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. Teddy Roosevelt: 42 (took office when William McKinley died – actually older than Clinton when first elected)

2. John F. Kennedy: 433. Bill Clinton: 464. Ulysses S. Grant: 465. Barack Obama: 47 (#44)

Older Presidents

1. Ronald Reagan: 692. William Henry Harrison: 653. James Buchanan: 644. 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 Vice-President 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 StateSecretary of the Treasury Secretary of DefenseAttorney GeneralSecretary of the InteriorSecretary of AgricultureSecretary of CommerceSecretary of LaborSecretary of Health and Human ServicesSecretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentSecretary of TransportationSecretary of EnergySecretary of EducationSecretary of Veterans AffairsSecretary of Homeland Security