   #copyright

President of the United States

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government

          This article is about the office "President of the United
          States". For other uses, see The Presidents of the United States
          of America.
          For the film, see The American President (film).
          See also: List of Presidents of the United States and United
          States Presidential trivia.

   The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last
   modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii.
   Enlarge
   The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last
   modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii.
   The Standard of the President of the United States of America
   Enlarge
   The Standard of the President of the United States of America

   The President of the United States of America (often abbreviated POTUS)
   is the head of state of the United States. The office of President was
   established upon the ratification of the United States Constitution in
   1788 and the first president took office in 1789. The President serves
   as chief executive and head of the executive branch of the United
   States government. Article Two of the United States Constitution
   establishes the President as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces
   and enumerates powers specifically granted to the President, including
   the power to sign into law bills passed by both houses of the
   Legislature, to create a Cabinet of advisors, to grant pardons or
   reprieves, and, with the " advice and consent" of the United States
   Senate, to make treaties and appoint officers, ambassadors, and judges
   (to include Justices of the Supreme Court). Article Two also defines a
   Presidential term at four years; subsequently, the Twelfth Amendment
   (1804) revised the procedure for electing the President and the
   Twenty-second Amendment (1951) established Presidential term limits.

   Before the 1788 ratification of the Constitution, there was no
   comparable figure with executive authority. Individuals who presided
   over the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary period and under
   the Articles of Confederation had the title " President of the United
   States of America in Congress Assembled", often shortened to "President
   of the United States." They had no important executive power. The
   President's executive authority, tempered by the checks and balances of
   the Judicial and Legislative branches of the Federal Government, was
   designed to solve several political problems faced by the young nation
   and to anticipate future challenges, while still preventing the rise of
   an autocrat over a nation wary of royal authority.

   The United States was the first nation to create the office of
   President as the head of state in a modern republic, and today the
   presidential system of government is used in several countries
   throughout the world. As of 2006, there have been forty-three
   Presidents of the United States. The first President of the United
   States was George Washington, and the 43rd and current President of the
   United States is George W. Bush. From the early 20th Century, the
   United States' status as a superpower has led the American President to
   be one of the world's best-known public figures. "The leader of the
   free world" was a common phrase describing the President during the
   Cold War, and since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the President of
   the United States has often been described as "the most powerful person
   on Earth."

Origin

   The Treaty of Paris (1783) left the United States independent and at
   peace but with an unsettled governmental structure. The Second
   Continental Congress had drawn up Articles of Confederation in 1777,
   describing a permanent confederation but granting to the Congress--the
   only federal institution--little power to finance itself or to ensure
   that its resolutions were enforced. In part this reflected the
   anti-monarchy view of the Revolutionary period, and the new American
   system was explicitly designed to prevent the rise of an American
   tyrant to replace the British King.

   However, during the economic depression that followed the Revolutionary
   War the viability of the American government was threatened by
   political unrest in several States, efforts by debtors to use popular
   government to erase their debts, and the apparent inability of the
   Continental Congress to redeem the public obligations incurred during
   the war. The Congress also appeared unable to become a forum for
   productive cooperation among the States encouraging commerce and
   economic development. In response a Constitutional Convention was
   convened, ostensibly to reform the Articles of Confederation but that
   subsequently began to draft a new system of government that would
   include greater executive power while retaining the checks and balances
   thought to be essential restraints on any imperial tendency in the
   office of the President.

General description

   Article Two of the United States Constitution, coupled with several
   articles of amendment, establish the requirements one must meet in
   order to become President, as well as the term of office, method of
   election, and powers.

Requirements for holding office

   Section One of Article II of the U.S. Constitution states that the
   President must be a natural born citizen of the United States (or a
   citizen of the United States at the time the U.S. Constitution was
   adopted), at least 35 years of age, and a resident of the United States
   for at least fourteen years.

   There is currently debate concerning the definition of " natural born
   citizen." The main focus of this debate is whether or not children born
   to Americans overseas be considered eligible for the Presidency.
   Several main candidates have sought the office who were born outside
   the United States (e.g., George Romney was born in Mexico to U.S.
   parents, Barry Goldwater was born in Arizona while it was still a U.S.
   territory, and John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone to U.S.
   parents). Barry Goldwater's case among these three is unique in that
   although he was born outside the United States, Arizona was later
   admitted as a state. None of these candidates were elected, so the
   issue was never fully addressed.

   The origin of the " natural born citizen" clause can be traced to a
   July 25, 1787, letter from John Jay to George Washington, presiding
   officer of the Constitutional Convention. John Jay wrote: "Permit me to
   hint, whether it would be wise and seasonable to provide a strong check
   to the admission of Foreigners into the administration of our national
   Government; and to declare expressly that the Commander in Chief of the
   American army shall not be given to nor devolve on, any but a natural
   born Citizen." There was no debate, and this qualification for the
   office of the Presidency was introduced by the drafting Committee of
   Eleven, and then adopted without discussion by the Constitutional
   Convention.

   The requirements for citizenship and the very definition thereof have
   changed since the Constitution was ratified in 1788. Congress first
   extended citizenship to children born to U.S. parents overseas on March
   26, 1790, under the first naturalization law: "And the children of
   citizens of the United States that may be born beyond sea, or outside
   the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born
   citizens." This was addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dred
   Scott case as a form of naturalization. The Dred Scott case, however,
   was overturned by the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. The Fourteenth
   Amendment mentions two types of citizenship: citizenship by birth and
   citizenship by law (naturalized citizens): "All persons born or
   naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
   thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein
   they reside."

   All persons born in the United States are citizens by birth. There is
   some debate over whether other persons with citizenship can also be
   considered citizens by birth, or whether they should all be considered
   citizens by law (thus "naturalized"). Current US statutes define
   certain individuals born overseas as citizens by birth. One side of the
   argument interprets the Constitution as meaning that a person either is
   born in the United States or is a naturalized citizen. Thus, to be a
   "natural born citizen," a person must be born in the United States;
   otherwise, they are citizens by law and are naturalized. To others, the
   statute that grants citizenship to American children born overseas
   exempts them from the term "naturalized" and thus, as with the 1790
   law, they are to be considered "natural born citizens" eligible for the
   Presidency. Examples of persons who become citizens at birth (whether
   "naturalized" or "natural born") would include: birth to Americans
   overseas, or birth on U.S. soil, territories, or military bases
   overseas.

Term of office

   President George W. Bush (second from left), walks with, from left,
   former President George H.W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton, and
   former President Jimmy Carter during the dedication of the William J.
   Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, November
   18, 2004.
   Enlarge
   President George W. Bush (second from left), walks with, from left,
   former President George H.W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton, and
   former President Jimmy Carter during the dedication of the William J.
   Clinton Presidential Centre and Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, November
   18, 2004.

   The President and Vice President serve a term of office of four years.
   The Twenty-second Amendment (which took effect in 1951) provides that
   no one may be elected to the office more than twice, and that no one
   may be elected President more than once who has held the office of (or
   acted as) President for more than two years of another's term (thus a
   person may hold the office of President no longer than ten years--two
   four-year terms and one term less than two years having been a vice
   president who succeeded to the Presidency). Prior to the ratification
   of this amendment, and following the precedent set by George
   Washington, an unofficial limit of two terms was generally observed,
   with the only exceptions being Theodore Roosevelt, who ran
   unsuccessfully for a third nonconsecutive term (although his first term
   was to finish the term of president William McKinley, who was
   assasinated- hence he was only elected once, for his second term), and
   Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected 4 times, served three full terms
   and died in his fourth after just over 12 years in office. Since the
   amendment went into effect, three Presidents have served two full
   terms: Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. Richard
   Nixon was elected to a second term but resigned before completing it.
   Current President George W. Bush will become the fourth should he
   complete his current term, on 20 January 2009. Lyndon B. Johnson was
   the only president since the ratification of the amendment to have been
   eligible to have served more than 2 terms, having served only 14 months
   of John F. Kennedy's term after becoming president following the
   latter's assassination. Harry S. Truman was also eligible for an
   unlimited amount of terms as the 22nd specifically states it both did
   not apply to the current term of the president in office upon its
   ratification (Truman) or "to any person holding the office of President
   when this Article was proposed by the Congress" (Truman). He briefly
   sought re-election in 1952, but withdrew after losing the New Hampshire
   primary.

Election

   Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States are elected every
   four years indirectly through the United States Electoral College. They
   are the only nationally-elected offices in the United States, since
   executive officers and judges are appointed, United States Senators are
   elected at the state level, and United States Representatives are
   elected at the district level.

   On election day, the voting public selects its preferred candidate,
   usually by voting for a slate of electors put forward by the
   candidate's party. The ballots for each voting citizen typically has
   the names of the candidates for President and Vice President (running
   together on a ticket), and votes for those individuals translate at the
   state level into votes for the electors chosen from their respective
   parties. Although State Legislatures have the constitutional power to
   appoint slates of electors, all fifty states have established popular
   election of presidential electors. In December, following the general
   election, Electors gather at their respective State capitals to cast
   their ballots, which are then transmitted to Congress under the care of
   the sitting Vice President of the United States. Originally, under
   Article 2, the electors cast two votes for the office of President, the
   individual with the most votes becoming President, the runner up
   becoming Vice President. This changed with the 12th amendment, with
   each elector casting one vote for President and one vote for Vice
   President. The ballots are counted and certified in January before both
   houses of Congress. Should a candidate for either President or Vice
   President fail to achieve a majority of votes, the United States House
   of Representatives (voting by state) chooses the next president from
   among the candidates while the United States Senate (voting normally)
   selects the vice president.

Powers

   The President, according to the Constitution, must "take care that the
   laws be faithfully executed." To carry out this responsibility, he has
   many powers, most of which are subject to or checked by Congressional
   power. He presides over the executive branch of the federal government;
   a vast organization of about 4 million people, including 1 million
   active-duty military personnel, of whom he is Commander in Chief.

   The Federalist Papers #69 states, "In most of these particulars, the
   power of the President will resemble equally that of the king of Great
   Britain and of the governor of New York. The most material points of
   difference are these: First. The President will have only the
   occasional command of such part of the militia of the nation as by
   legislative provision may be called into the actual service of the
   Union. The king of Great Britain and the governor of New York have at
   all times the entire command of all the militia within their several
   jurisdictions. In this article, therefore, the power of the President
   would be inferior to that of either the monarch or the governor.
   Secondly. The President is to be commander-in-chief of the army and
   navy of the United States. In this respect his authority would be
   nominally the same with that of the king of Great Britain, but in
   substance much inferior to it. It would amount to nothing more than the
   supreme command and direction of the military and naval forces, as
   first General and admiral of the Confederacy; while that of the British
   king extends to the DECLARING of war and to the RAISING and REGULATING
   of fleets and armies, all which, by the Constitution under
   consideration, would appertain to the legislature". However, his
   control over these tools of state are checked by Congress' power "to
   make Rules for the Government and Regulation for the land and naval
   Forces" ( Article I, Section 8).

   As President-elect, he will make as many as 6,000 appointments in
   addition to those that must be made during his term proper (including
   appointments to the federal judiciary), but the Senate must consent to
   all appointments, except those of "inferior officers" that Congress has
   vested exclusively in him, the courts, or the heads of departments. He
   may make temporary appointments without the advice and consent of the
   Senate if the Senate is in recess, but such appointments expire at the
   end of the next session of the Senate.

   While he may not personally initiate legislation, the President may
   veto any legislation passed by Congress. Such a veto may be overturned
   by a two-thirds majority vote in each House. He may make treaties, but
   two-thirds of the Senate must ratify the treaty. He is also required by
   the Constitution to give Congress information on the State of the Union
   and propose measures for their consideration.

   According to political scientist Richard Neustadt, "Presidential power
   is the power to persuade and the power to persuade is the ability to
   bargain." The President's constitutional domestic power is limited, and
   so, according to Neustadt, successful bargaining with Congress is
   usually essential to Presidential success.

The Campaign

   The modern presidential campaign begins before the primary elections,
   which the two major political parties use to clear the field of
   candidates in advance of their national nominating conventions, where
   the most successful candidate is made the party's nominee for
   President. The party's presidential candidate chooses a vice
   presidential nominee and this choice is rubber-stamped by the
   convention. Also, the party establishes a platform on which to base its
   campaign. Although nominating conventions have a long history in the
   United States, their substantive importance in the political process
   has greatly diminished; however, they remain important as a way of
   energizing the parties for the general election and focusing the
   public's attention on the nominees.

   Nominees participate in nationally televised debates, and while the
   debates are usually restricted to the Democratic and Republican
   nominees, third party candidates may be invited (such as Ross Perot in
   the 1992 debates). Nominees campaign across the country to explain
   their views, convince voters, and solicit contributions. Much of the
   modern electoral process is concerned with winning swing states through
   frequent visits and mass media advertising drives.

Salary

                       Presidential pay history
                               Date established  Salary    Salary in 2005
                                                                  dollars
                             September 24, 1789 $25,000   $531,000 (1789)
                                  March 3, 1873 $50,000   $811,000 (1873)
                                  March 4, 1909 $75,000 $1,607,000 (1909)
                               January 19, 1949 $100,000   $820,000 (1949)
                               January 20, 1969 $200,000 $1,067,000 (1969)
                               January 20, 2001 $400,000   $441,000 (2001)

   The First U.S. Congress voted to pay George Washington a salary of
   $25,000 a year (about $531,000 in 2005 terms) — a significant sum in
   1789. Washington, already a wealthy man, refused to accept his salary.
   Similarly, John F. Kennedy donated his salary to charities.

   Traditionally, the President is the highest-paid government employee.
   Consequently, the President's salary serves as a traditional cap for
   all other federal officials, such as the Chief Justice. A 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, to raise the
   salaries of the other federal employees, the President's salary had to
   be raised as well. The President's monetary compensation is minuscule
   in comparison to the CEOs of most Fortune 500 companies and comparable
   to that of certain kinds of professionals e.g. attorneys and physicians
   in some parts of the United States. Overall the vast majority of US
   presidents were very affluent upon entering office and thus were not
   dependent on the salary.

Privileges of office

   Presidential authority, past and present: Air Force One flying over
   Mount Rushmore
   Enlarge
   Presidential authority, past and present: Air Force One flying over
   Mount Rushmore

   The President is entitled to use the White House as his living and
   working quarters, and its entire staff and facilities, including
   medical care, kitchen, housekeeping and security staff. While
   traveling, the President is able to conduct the functions of the office
   from one of two custom-built Boeing 747 aircraft popularly known as "
   Air Force One." The President also utilizes a United States Marine
   Corps helicopter, designated " Marine One" when the President is
   aboard. Similarly, " Navy One" and " Coast Guard One" are the call
   signs used if the President is aboard an aircraft belonging to these
   services. For ground travel, the President uses an armored Presidential
   limousine, currently a heavily modified Cadillac DTS.

Secret Service

   The sitting President and his family are always protected by a United
   States Secret Service detail, and 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 ten
   years after leaving office.

Succession

   Article 2 of the Constitution provides that the Vice President takes
   the place of President if the office were to become vacant. More detail
   is prescribed in the 20th and 25th amendments, and later extend the
   line of succession further.

   The only President to be neither elected to the office of President nor
   Vice President was Gerald Ford who was appointed by Richard Nixon and
   confirmed after his Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in 1973]].
   Nixon later resigned and Ford succeeded to the Presidency. Ford was
   never subsequently elected.

Office-holders

                                     1.

                              George Washington

                                1789– 1797

                                     2.

                                 John Adams

                                1797– 1801

                                     3.

                              Thomas Jefferson

                                1801– 1809

                                     4.

                                James Madison

                                1809– 1817

                                     5.

                                James Monroe

                                1817– 1825

                                     6.

                              John Quincy Adams

                                1825– 1829

                                     7.

                               Andrew Jackson

                                1829– 1837

                                     8.

                              Martin Van Buren

                                1837– 1841

                                     9.

                           William Henry Harrison

                                    1841

                                     10.

                                 John Tyler

                                1841– 1845

                                     11.

                                James K. Polk

                                1845– 1849

                                     12.

                               Zachary Taylor

                                1849– 1850

                                     13.

                              Millard Fillmore

                                1850– 1853

                                     14.

                               Franklin Pierce

                                1853– 1857

                                     15.

                               James Buchanan

                                1857– 1861

                                     16.

                               Abraham Lincoln

                                1861– 1865

                                     17.

                               Andrew Johnson

                                1865– 1869

                                     18.

                              Ulysses S. Grant

                                1869– 1877

                                     19.

                             Rutherford B. Hayes

                                1877– 1881

                                     20.

                              James A. Garfield

                                    1881

                                     21.

                              Chester A. Arthur

                                1881– 1885

                                     22.

                              Grover Cleveland

                                1885– 1889

                                     23.

                              Benjamin Harrison

                                1889– 1893

                                     24.

                              Grover Cleveland

                                1893– 1897

                                     25.

                              William McKinley

                                1897– 1901

                                     26.

                             Theodore Roosevelt

                                1901– 1909

                                     27.

                             William Howard Taft

                                1909– 1913

                                     28.

                               Woodrow Wilson

                                1913– 1921

                                     29.

                              Warren G. Harding

                                1921– 1923

                                     30.

                               Calvin Coolidge

                                1923– 1929

                                     31.

                               Herbert Hoover

                                1929– 1933

                                     32.

                          Franklin Delano Roosevelt

                                1933– 1945

                                     33.

                               Harry S. Truman

                                1945– 1953

                                     34.

                            Dwight D. Eisenhower

                                1953– 1961

                                     35.

                               John F. Kennedy

                                1961– 1963

                                     36.

                              Lyndon B. Johnson

                                1963– 1969

                                     37.

                                Richard Nixon

                                1969– 1974

                                     38.

                               Gerald R. Ford

                                1974– 1977

                                     39.

                                Jimmy Carter

                                1977– 1981

                                     40.

                                Ronald Reagan

                                1981– 1989

                                     41.

                              George H. W. Bush

                                1989– 1993

                                     42.

                                Bill Clinton

                                1993– 2001

                                     43.

                               George W. Bush

                               2001–present

      *Note: Cleveland was elected twice nonconsecutively, changing the
     numbers of all presidents after him, starting with McKinley. Thus,
   George W. Bush is the 43rd president although he is the 42nd person to
                              hold the office.

The Masonic American Presidents

   Fifteen U.S. Presidents are definitely known to have been Freemasons:
   George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, James
   Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore
   Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D.
   Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford.

   James Madison was probably a Freemason, but there is no surviving
   documentary proof of it. Lyndon Johnson took the Entered Apprentice
   degree in 1937 but never continued to become a Master Mason. In 1988,
   Ronald Reagan was made an honorary Scottish Rite Mason jointly by the
   Northern and Southern Masonic Jurisdictions of the Scottish Rite, but
   he never received the first three degrees of Masonry and had no
   privileges of Masonic membership. Bill Clinton joined the Masonic Order
   of DeMolay as a teenager but never went on to become a Freemason.

   Abraham Lincoln applied for membership in a lodge in Springfield,
   Illinois, shortly after he was nominated for the Presidency in 1860.
   Lincoln withdrew his application because he was concerned that it would
   be construed as a political ploy to win votes. Lincoln told the lodge
   that he intended to resubmit his application again when he returned to
   private life.

   Considering the most important Scholar Rankings (Schlesinger 1948 poll
   rank, Schlesinger 1962 poll rank, 1982 Murray-Blessing survey of 846
   historians, Chicago Tribune 1982 poll rank, Siena 1982 poll rank, Siena
   1990 poll rank, Siena 1994 poll rank, Ridings- McIver 1996 poll rank,
   CSPAN 1999 poll rank, Wall Street Journal 2000 poll rank, Siena 2002
   poll rank, Wall Street Journal 2005 poll rank), the average ranking of
   the Masonic U.S. Presidents is 15.7, which would place them among the
   best third of their class (top 36 percentile).

Life after the presidency

   Presidents continue to enjoy benefits after leaving office, including
   free mailing privileges, free office space, daily CIA briefings, a
   diplomatic passport, Secret Service protection (see above), and budgets
   for office help and staff assistance. After Harry S Truman (1958)
   presidents received a pension after they left office, and since the
   presidency of Herbert Hoover, presidents have received funding from the
   National Archives and Records Administration to establish their own
   presidential library, a repository for preserving and making available
   their papers, records, and other historical materials.

   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, Herbert Hoover's work on government reorganization
   after World War II, Jimmy Carter's current career as a global human
   rights campaigner and best-selling writer, and most recently George H.
   W. Bush and Bill Clinton's combined effort to appeal for donations from
   Americans after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and Hurricane Katrina
   in 2005. Andrew Johnson was elected to the Senate after his term was
   over, and John Quincy Adams served in the House of Representatives.
   John Tyler served in the provisional Confederate States Congress during
   the Civil War, and was elected to the official Confederate Congress but
   died before it convened.

   Grover Cleveland, whose bid for reelection failed in 1888, was elected
   President again four years later in 1892.

Trivia

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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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