Presidency in the USA

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I. background information:
The President is the head of the executive branch and plays a large role in
making America’s laws. 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. If he agrees
with the law, he signs it and the law goes into effect.
If the President does not like a bill, he can refuse to sign it. When he does this,
it is called a veto. If the President vetoes a bill, it will most likely never become a
law. Congress can override a veto, but to do so two-thirds of the Members of
Congress must vote against the President.
Despite all of his power, the President cannot write bills. He can propose a bill,
but a member of Congress must submit it for him.
In addition to playing a key role in the lawmaking process, the President has
several duties. He 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.
The President is also the Chief of the Government. That means that he is
technically the boss of every government worker.
Also, the President is the official head of the U.S. 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.
The President and the Vice-President are the only officials chosen by the entire
country. Not just anyone can be President, though. In order to be elected, one must be
at least 35 years old. Also, each candidate must be a natural-born U.S. citizen and
have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years. When elected, the President serves a term
of four years. The most one President can serve is two terms, for a total of eight
years.
Before 1951, the President could serve for as many terms as he wanted.
However, no one had tried. After two terms as President, George Washington chose
not to run again. All other Presidents followed his example until Franklin D.
Roosevelt. Roosevelt successfully ran for office four times. Early in his fourth term,
he died, in 1945. Six years later, Congress passed the 22nd Amendment, which limits
Presidents to two terms.
II. selection process
1. Eligibility
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution sets the principal
qualifications one must meet to be eligible to the office of president. A president
must:
  be a natural born citizen of the United States
 be at least thirty-five years old;
 have been a permanent resident in the United States for at least fourteen
years.
A person who meets the above qualifications is still disqualified from holding
the office of president under any of the following conditions:
Under the Twenty-second Amendment, no eligible person can be elected
president more than twice. The Twenty-second Amendment also specifies that if any
eligible person who serves as president or acting president for more than two years of
a term for which some other eligible person was elected president, the former can
only be elected president once. Scholars disagree whether anyone no longer eligible
to be elected president could be elected vice president, pursuant to the qualifications
set out under the Twelfth Amendment.
Under Article I, Section 3, Clause 7, upon conviction in impeachment cases the
Senate has the option of disqualifying convicted individuals from holding other
federal offices, including the Presidency.
Under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Constitution prohibits an
otherwise eligible person from becoming president if that person swore an oath to
support the Constitution, and later rebelled against the United States. However, the
Congress, by a two-thirds vote of each house, can remove the disqualification.
2. Campaigns and nomination
The modern presidential campaign begins before the primary elections, which
the two major political parties use to clear the field of candidates in advance of their
national nominating conventions, where the most successful candidate is made the
party's nominee for president. Typically, the party's presidential candidate chooses a
vice presidential nominee, and this choice is rubber-stamped by the convention.
Nominees participate in nationally televised debates, and while the debates are
usually restricted to the Democratic and Republican nominees, third party candidates
may be invited, such as Ross Perot in the 1992 debates. Nominees campaign across
the country to explain their views, convince voters and solicit contributions. Much of
the modern electoral process is concerned with winning swing states through frequent
visits and mass media advertising drives.
3. Election and oath
Presidents are elected indirectly in the United States. A number of electors,
collectively known as the Electoral College, officially select the president. On
Election Day, voters in each of the states and the District of Columbia cast ballots for
these electors. Each state is allocated a number of electors, equal to the size of its
delegation in both Houses of Congress combined. Generally, the ticket that wins the
most votes in a state wins all of that state's electoral votes and thus has its slate of
electors chosen to vote in the Electoral College.
 The winning slate of electors meet at its state's capital on the first Monday after
the second Wednesday in December, about six weeks after the election, to vote. They
then send a record of that vote to Congress. The vote of the electors is opened by the
sitting vice president, acting in his capacity as President of the Senate and read aloud
to a joint session of the incoming congress, which was elected at the same time as the
president.
Pursuant to the Twentieth Amendment, the president's term of office begins at
noon on January 20 of the year following the election. This date, known as
Inauguration Day, marks the beginning of the four-year terms of both the president
and the vice president. Before executing the powers of the office, a president is
constitutionally required to take the presidential oath:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of
President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect
and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Although not required, presidents have traditionally used a Bible to take oath
of office and suffixed "So help me God!" to the end of the oath. Further, though no
law requires that the oath of office be administered by any specific person, presidents
are traditionally sworn in by the Chief Justice of the United States.
4. Tenure and term limits
The term of office for president and vice president is four years. George
Washington, the first president, set an unofficial precedent of serving only two terms,
which subsequent presidents followed until 1940. Before Franklin D. Roosevelt,
attempts at a third term were encouraged by supporters of Ulysses S. Grant and
Theodore Roosevelt; neither of these attempts succeeded. In 1940, Franklin
Roosevelt declined to seek a third term, but allowed his political party to "draft" him
as their presidential candidate and was subsequently elected to a third term. In 1941,
the U.S. became involved in World War II, which later led voters to elect Roosevelt
to a fourth term in 1944.
After the war, and in response to Roosevelt's shattering of precedent, the
Twenty-second Amendment was adopted. The amendment bars anyone from being
elected president more than twice, or once if that person served more than half of
another president's term. Harry S. Truman, who was president when the amendment
was adopted, and so by the amendment's provisions exempt from its limitation, also
briefly sought a third (a second full) term before withdrawing from the 1952 election.
Since the amendment's adoption, four presidents have served two full terms:
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Jimmy
Carter and George H. W. Bush sought a second term, but were defeated. Richard
Nixon was elected to a second term, but resigned before completing it. Lyndon B.
Johnson was the only president under the amendment to be eligible to serve more
than two terms in total, having served for only fourteen months following John F.
Kennedy's assassination. However, Johnson withdrew from the 1968 Democratic
Primary, surprising many Americans by stating, "I shall not seek, and I will not
accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." Gerald Ford
sought a full term, after serving out the last two years and five months of Nixon's
second term, but was not elected.
5. Vacancy or disability
Vacancies in the office of president may arise under several possible
circumstances: death, resignation and removal from office.
Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution allows the House of Representatives to
impeach high federal officials, including the president, for "treason, bribery, or other
high crimes and misdemeanors." Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 gives the Senate the
power to remove impeached officials from office, given a two-thirds vote to convict.
The House has thus far impeached two presidents: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill
Clinton in 1998. Neither was subsequently convicted by the Senate; however,
Johnson was acquitted by just one vote.
Under Section 3 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, the president may transfer
the presidential powers and duties to the vice president, who then becomes acting
president, by transmitting a statement to the Speaker of the House and the president
pro tempore of the Senate stating the reasons for the transfer. The president resumes
the discharge of the presidential powers and duties when he transmits, to those two
officials, a written declaration stating that resumption. This transfer of power may
occur for any reason the president considers appropriate; in 2002 and again in 2007,
President George W. Bush briefly transferred presidential authority to Vice President
Dick Cheney. In both cases, this was done to accommodate a medical procedure
which required Bush to be sedated; both times, Bush returned to duty later the same
day.
Under Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, the vice president and a
majority of the Cabinet may transfer the presidential powers and duties from the
president to the vice president once they transmit a written declaration to the Speaker
of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate that the president is unable
to discharge the presidential powers and duties. If this occurs, then the vice president
will assume the presidential powers and duties as acting president; however, the
president can declare that no such inability exists and resume the discharge of the
presidential powers and duties. If the vice president and cabinet contest this claim, it
is up to Congress, which must meet within two days if not already in session, to
decide the merit of the claim.
The United States Constitution mentions the resignation of the president but
does not regulate the form of such a resignation or the conditions for its validity.
Pursuant to federal law, the only valid evidence of the president's resignation is a
written instrument to that effect, signed by the president and delivered to the office of
the Secretary of State. On August 9, 1974, facing likely impeachment in the midst of
the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon became the only president ever to resign from
office.
The Constitution states that the vice president becomes president upon the
removal from office, death or resignation of the preceding president. If the offices of
president and vice president both are either vacant or have a disabled holder of that
office, the next officer in the presidential line of succession, the Speaker of the
House, becomes acting president. The line then extends to the president pro tempore
of the Senate, followed by every member of the cabinet in a set order.
III. famous presidents
1. Reasons for choosing:
Abraham lincohn is the most well-liked president in the United States chosen
by many prestigious newspapers and historical researches all over the world.
A great President must be viewed as person who has achieved success in the
office they hold. That includes effective implementation of policies which are clearly
expressed prior to election and that are in the interests of the people who elected
them. This is the very foundation of Democracy within the United States and was
defined by Abraham Lincoln as “government of the people, by the people, for the
people”.
Throughout his presidency Lincoln never wavered in adherence to the principles he
firmly believed in though he adapted and changed policies in the face of changing
circumstances and experience to obtain his goals.
It can truly be said that Lincoln was directly responsible for the maintenance of the
Union of the States which he passionately believed was essential to the continuance
of the American nation. He left the nation a more perfect Union by ensuring that
Federal authority superceded State sovereignty. But he also changed the course of
American history, being remembered best for his introduction of the Emancipation
Proclamation which freed all slaves within the Confederacy and changed the civil
war from a battle to preserve the Union into a battle for freedom. He is also
remembered for his great ability at oratory and the 13th amendment to the U.S.
Constitution.
However, to be “the greatest” President requires a depth of measurement not possible
from the achievements of office alone.
Franklin Roosevelt has every reason to be proud of being the most honorable
president in the history of the United States. He inherited the incomparable leadership
qualities of his ancestor Theodore Roosevelt, who had been the 26th President of the
United States. During his twelve years as president – the unmatched record, he has
established an unusually close rapport with American people. He was also a man of
nothing is impossible since he brought the best in himself even paralysis struck him.
His image- a bright-eyed and astute politician confined to a wheel chair but still
served as the commander in chief an a global strategist during the ghastly World War
2 has compelled admiration from people from all around the world. Thanks to his
ebullient personality, far-sighted vision as well as his prodigious talent, Roosevelt
grasped America’s predominant role in world affairs and helped the country to accept
its new international responsibilities. British philosopher noted He was one of the few
statesmen in the 20th century or any century who seemed to have no fear of the future.

2. Abraham Lincoln :
a. Biography
He was born on February 12, 1809, near Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.—died
April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.). He was 16th president of the United States
(1861–65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought
about the emancipation of the slaves.
Among American heroes, Lincoln continues to have a unique appeal for his
fellow countrymen and also for people of other lands. This charm derives from his
remarkable life story—the rise from humble origins, the dramatic death—and from
his distinctively human and humane personality as well as from his historical role as
savior of the Union and emancipator of the slaves. His relevance endures and grows
especially because of his eloquence as a spokesman for democracy. In his view, the
Union was worth saving not only for its own sake but because it embodied an ideal,
the ideal of self-government. In recent years, the political side to Lincoln's character,
and his racial views in particular, have come under close scrutiny, as scholars
continue to find him a rich subject for research. The Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D.C., was dedicated to him on May 30, 1922.
b. Political career
In 1854, Illinois senator Stephen Douglas pushed his controversial Kansas-
Nebraska bill through Congress. Lincoln was quickly returned to the Illinois State
legislature as an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery.
In 1855 he was narrowly defeated as a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Lincoln
remained loyal to his old party ties down to the last moment, but as the Whigs
collapsed as an effective political party, Lincoln threw in his lot with the newly
emerging antislavery Republicans.
In 1858, the Republicans named Lincoln as their nominee for the Senate to
oppose Stephen Douglas. Lincoln was ready to make the most of his opportunity--he
challenged his well-known opponent to a series of debates, and the 2 men met 7 times
in various Illinois towns. In these justly celebrated debates, they spoke (without a
microphone, of course) to crowds of up to 15,000 and explored the issues with a
depth and seriousness unknown in any of our modern televised "debates." In the final
balloting, Lincoln actually outpolled Douglas. Though exhausted from his campaign,
and disappointed at the outcome, Lincoln emerged from his defeat with political
prospects brighter than ever.
While publicly denying that he was qualified for the Presidency, Lincoln
departed on an extended speaking tour of the Midwest and Northeast, designed to
advertise his "availability." As the Republican convention of 1860 approached, party
leaders in ever increasing numbers began taking a serious look at "Honest Abe" of
Illinois. As Republican chieftain Jesse Fell saw the situation in 1858: "What the
Republican party wants, to insure success in 1860, is a man of popular origin, of
acknowledged ability, committed against slavery aggressions, who has no record to
defend, and no radicalism of an offensive character." Abraham Lincoln fit the bill
perfectly.

c. Major contributions
1. Abraham Lincoln made the decision to fight to prevent the nation from splitting
apart.

2. He was an unfaltering commander in chief during the Civil War which preserved
the United States as one nation.

3. Abraham Lincoln's foreign policy was successful in preventing other countries

from intervening in America's Civil War.

4. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation which began the process of freedom for
America's slaves. The document also allowed black soldiers to fight for the Union.

5. He was a strong supporter of the Thirteenth Amendment that formally ended

slavery in the United States.

6. Legislation Abraham Lincoln signed into law included the Homestead Act, the
Morrill Act, the National Banking Act, and a bill that chartered the first
transcontinental railroad.

7. He set an example of strong character, leadership, and honesty which succeeding

presidents tried to emulate. Barack Obama is the latest to look to Lincoln as a model.

8. He gave a series of great speeches before and during his presidency including the
House Divided Speech, the Cooper Union Address, the First Inaugural Address, the
Gettysburg Address, and the Second Inaugural Address.

9. He wrote a series of famous letters including the letters to Grace Bedell, Horace
Greeley, Fanny McCullough, and Lydia Bixby.

10. Abraham Lincoln's quotes are among the most famous quotes in the world.

3. Franklin Roosevelt
a. Biography
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a distant cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, was
born in Hyde Park, New York on 30th January, 1882. The Roosevelts were a wealthy
family and was educated by home tutors until attending Groton School at 14. He was
a successful student and did well at Harvard University and Columbia Law Schools,
before being admitted to the New York bar in 1907.

In 1905 Franklin married his cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt. Her father, Elliott
Roosevelt, was the brother of Theodore Roosevelt, president of the United States
(1901-1909). Like her husband, Eleanor was a Democrat and took a strong interest in
politics.

b. Political Career
In 1910 Roosevelt was elected to the New York Senate. Frances Perkins was
one of those who was not impressed by his activities during this period.

Roosevelt upset the party bosses by supporting a rebel Democrat as New

York's senator. Roosevelt's dissent group received a lot of publicity and he became a
well known figure in New York politics. Roosevelt's abilities were brought to the
attention of President Woodrow Wilson and in 1913 he appointed him as assistant
secretary of the navy, a post he held for the next six years.

By the time the United States had entered the First World War in 1917,
Roosevelt had the country's naval plants and yards working efficiently. During the
war he helped to devise the plans for the battle of the North Sea which broke the
effectiveness of German U-boat warfare.

Roosevelt attended the Paris Peace Conference but was highly critical of the
Versailles Treaty. He believed the "the effort to make the world safe for democracy
had resulted in making the world safe for the old empires".
 In 1920 the Democrat candidate for president, James Cox, selected Roosevelt
as his running-mate. The Republican, Warren Harding, won the election by a wide
margin. However, Roosevelt was considered by many to have been an effective
campaigner and was picked out as a future president.

In the summer of 1921, Roosevelt became seriously ill. He was eventually

diagnosed as suffering from poliomyelitis. He was almost totally paralyzed and he
was never again to recover full use of his legs. Frances Perkins believed that this
illness changed Roosevelt's personality and in doing so, made him into a better man.

Although confined to a wheelchair, Roosevelt returned to politics in 1928 to

help his friend, Alfred Smith, in his unsuccessful attempt to beat Herbert Hoover in
the presidential election. The following year Roosevelt was elected as governor of
New York.

The Wall Street Crash in October 1929, created the worst depression in
American history. President Hoover vetoed a bill that would have created a federal
unemployment agency and also opposed a plan to create a public works program.

As governor of New York, Roosevelt set up the New York State Emergency
Relief Commission and appointed the respected Harry Hopkins to run the agency.
And Frances Perkins was recruited to the team as state industrial commissioner. With
the help of Hopkins and Perkins, Roosevelt introduced help for the unemployed and
those too old to work.

Roosevelt was seen as great success as governor of New York and he was the
obvious choice as the Democratic presidential candidate in 1932. Although Roosevelt
was vague about what he would do about the economic depression, he easily beat his
unpopular Republican rival, Herbert Hoover.

Before taking office Roosevelt attended a rally at Belmont Park in Miami with
his friend Anton Cermak, the mayor of Chicago. An Italian immigrant, Guiseppe
Zangara, fired five shots at Roosevelt. They all missed the president but one hit
Cermak in the stomach. Cermak died three weeks later.

Roosevelt's first act as president was to deal with the country's banking crisis.
The day after taking office as president, Roosevelt ordered all banks to close. He then
asked Congress to pass legislation which would guarantee that savers would not lose
their money if there was another financial crisis.
 On 9th March 1933, Roosevelt called a special session of Congress. For the
next three months, Roosevelt proposed, and Congress passed, a series of important
bills that attempted to deal with the problem of unemployment. The special session of
Congress became known as the Hundred Days and provided the basis for Roosevelt's
New Deal.

The government employed people to carry out a range of different tasks. These
projects included the Works Projects Administration (WPA), the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC), the National Youth Administration (NYA), the National
Recovery Act (NRA) and the Public Works Administration (PWA). As well as trying
to reduce unemployment, Roosevelt also attempted to reduce the misery for those
who were unable to work. One of the bodies Roosevelt formed was the Federal
Emergency Relief Administration which provided federal money to help those in
desperate need.

Other legislation passed by Roosevelt included the Agricultural Adjustment

Act (1933), National Housing Act (1934), the Federal Securities Act (1934). In
August 1935 the Social Security Act was passed. This act set up a national system of
old age pensions and co-ordinated federal and state action for the relief of the
unemployed.

In 1935 attempts were made to persuade Roosevelt to support the Costigan-

Wagner Bill. However, Roosevelt refused to speak out in favor of the bill. He argued
that the white voters in the South would never forgive him if he supported the bill and
he would therefore lose the next election.

During the 1936 presidential election, Roosevelt was attacked for not keeping
his promise to balance the budget. However, the New Deal was extremely popular
with the electorate and Roosevelt easily defeated the Republican Party candidate,
Alfred M. Landon.

The accusation that Roosevelt was becoming too powerful became more
common after it was announced that he intended to stand for a third term. Roosevelt
therefore became the first person to break the unwritten rule that presidents do not
stand for more than two-terms in succession.

In 1940, Wendell Willkie, the presidential candidate of the Republican

Party,attacked the New Deal as being inefficient and wasteful. Although he did better
than expected, Franklin D. Roosevelt beat him.
 When the Second World War started he modified America's neutrality to favor
the allies before the country was brought into the conflict by Japan's attack on Pearl
Harbor. Elected president for the fourth time in 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt died
three weeks before Germany surrendered on 7th May, 1945.

After his death, Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, and their two sons, James
Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt Jr. were active in politics.

d. Some famous quotations

“I call for effort, courage, sacrifice, devotion. Granting the love of freedom,
all of these are possible. And the love of freedom is still fierce and steady in the
nation today.” (June 10, 1940)