Ch. 7.1

The Executive Branch

Qualifications for President The president heads the

executive branch—the top political job in the country and possibly the world

Some say the president is the “leader of the free world”

George Washington was the first to hold this office (1789-1797)

Qualifications for President To become president, a person

must be:1. At least 35 years of age2. A native-born American citizen3. A resident of the United States

for at least 14 years

Qualifications for President So far most U.S. presidents has fit a certain

mold Male, Protestant, and Caucasian

There have been some exceptions: Catholic president---JFK Female V.P. candidate---Geraldine Ferraro

(1984) African American president---Barack Obama

(2008) Jewish presidential candidate---Joe Lieberman

(2000)

Electing a President

Presidential elections take place every four years in years evenly divisible by 4 (Congressional Bill 1845) *later revised

Ex. 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008

The Constitution set up an indirect method of election called the Electoral College

Electing a President

By marking their ballots for a particular candidate, voters are actually selecting their state’s electors

The electors are pledged to vote for the chosen candidate

Electing a President

Each state has as many electoral votes as the total number of members in Congress

States with the larger populations have more electoral votes

In almost all states, the winning candidate receives all the electoral votes, even if the person wins by only a small majority (winner take all)

As a result, candidates focus their campaigns on states with the most electoral votes; It takes 270 of the 538 electoral votes to win

Electing a President

The media announces the winner the evening of the election (November)

However, the outcome is not official until the Electoral College casts the ballots and Congress counts them in December/January at each state capitol

Term of Office

The president serves four year terms

Every one from George Washington served no more than 2 four year terms until FDR won a 4th term in 1944.

The 22nd Amendment (1951) limits each president to two elected terms or a maximum of 10 years if the president took office during another president’s term

Term of Office

The president receives a yearly salary of $400,000 plus expenses

He lives and works at the White House; a large staff of 80 tends to the needs of the president and his family

The White House has a private movie theater, gym, bowling alley, and heated pool; now a outdoor basketball court

Camp David, Maryland serves as the president’s retreat and place to host foreign leaders; motorcade for the president is huge (Air Force One)

The Vice President

The vice president is elected with the president, and the qualifications are the same for both jobs

Except the V.P’s job is more political than administrative (campaign fundraising)

The U.S. Constitution gives little authority to the V.P.

The vice president votes in the Senate in case of a tie, but otherwise has little authority

Yet if the president dies, is removed from office, becomes seriously ill, or resigns, he becomes president.

Presidential Succession The Constitution was not clear about whether

the V.P. would become president or just take over the president’s duties if the president could no longer serve ex. John Tyler 1841

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 established the line of succession

If both the president and vice president die or leave office, the Speaker of the House would be next in line followed by the President Pro Tempore, then the Secretary of State

Presidential Succession Later the 25th Amendment further

established that the vice president, after becoming president, would choose another V.P.

Both Houses of Congress must approve the choice

The amendment gives the V.P. a role in determining whether a president is disabled and unable to do the job; the vice president would then act as president until the president is able to go back to work