Being the President E

To become President: 1 E 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. E

President’s Age: E Most Presidents are much older than 35. We’ve only had XX different presidents Younger Presidents 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 Ronald Reagan: 69 William Henry Harrison: 65 James Buchanan: 64 George Bush (dad): 64 E 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 E

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…. E

Our Presidents: 2 E have all been: should be: 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. E

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). E

Presidential Powers and Duties

In working with the court system In working with Congress 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 E

Presidential Executive Powers (in enforcing the countries laws) 3-6 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. 8 7 E

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. 9-11 E

Presidential Legislative Powers (in working with Congress) 12-16 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). E

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 17 E