Presidency: history, roles, and institutional significance

Aboriginal Studies

Presidency

This is a paper on the United States Presidency. There are five references used for this paper.

One of the most important jobs in the world is that of the President of the United States. It is interesting to explore what this job entails, as well as if the founding fathers expected too much from one person. It is important to determine if the country has evolved to the point that some of these duties should be formally allocated to the Vice President.

Founding Fathers Ideas

When the office of the President of the United States was created in the Constitution, the "framers envisioned a president as chief executive officer, not as chief agenda setter, coalition builder, and legislative policymaker. Article II charges the president with the faithful execution of the law and grants the office 'the executive power,' although checks were placed on the exercise of those powers that had been most abused during the colonial era: treaty-making, appointments, and vetoes (http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=1003810-h&templatename=/article/article.html)."

During the nineteenth century, the founding father's idea of a "limited executive whose powers expanded in times of emergency became the operative model. Although the constitutional authority of the presidency was not altered, presidents found extra-constitutional means to expand their influence (http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=1003810-h&templatename=/article/article.html)."

Bills and Laws

The President of the United States is the "head of the executive branch and plays a large role in making America's laws, as his job is to approve the laws that Congress creates. When the Senate and the House approve a bill, they send it to the president, and if he agrees with the law, he signs it and the law goes into effect (http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/president.html)." However, the president can veto a bill if he does not approve of it, in effect making it extremely difficult for it to ever be a law. The bill can still become a law if at least two-thirds of Congress overrides the veto, and goes against the President's decision.

While the president can approve or veto a bill, he cannot write a bill. He can, however, "propose a bill, but a member of Congress must submit if for him (http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/president.html)."

Head of State

The President of the United States "serves as the American Head of State, meaning that he meets with the leaders of other countries and can make treaties with them. However, the Senate must approve any treaty before it becomes official (http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/president.html)."

It is the president's job to "appoint ambassadors, ministers, and consuls - subject to confirmation by the Senate - and receive foreign ambassadors and other public officials (http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/outusgov/ch3.htm)."

Chief of the Government

Among his other duties, the president is the supervisor of all government workers throughout the world. The President is responsible for nominating the "heads of all executive departments and agencies, together with hundreds of other high-ranking federal officials, including members of the Supreme Court (http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/outusgov/ch3.htm)," and these nominations must be confirmed by the Senate.

The president also has the power to "grant a full or conditional pardon to anyone convicted of breaking a federal law - except in a case of impeachment. The pardoning power has come to embrace the power to shorten prison terms and reduce fines (http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/outusgov/ch3.htm)."

Head of the Military

The president is the "official head of the United States military. He can authorize the use of troops overseas without declaring war. To officially declare war, though, he must get the approval of the Congress (http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/president.html)."

As the "commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, the president may also call into federal service the state units of the National Guard. In times of war or national emergency, the Congress may grant the president even broader powers to manage the national economy and protect the security of the United States (http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/outusgov/ch3.htm)."

An Elected Official

The President and Vice President of the United States hold a unique distinction, as they are the "only officials chosen by the entire country (http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/president.html)."

Anyone wishing to run for the Office of President of the United States must first meet specific requirements. An individual must "be at least 35 years old, must be a natural-born United States citizen, and have lived in the United States for at least 14 years (http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/president.html)."

Term of Office

An individual elected as President of the United States can only serve a maximum of two, four-year terms. This restriction known as the 22nd Amendment, was passed by Congress in 1951, after Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office after successfully being elected as president four times. Prior to this, while there was no limit on the number of terms, no other president had run for office more than two times.

The Vice President

During the constitutional convention in 1787, the "office of vice president was created. The Constitution, in Article II, section 1, provided: 'In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President...' (http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0403250-00&templatename=/article/article.html)." It was unclear if this meant the vice president would then become the President of the United States or just become an acting president until he or another candidate was elected to the office. When Vice President Tyler assumed the duties after the death of President Harrison, he asserted that since he had taken the presidential oath, he was in fact the President of the United States.

While this became the accepted rule, many feel this was not what the founding fathers actually meant when they drafted the Constitution. Research "established that the founding fathers had intended that the vice president serve only as acting president should the president die, and that the committee on style, in writing the Constitution, had introduced the ambiguity unintentionally (http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0403250-00&templatename=/article/article.html)."

Role of Vice President

The vice president has the important task of succeeding the president if he can no longer perform his duties. The vice president is the "presiding officer of the United States Senate -- in a government supposedly founded on the principle of the separation of powers (http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0403250-00&templatename=/article/article.html)."

The vice president is not allowed to "participate in Senate debate, and attempts to 'lobby' on Capitol Hill in behalf of the administration's programs may only antagonize the senators. In practice the vice president presides on ceremonial occasions and when Senate leaders expect a close vote, while on most other occasions senators take turns as presiding officer (http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0403250-00&templatename=/article/article.html)."

Growing Role

The vice president serves as a member of the "National Security Council, and has attended meetings of the president's cabinet since 1933. By executive order the vice president serves on the Domestic Council, which formulates policy recommendations for the president. Since the 1940s the office has grown as presidents have assigned other substantive tasks to their vice presidents (http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0403250-00&templatename=/article/article.html)."