Every four years, the United States of America holds an election to elect the president.
What kind of position is the president?
How was the office of president created?
The Founding Fathers established the role of president in Article II, Section 1 of the
Constitution.
The first clause of this section reads “The Executive Power shall be vested in a President
of the United States of America”.
Initially, those attending the constitutional convention were divided about the issue of
a chief executive.
Some felt that the chief executive should be more powerful.
Others believed that such a position should be weak, with the real power being in the
hands of the legislature.
They were of the opinion that a strong chief executive might eventually become a king,
or wield king-like authority.
Still others at the convention felt there should be no chief executive at all.
Ultimately, it was decided that a president was necessary.
The president is elected to a four year term.
This is also stated in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution.
However, Article II did not state how many terms the president could serve.
The first president, George Washington, only served two terms.
For years, this was an established custom.
It was not until the ratification of the 22nd Amendment in 1951 that the two-term limit
officially became a part of the Constitution.
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 states the qualifications that must be met in order to
become president.
The only qualifications stated are that the individual must be at least 35 years of age,
a natural-born citizen of the United States (meaning he or she was born in the United
States), and must have been a resident of the United States for at least fourteen years.
The powers of the president are stated within the Constitution.
In Article I, Section 7, it is stated that Congress must present a bill it has passed
to the president, who must sign it into law, or veto it.
If the president does not sign the bill within ten days, it automatically becomes law.
If Congress adjourns before the conclusion of those ten days, then the bill does not
become law.
This is known as a pocket-veto.
Most of the powers of the president are laid out in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.
Serving as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces is one of the primary
roles of the president.
The president is also given the authority to make treaties with foreign nations, and
appoint ambassadors, judges, and other government officials to their positions.
However, these appointments must be approved by the Senate.
Article II, Section 3 also defines some of the responsibilities of the president.
Amongst these responsibilities is informing Congress on the “state of the Union” from
time to time.
While the Constitution does not specifically state how this is to be done, it has traditionally
been delivered in the form of the “State of the Union Address” which the president
delivers in front of a joint-session of Congress, once a year.
Additionally, Article II, Section 3 states that the president may make recommendations
to Congress, regarding the types of legislation they should consider passing.
The president was also given the authority to call an emergency session of Congress,
if Congress were not in session when a particular need arose.
Although, in the modern era, Congress meets year-round, and the last time this power was
used was in 1948.
Article II, Section 3 also includes a clause known as the “faithful execution clause”.
It states that the president must “take care that the laws will be faithfully executed”.
This means that the president must ensure that every law passed by Congress is executed
and upheld, even if he or she disagrees with the law.
The president cannot refuse to enforce a law, nor may he or she suspend an existing law.
These are not the only powers, duties, and responsibilities of the president.
There are many others that have developed throughout the history of the nation.
However, these are the responsibilities of the president, as laid out by the Founding
Fathers in the Constitution.