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noun. definition 1: an officer elected to lead a group or organization. I worked hard as president of our book club. definition 2: (often capitalized) the head of a government that takes the form of a republic. France elects a new president every five years. related words: head, leader.
From the Nat Geo Kids books Our Country's Presidents by Ann Bausum and Weird But True Know-It-All: U.S. Presidents by Brianna Dumont, revised for digital by Laura Goertzel. Find out how the...
- History and Development
- Legislative Powers
- Executive Powers
- Leadership Roles
- Selection Process
- Incumbency
- Post-Presidency
- Political Affiliation
- Timeline of Presidents
Origins
During the American Revolutionary War, the Thirteen Colonies, represented by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, declared themselves to be independent sovereign states and no longer under British rule. The affirmation was made in the Declaration of Independence, which was written predominantly by Thomas Jefferson and adopted unanimously on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress. Recognizing the necessity of closely coordinating their efforts against the British, the Con...
1789–1933
As the nation's first president, George Washington established many norms that would come to define the office. His decision to retire after two terms helped address fears that the nation would devolve into monarchy, and established a precedent that would not be broken until 1940 and would eventually be made permanent by the Twenty-Second Amendment. By the end of his presidency, political parties had developed, with John Adams defeating Thomas Jefferson in 1796, the first truly contested pres...
Imperial presidency
The ascendancy of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 led further toward what historians now describe as the Imperial presidency. Backed by enormous Democratic majorities in Congress and public support for major change, Roosevelt's New Deal dramatically increased the size and scope of the federal government, including more executive agencies. The traditionally small presidential staff was greatly expanded, with the Executive Office of the President being created in 1939, none of whom require Senate...
Article I, Section1 of the Constitution vests all lawmaking power in Congress's hands, and Article 1, Section 6, Clause2 prevents the president (and all other executive branch officers) from simultaneously being a member of Congress. Nevertheless, the modern presidency exerts significant power over legislation, both due to constitutional provisions...
The president is head of the executive branch of the federal government and is constitutionally obligatedto "take care that the laws be faithfully executed". The executive branch has over four million employees, including the military.
Head of state
As head of state, the president represents the United States government to its own people and represents the nation to the rest of the world. For example, during a state visit by a foreign head of state, the president typically hosts a State Arrival Ceremony held on the South Lawn, a custom begun by John F. Kennedy in 1961. This is followed by a state dinner given by the president which is held in the State Dining Roomlater in the evening. As a national leader, the president also fulfills man...
Head of party
The president is typically considered to be the head of their political party. Since the entire House of Representatives and at least one-third of the Senate is elected simultaneously with the president, candidates from a political party inevitably have their electoral success intertwined with the performance of the party's presidential candidate. The coattail effect, or lack thereof, will also often impact a party's candidates at state and local levels of government as well. However, there a...
Global leader
With the rise of the United States as a superpower in the 20th century, and the United States having the world's largest economy into the 21st century, the president is typically viewed as a global leader, and at times the world's most powerful political figure. The position of the United States as the leading member of NATO, and the country's strong relationships with other wealthy or democratic nations like those comprising the European Union, have led to the moniker that the president is t...
Eligibility
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5of the Constitution sets three qualifications for holding the presidency. To serve as president, one must: 1. be a natural-born citizen of the United States; 2. be at least 35 years old; 3. be a resident in the United States for at least 14 years. A person who meets the above qualifications would, however, still be disqualified from holding the office of president under any of the following conditions: 1. Under Article I, Section 3, Clause 7, having been impeach...
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 before their national nominating conventions, where the most successful candidate is made the party's presidential nominee. Typically, the party's presidential candidate chooses a vice presidential nominee, and this choice is rubber-stamped by the convention. The most common previous profession of presidents is lawyer. Nominees participate in nationa...
Election
The president is elected indirectly by the voters of each state and the District of Columbia through the Electoral College, a body of electors formed every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president to concurrent four-year terms. As prescribed by Article II, Section 1, Clause 2, each state is entitled to a number of electors equal to the size of its total delegation in both houses of Congress. Additionally, the Twenty-third Amendment provides that the Distric...
Term limit
When the first president, George Washington, announced in his Farewell Address that he was not running for a third term, he established a "two terms then out" precedent. Precedent became tradition after Thomas Jefferson publicly embraced the principle a decade later during his second term, as did his two immediate successors, James Madison and James Monroe. In spite of the strong two-term tradition, Ulysses S. Grantsought nomination at the 1880 Republican National Convention for a non-consecu...
Vacancies and succession
Under Section1 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, ratified in 1967, the vice president becomes president upon the removal from office, death, or resignation of the president. Deaths have occurred a number of times, resignation has occurred only once, and removal from office has never occurred. Before the ratification of the Twenty-fifth amendment (which clarified the matter of succession), Article II, Section 1, Clause 6, stated only that the vice president assumes the "powers and duties" of the...
Declarations of inability
Under the Twenty-fifth Amendment, the president may temporarily transfer the presidential powers and duties to the vice president, who then becomes acting president, by transmitting to the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate a statement that he is unable to discharge his duties. The president resumes his or her powers upon transmitting a second declaration stating that he is again able. The mechanism has been used by Ronald Reagan (once), George W. Bush (twice), a...
Activities
Some former presidents have had significant careers after leaving office. Prominent examples include William Howard Taft's tenure as chief justice of the United States and Herbert Hoover's work on government reorganization after World War II. Grover Cleveland, whose bid for reelection failed in 1888, was elected president again four years later in 1892. Two former presidents served in Congress after leaving the White House: John Quincy Adams was elected to the House of Representatives, servin...
Pension and other benefits
The Former Presidents Act (FPA), enacted in 1958, grants lifetime benefits to former presidents and their widows, including a monthly pension, medical care in military facilities, health insurance, and Secret Service protection; also provided is funding for a certain number of staff and for office expenses. The act has been amended several times to provide increases in presidential pensions and in the allowances for office staff. The FPA excludes any president who was removed from office by i...
Presidential libraries
Every president since Herbert Hoover has created a repository known as a presidential library for preserving and making available his papers, records, and other documents and materials. Completed libraries are deeded to and maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration(NARA); the initial funding for building and equipping each library must come from private, non-federal sources. There are currently thirteen presidential libraries in the NARA system. There are also presidentia...
Political parties have dominated American politics for most of the nation's history. Though the Founding Fathers generally spurned political parties as divisive and disruptive, and their rise had not been anticipated when the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787, organized political parties developed in the U.S. in the mid-1790s nonetheless. They ...
The following timelinedepicts the progression of the presidents and their political affiliation at the time of assuming office.
A president is the head of government in countries with a presidential system of rule. This system is used in the United States and countries in Africa and Latin America, where the president assumes great powers and responsibilities.
The president is the head honcho of the USA government, basically. He is the spokesperson of the country, the signer of bills and laws, and the decider of various movements within the other branches of government. As of 2020, the current President of the United States is Joe Biden!
Explore the roles, duties, and responsibilities of the U.S. President. Discover how presidents are elected, their leadership of the executive branch, their duty to meet with foreign diplomats,...
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Joe Biden is the 46th and current president of the United States, in office since January 2021.
