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President of the United States

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The head of state of the United States is called the President, who also serves the functions of chief executive and commander in chief of the armed forces. By current law, the U.S. president serves a four-year term and may only be re-elected once, as a result of the twenty-second amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

As the most powerful person in the United States, the President is often called "the leader of the free world." In slang, the President of the United States is sometimes called POTUS. The wife of the President traditionally serves as First Lady.

Presidential Powers

George Washington

George Washington
1st President
(1789-1797)

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.

Presidential Executive 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.

Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
16th President
(1861-1865)

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)


Presidential Legislative Powers

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. 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 in a position to influence public opinion and thereby to influence the course of legislation in Congress.

Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
26th President
(1901-1909)

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.

Presidential Judicial Powers

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.

Presidential Powers in Foreign Affairs

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.

Constraints on Presidential Power

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 "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.

John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
35th President
(1961-1963)

The president finds that the machinery of government 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.)

Requirements to Hold Office

Article 2, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution sets the requirements one must meet in order to become President:

  1. A natural-born citizen of the United States
  2. Thirty-five years of age
  3. Resident of the United States for 14 years.

Succession

There is a well-defined sequence of who should fill the Presidential office, upon the death, resignation, or removal from office (by impeachment) of a current President:

  1. the Vice President of the United States of America
  2. the Speaker of the House of Representatives
  3. the President pro tempore of the United States Senate.

This list is only partial. See the entire Presidential line of succession. The Twenty-fifth Amendment was ratified to define how the President is deemed incapable of discharging his powers and duties and when the Vice President becomes Acting President.

Presidents of the United States

  1. George Washington (1789-1797) (no political party)
  2. John Adams (1797-1801) Federalist
  3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) Democratic-Republican
  4. James Madison (1809-1817) Democratic-Republican
  5. James Monroe (1817-1825) Democratic-Republican
  6. John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) Democratic-Republican
  7. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) Democrat
  8. Martin Van Buren (1837-1841) Democrat
  9. William Henry Harrison (1841) Whig
  10. John Tyler (1841-1845) Whig (Democrat on Whig ticket)
  11. James Knox Polk (1845-1849) Democrat
  12. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850) Whig
  13. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) Whig
  14. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) Democrat
  15. James Buchanan (1857-1861) Democrat
  16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) Republican
  17. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) Republican (Democrat on Republican ticket)
  18. Ulysses Simpson Grant (1869-1877) Republican
  19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1877-1881) Republican
  20. James Abram Garfield (1881) Republican
  21. Chester Alan Arthur (1881-1885) Republican
  22. (Stephen) Grover Cleveland (1885-1889) Democrat
  23. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) Republican
  24. (Stephen) Grover Cleveland (1893-1897) Democrat (same as #22)
  25. William McKinley (1897-1901) Republican
  26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) Republican
  27. William Howard Taft (1909-1913) Republican
  28. (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) Democrat
  29. Warren Gamaliel Harding (1921-1923) Republican
  30. (John) Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) Republican
  31. Herbert Clark Hoover (1929-1933) Republican
  32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945) Democrat
  33. Harry S Truman (1945-1953) Democrat
  34. Dwight David Eisenhower (1953-1961) Republican
  35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-1963) Democrat
  36. Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-1969) Democrat
  37. Richard Milhous Nixon (1969-1974) Republican
  38. Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (1974-1977) Republican
  39. James Earl 'Jimmy' Carter, Jr. (1977-1981) Democrat
  40. Ronald Wilson Reagan (1981-1989) Republican
  41. George Herbert Walker Bush (1989-1993) Republican
  42. William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001) Democrat
  43. George Walker Bush (2001-present) Republican

Presidential salary and perks

Presidential Pay History
Date establishedSalary
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 to be the highest paid government employee. Consequently, the President's salary serves as a cap of sorts for other federal officials such as the Chief Justice of the United States. 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. Thus, in order to raise the salaries of other federal employees, the President's salary had to be raised to avoid surpassing the President.

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 the specially-built Boeing 747, Air Force One. 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 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. At all times, the President and his family are protected by an extensive Secret Service detail.

Presidential facts

Four U.S. Presidents have been assassinated:

Four others died in office:

One President resigned from office:

Two Presidents have been impeached, though neither was subsequently convicted:

Four Presidents have been elected without a plurality of popular votes:

Two Presidents have been elected without a majority of electoral votes, and were chosen by the House of Representatives:

The President's residence is the White House.

Presidents of course had homes other than the White House. This is a list of some of those homes:

Presidents of the Continental Congress

There were seven Presidents of the Continental Congress prior to the ratification of the Articles of Confederation. These men held very few powers that are now associated with the US presidency and cannot be considered to have been heads of state. Their primary duty was to preside over the Congress (hence the original meaning of "president").

Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled

There were eight Presidents under the Articles of Confederation. These men held few powers that are now associated with the US presidency and cannot be considered to have been heads of state or the "Chief Executive". These men were simply heads of government with Congress holding all executive powers.

Miscellaneous Information

Also, on a less serious note:

There is also a rock band called The Presidents of the United States of America.

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