President of the United States of America

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and the head of government of the United States of America. The office of the President is defined in the Constitution, in Article . The Constitution provides that the President must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years of age, elected by Electors from the states, that the term of office is 4 years, currently beginning on January 20, and that no person may be elected President more than twice, nor serve more than ten years as president.

Forty-two men have served as President of the United States since the ratification of the Constitution, beginning with George Washington in 1789. However, the current President, George W. Bush, is counted as the 43rd, because Grover Cleveland is counted as both the 22nd and the 24th President.

In the first presidential election, electors were chosen by state legislatures, but when political parties arose in the 1790s the states switched to choosing electors by popular vote. South Carolina in 1860 was the last holdout, although in 2000 the Florida legislature prepared to cast the electoral vote (for Bush) if necessary.

As set forth in the Constitution, the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the military forces of the United States, and has the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. The President may make treaties with other nations, subject to ratification by the Senate, and may appoint ambassadors, judges of the Supreme Court, and heads of departments, subject to the "advice and consent" of the Senate, and may appoint persons to lesser offices established by law. At present, there are over 7000 positions subject to appointment by the President or by presidential appointees.

History of the Presidency

See also: List of U.S. Presidents

The office of President was created during the framing of the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation provided for a three-person executive which could act in emergencies when Congress was not in session, but otherwise Congress held executive power. The defects of the system led to the proposal for a single chief executive, who would serve a limited term. The limited term and allowing re-election, along with the method of election and limitations on the powers of the President were argued (in The Federalist) to give the Presidency the advantages of a monarchical executive without the disadvantages of a hereditary monarch.

It is reported that the authors of the Constitution had intended that George Washington would serve as the nation's first President, and that the office was designed with him in mind, but also that the Framers were aware that in the future the office would be occupied by much lesser men, and the office was designed to limit the damage a poor president could do. George Washington was, in fact, elected as the first President, and served two terms of office. On leaving office after his second term, he said that no man should serve more than twice, and until the re-election of Franklin Roosevelt in 1940, no man served more than two terms. After the death of Roosevelt, the 22nd Amendment was passed, limiting the number of terms a President could serve.

Presidential Elections

The President is elected by the Electoral College, which votes in December of each year evenly divisible by 4. The Constitution provides that if no candidate receives a majority, that the House of Representatives chooses from among the top three vote-getters in the Electoral vote, but this has only happened once, in 1800. Since the election of 1796, there have been political parties who have supported rival candidates for office. In most elections, there have been only two parties which have received electoral votes, but third parties have arisen in several elections. The most successful third party was the Republican Party, which emerged as a third Party in 1856, won the Presidency with Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and has been one of the two major parties since then. The Democratic Party of today was formed in the 1830s but claims a heritage back to the Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson. The Federalist Party controlled the presidency in the 1790s, then faded away. The Whig Party elected two presidents, then was replaced in the 1850s by the modern Republican Party.

Powers of the Presidency

Aside from the direct powers mentioned in the Constitution, the President has significant powers as the head of the executive branch of the government. Over time, additional powers have accumulated, either by explicit Congressional grant, or by the President winning political battles with the other branches.

Controversies

Aside from scandals over corruption, some of the primary controversies over the office of President have been those over the war powers of the President versus the Congress; the respective roles of the President and the Senate in the appointment of executive and judicial officers; and the authority of the President to "impound" (or refuse to spend) money appropriated for specific purposes by the Congress; as well as the method of electing the President.