 | 1989 | Republican | George H. W. Bush |
| 41 | George Herbert Walker Bush | 1989 | 1993 | Republican | James Danforth Quayle |
| 42 | William Jefferson Clinton | 1993 | 2001 | Democrat | Al Gore |
| 43 | George Walker Bush | 2001 | - | Republican | Dick Cheney |
** Democrat who ran on Union ticket with Republican Lincoln
*** Died before assuming office
**** Died while in office
After a president of the U.S. leaves office, the title "President" continues to be applied to them the rest of their life. Former presidents continue to be important national figures, and in some cases go on to successful post-presidential careers. Notable examples have included William Howard Taft's tenure as Chief Justice of the United States and Jimmy Carter's current career as a global human rights campaigner.
Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and their wives at the funeral of President Richard Nixon on April 27, 1994
As of 2004, there are four living former presidents: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The most recently deceased President is Ronald Reagan.
There have never been more than five former presidents alive at any given time in American history. There have been three periods during which five former presidents were alive:
Timeline
Graphical Timeline
Former Presidents
There have been six periods in American history during which no former presidents were alive:
Herbert Hoover had the longest post-presidency, 31 years. He left office in 1933 and died in 1964. Excluding presidents who died in office, James K. Polk had the shortest post-presidency. He died on June 15, 1849, a mere three months after the expiration of his term.
Between the birth of George Washington in 1732 and the birth of Bill Clinton in 1946, future presidents have been born in every decade except two: the 1810's and the 1930's. Between the death of George Washington in 1799 and the present, presidents or ex-presidents have died in every decade except four: the 1800's, 1810's, 1950's, and 1980's.
| Date established | Salary |
|---|---|
| September 24, 1789 | $25,000 |
| March 3, 1873 | $50,000 |
| March 4, 1909 | $75,000 |
| January 19, 1949 | $100,000 |
| January 20, 1969 | $200,000 |
| January 20, 2001 | $400,000 |
The first United States Congress voted to pay George Washington a salary of $25,000 a year — a significant sum in 1789. Washington, already a successful man, didn't take the money. Since 2001, the President has earned a salary of $400,000 a year, modest in comparison to the multi-million dollar salaries of most private-sector chief executive officers.
Traditionally, the President, as the most important official in the U.S. government, is the highest paid government employee. Consequently, the President's salary serves as a cap of sorts for all other federal officials such as the Chief Justice. The raise for 2001 was approved by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1999 because other officials who receive annual cost-of-living increases had salaries approaching the President's. Consequently, in order to raise the salaries of the other federal employees, the President's salary had to be raised as well.
Modern Presidents enjoy many non-salary perks such as living and working in the spacious White House mansion in Washington, DC. While travelling, the President is able to conduct all the functions of the office aboard several specially-built Boeing 747s, which take the call sign Air Force One when the President is aboard. The President travels around Washington in an armored Cadillac limousine, equipped with bullet-proof windows and tires and a self-contained ventilation system in the event of a biological or chemical attack. When traveling longer distances around the Washington area, the President travels aboard the Presidential helicopter, Marine One. Additionally, the President has full use of Camp David in Maryland, a sprawling retreat occasionally used as a casual setting for hosting foreign dignitaries.
The President and his family are protected at all times by an extensive Secret Service detail. Until 1997, all former Presidents and their families were protected by the Secret Service until the President's death. The last President to have lifetime Secret Service protection is Bill Clinton. George W. Bush and all subsequent Presidents will be protected by the Secret Service for a maximum of 10 years after leaving office.
Presidents continue to enjoy other benefits after leaving office such as free mailing privileges, free office space, and budgets for office help and staff assistance. However, it was not until after Harry Truman (1958) that Presidents received a pension after they left office. Additionally, since the presidency of Herbert Hoover, Presidents receive funding from the National Archives and Records Administration upon leaving office to establish their own Presidential library. These are not traditional libraries, but rather repositories for preserving and making available the papers, records, and other historical materials for each U.S. President since Herbert Hoover.
The President's principal workplace and official residence is the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. His official vacation or weekend residence is Camp David in Maryland. Many Presidents have also had their [[List of U.S. Presidential residences|
own homes]].
While most presidents have been of substantially English descent, there have been a few who came from a different background:
No women or non-white males have yet served as President of the United States.
The Secret Service and some agencies in the government use acronyms as jargon. Since the Truman Administration the President of the United States has been called POTUS. The wife of the President, traditionally referred to as the First Lady is called FLOTUS.
Presidential residences
Presidential facts
Transition events
Other facts
Kennedy was also America's first and, to date, only Catholic president.Presidential trivia lists
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Further readings
External links