Transcript Being the President

Being
the
President
To become President:
• You must be at least 35 years old
• You must be a natural born citizen of the United States
(born here or of American parents).
• You must have lived in the United States for at least 14
years.
President’s Age:
• Most Presidents are much older than 35.
• We’ve only had XX different presidents
Younger Presidents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Teddy Roosevelt: 42 (took
office when William McKinley
died – actually older than
Clinton when first elected)
John F. Kennedy: 43
Bill Clinton: 46
Ulysses S. Grant: 46
Barack Obama: 47 (#44)
Older Presidents
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ronald Reagan: 69
William Henry Harrison: 65
James Buchanan: 64
George Bush (dad): 64
President Trivia: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/prestrivia1.html
Must be a natural born citizen
• Born in the U.S.
• Born in a U.S. territory.
• Foreign born, but born of
American parent
•
(no-one’s ever done this and
there’s some discussion about it).
Arnold Schwarzenegger: was
Governor of California, but can’t
become president
Must have lived in the U.S.
for at least 14 years
• Would you want a president
who had been living in another
country for most of his life, or
for the past 10 years?
• Of course, people probably
wouldn’t elect most of the
people who’d run for president
after that, but….
Our Presidents:
have all been:
• White?
• Men?
• Christians?
• Very intelligent?
• Americans?
should be:
• expert political leaders
who can get people to
work together
• a strong, healthy person:
running for president and
being president can be
tough on a person.
• able to understand the
needs of a wide variety of
people.
Other things presidents have in common
• Most have been well
educated (especially
recently).
• About two thirds have
been lawyers.
• Most have been married.
• Most have been
protestants.
• Most started out in small
towns or in the country.
• Most were very active in
politics for a long time
before they were elected.
• About 2/3 were VicePresident before they
became President
(8 of them because the
previous President died
while in office).
Presidential Powers and Duties
Being President of the United States:
(The most important and powerful job in the world?)
The President’s duties can be divided into 3 groups:
Executive
Powers
Judicial
Powers
Legislative
Powers
In enforcing
laws
In working
with the
court
system
In working
with
Congress
Presidential Executive Powers
(in enforcing the countries laws)
• Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marines, National Guard). Some of these powers are
shared with Congress though. The President can send troops
to other countries, but only Congress can officially declare war.
He can also remove military leaders from power if he wants to.
• Makes treaties with other nations (but, they must be approved
by Congress).
• Official responsibilities and duties as the head of state.
• Appoints people to government positions (cabinet members,
ambassadors to other countries, people in some general
government jobs, etc…).
• Enforces the countries laws.
Presidential Judicial Powers
(in working with the court system)
• Appoints all federal judges, marshals, and U.S. attorneys. The
Senate must approve of these appointments.
• Enforces all federal court decisions.
• Can grant reprieves and pardons to anyone who’s committed a
crime against the United States.
Presidential Legislative Powers
(in working with Congress)
• Suggest new laws to Congress.
• Approves or disapproves of laws passed by Congress. If he
approves - it becomes a law. If he disapproves – it ‘s called a veto.
• Can call special meetings or sessions of Congress.
• Can stop sessions of Congress (has never been done).
The President can’t know everything
about everything, so he has experts
(secretaries) in charge of different parts
of our government.
They advise the President on what he
should do in each area.
-Cabinet members are appointed by the
president, subject to the confirmation of the
Senate, and as their terms are not fixed,
they may be replaced at any time by the
president.
-At a change in administration, it is
customary for cabinet members to resign,
but they remain in office until successors
are appointed.
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Homeland Security