1. The American Presidency
Qualifications, Benefits, and Roles

2. Federalist No. 70
“Energy in the Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government. It is essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the steady administration of the laws; to the protection of property against those irregular and high-handed combinations which sometimes interrupt the ordinary course of justice; to the security of liberty against the enterprises and assaults of ambition, of faction, and of anarchy.” -Alexander Hamilton
Source: The Avalon Project (

3. Qualifications in Article II of the Constitution
“The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected…”
“No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”
“The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”

4. Amendment XXII
“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President, when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.”
“This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.”

5. Discussion Question
If the president is limited to two four-year terms, How can a president theoretically serve more than eight years?
Hint: refer to the 22nd Amendment

6. Executive Checks on other Branches of Government
Legislative
Veto power
Special Sessions
Recommendations to Congress
Picture Source: (
“These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other”
– James Madison
Federalist No. 48

7. Executive Checks on other Branches of Government
Judicial
Clemency (pardons, commutations, etc.)
Appointment of federal judges and Supreme Court Justices with consent of the Senate
Executes the laws and enforces court decisions
Picture Source: Supreme Court of the United States (
Source: The Avalon Project (
“The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community…The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever.”
-Alexander Hamilton
Federalist No. 78

8. Compensation and Benefits
Salary is 400,000 USD per year
Plus 50,000 USD per year for Whitehouse expenses
Use of the Whitehouse, Camp David, vehicles etc…
Source: CRS Report for Congress (
Picture Source: Eric Draper (

9. Pension and Retirement
Currently the executive receives 186,600 USD for their lifetime pension
Also, the executive is allotted for the first 30 months a salary of 150,000 USD for staff and office expenses, then after the 30 months it decreases to a maximum of 96,000 USD
Widows Benefits
The president’s widow also receives 20,000 USD per year after the president’s death
Source: CRS Report for Congress (

10. Discussion Question
In present day terms, is the executive compensated fairly? Should the executive receive a pension after he or she leaves office? Why or why not?

11. Rossiter’s Roles of the President
Chief of State
Living symbol of the nation. This role requires the president to be an inspiring example for the nation to follow.
Example
Greeting visitors at the Whitehouse
Chief Executive
The boss of government workers within the executive branch. Enforcing and executing the laws of the other branches.
Appointing positions to carry out the duties of the executive branch.
Chief Diplomat
Decides with the help of advisors dealing with nations and diplomats.
Appoint a diplomat to serve in a foreign country
Rossiter, Clinton The American Presidency. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

12. Rossiter’s Roles Cont…
Commander and Chief
The president is the head of the armed forces. All military generals and admirals take their orders from the president.
Example
Deciding in war time what cities to bomb.
Chief Legislator
Only Congress has the actual power to make laws. But the Constitution gives the president power to influence Congress in its lawmaking. Presidents may urge Congress to pass new laws or veto bills that they do not favor.
Examples
Inviting member of Congress to the Whitehouse for lunch.
Rossiter, Clinton The American Presidency. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

13. Rossiter’s Roles Cont…
Chief of Party
In this role, the president helps members of his political party get elected or appointed to office. The president campaigns for those members who have supported his policies.
Example
Choosing a leading party member to serve in his cabinet.
Chief Guardian of the Economy
The president is concerned with such things as unemployment, high prices, taxes, business profits, and the general prosperity of the country. The president does not control the economy, but is expected to help it run smoothly.
Meeting with economic advisors to help reduce unemployment.
Rossiter, Clinton The American Presidency. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

14. Discussion Question
What are some instances when an executive has demonstrated the aforementioned roles?