The U.S. Presidency

The U.S. Presidency — page 3 — INTRODUCTION George Washington said that when he became the ﬁrst president of the United States he felt like a culprit who is going to his place of execution THE U S PRESIDENCY On leaving office Thomas Jefferson said Never did a prisoner re leased from his chains feel such relief as I shall on shaking off the shackles of power Today a president never drives his own car His kids must have people guarding them in school He can’t even get a pay raise Who’d want a job like that Many people And they organize thousands of workers and raise millions of dollars to try to get elect ed That’s because the president has the power to make and change history He or she if a woman ever gets elected is one of the most influential people on Earth The job created by the people is the only one in the world with the title Leader of the Free World 4

The U.S. Presidency — page 4 — Washington was the unanimous choice of the electoral college for both of his terms

The U.S. Presidency — page 5 — PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS AS OUTLINED IN ARTICLE II OF THE CONSTITUTION L A R U T A N A E B N E Z I T I C N R O B E H T F O S E T A T S D E T I N U HAVE BEEN A RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE PAST 14 YEARS BE AT LEAST 35 YEARS OLD

The U.S. Presidency — page 6 — CHAPTER NO_ 1 STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS THE U S PRESIDENCY B efore 1787 no one had ever heard of a government be ing led by a president Kings and queens were com mon around the world then But the founders of the U S had just fought and won a war to escape the pow er of King George III of England They thought he had used his powers unfairly demanding taxes without their representation They wanted to make their own laws And they wanted a leader they would choose for themselves It was a radical idea for its time When 39 leaders signed the Constitution the document or ganizing the U S government they didn’t seem to know exactly what they wanted the head of the government to be or even do They started with the duties of Congress in Article I But they didn’t deal with the presidency until Article II That suggests to some constitutional scholars that the founders were more 7

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