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The president and vice president are the only leaders elected by the entire nation.
Office of the President
SS.7.C.3.3, SS.7.C.3.8, LA.7.1.6.1, LA.7.1.7.3
How does a citizen become president?
Would you want to be a U.S. president some day? You would have great power—and heavy responsibility. The president
heads the executive branch of the national government. He or she bears the chief burden for protecting the nation and its
more than 310 million people. Many Americans look to the president as the person to take the lead in solving the nation’s
problems. Because of the power and global influence of the United States, the president may hold the most important job in
the world.
The U.S. Constitution lists only three rules for being president. A president must be at least 35 years old. He or she must be a
native­born American citizen. He or she must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.
Characteristics of Presidents
Almost all our presidents have shared similar characteristics, or features. So far, each has been male. All but one have been
Protestant Christians. Most have had a college education. Many were lawyers. Most came from states with large populations.
In the past 60 years, a wider group of Americans have had a chance to be elected to the nation’s highest offices. In 1960,
John F. Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic elected as president. In 2008, Barack Obama became the first African
American to be elected president. In addition, two women have run for vice president on a major­party ticket. They were
Geraldine Ferraro, who ran as a Democrat in 1984, and Sarah Palin, who ran as a Republican in 2008. Neither Ferraro nor
Palin was elected. In 2000 Joseph Lieberman was the first Jewish candidate for vice president. Lieberman also lost.
Electing a President
Every four years, the nation elects a president. The elections take place in years that can be divided by the number four. For
example, 2004, 2008, and 2012 are all election years.
It may surprise you to learn that the president is not chosen directly by voters. Instead, he or she is elected by a group called
the Electoral College. Each state and the District of Columbia have a certain number of electors. The number of electoral
votes is equal to the total number of senators and representatives a state has. The District of Columbia also has three of
them. As a result, there are 538 members of the Electoral College.
The method for selecting electors varies. In most states, the political parties nominate electors at their state party conventions
or by committee. Electors almost always vote for their party’s candidate. On the day of the general election in November, the
voters in each state choose the electors. In some states, the ballot displays, or shows, electors’ names below the name of
the candidates running for president. In other states, only the names of the candidates appear. A vote for the candidate is
really a vote for the electors. The electors actually elect the president.
Most states give their electoral votes using a rule of “winner­take­all.” In this method, the candidate who wins the most
popular votes in the state gets all of its electoral votes. This is true even if the candidate wins by only a small margin. As a
result, a change in a small number of votes can make a big difference. In the election of 2000, for instance, one candidate or
the other won six states by fewer than 10,000 votes each. Two of those states, worth 30 electoral votes, were won by fewer
than 600 votes.
To win the election, a candidate must win more than half of the 538 electoral votes. This means the winner must have at least
270 votes. In a very close election, a few small states can decide the outcome, or result. The 2000 election was won by
Republican George W. Bush by only five electoral votes. A different result in any one of 13 states with 10 electoral votes or
fewer would have changed the outcome of the election.
It is possible for no candidate to win a majority of electoral votes. In that case, the House of Representatives chooses the
president. This has happened twice in history—in 1800 and in 1824. If the House votes, each state has only one vote.
The winning candidate is usually known on the same evening that the popular election takes place. However, the result is
not official until the Electoral College votes. That does not take place until December. The electors meet in each state capital
to cast their ballots. The following January, Congress counts the electoral votes. At that time, a candidate is officially declared
winner of the election.
Term of Office
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Presidents serve four­year terms. At first, the Constitution did not limit the number of terms a president could serve. The
nation’s first president, George Washington, served for two terms. He then refused to run for a third term. Following this
example, no president served more than two terms until 1940.
In 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt broke with tradition to run for a third term. He won that year and again in 1944. Some people
worried that a person could hold too much power if there were no term limits. That concern led to the Twenty­second
Amendment in 1951. It limits a president to two elected terms in office. However, a person may serve almost 10 years if he or
she becomes president with less than two years remaining in the term of the previous president.
Salary and Benefits
The president is paid $400,000 per year. He or she also receives some money for personal costs and for travel. The
president lives and works in the White House. A staff of more than 80 people takes care of the president’s family.
The president has use of Camp David. This is an estate in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. The complex is about 60
miles northwest of Washington, D.C. Presidents travel with a fleet of special cars, helicopters, and airplanes. For long trips,
the president uses Air Force One, a specially equipped jet.
The Vice President
The vice president is elected with the president. He or she is also chosen by the Electoral College. The rules for becoming
vice president are the same as those for the presidency.
The Constitution gives little power to the vice president. Article I states that the vice president shall preside over, or oversee,
the Senate. It also says that the vice president can vote in that body in case of a tie. Finally, the vice president becomes
president if the president dies, is removed from office, falls seriously ill, or resigns.
Identifying How many votes are needed to win in the Electoral College?
To win the election, a candidate must win more than half of the Florida CONNECTION
Florida’s Electoral Votes
Florida, with a population of 18,537,969, has 27 electoral votes. That tally ranks it fourth among states.
Presidential Succession
SS.7.C.3.3, SS.7.C.3.8
What happens if the president must step down from office?
In 1841 William Henry Harrison became the first president to die in office. His death raised many questions. The Constitution
says that the vice president should take on the “powers and duties” of the presidency. But no one was sure what that meant.
Should the vice president remain as vice president but do the president’s job? Should the vice president become president?
Should a special election be called to elect a new president?
Vice President John Tyler settled these questions. He declared himself president and took the oath of office. Then he served
out the rest of Harrison’s term. Since Tyler’s time, eight other vice presidents have taken over the presidency after a
president has either died or resigned.
The Presidential Succession Act
In 1947, Congress passed the Presidential Succession Act. It lists the line of succession after the vice president. A line of
succession is the order in which officials are expected to succeed, or come next, to an office. The chart shows the current line
of succession.
The Twenty­fifth Amendment
Other questions about presidential succession were answered by the Twenty­fifth Amendment. It was ratified in 1967. The
Twenty­fifth Amendment makes it clear that if the president dies or leaves office, the vice president becomes president. It
goes further, though. In the past, when a vice president became president, the office of vice president was left empty. This
amendment changed that. It said that the new president should choose a new vice president with the help of Congress. The
process has two steps. First, the new president names someone to the office. Second, both the Senate and the House of
Representatives must then vote to approve this choice.
This part of the Twenty­fifth Amendment has been used twice. In 1973 Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned. President
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Richard Nixon named Gerald Ford of Michigan to replace him. Congress approved the choice, and Ford became vice
president. The next year, Nixon resigned from office, making Ford president. That left the vice presidency vacant again. Ford
named Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York to be his vice president. He, too, was approved by the House and the Senate.
The Twenty­fifth Amendment made another important change. It gives the vice president a role in deciding whether a
president is disabled and cannot do the job. If that occurs, the vice president serves as acting president until the president is
able to go back to work. This feature has been used once in history. In 1985 President Ronald Reagan needed to have
some surgery. Before he did, he told Congress that he would be unable to carry out his duties during the surgery. As a result,
Vice President George H. W. Bush served as acting president for about eight hours.
Summarizing What problem with the vice presidency was the Twenty­fifth Amendment meant to solve?
The 25 Amendment was established to fill the presidential spot Why It MATTERS
Successsion Rules
Sometimes leaders in government or other organizations leave office unexpectedly. Succession rules help to keep order. If you belong to any clubs or organizations, find out of they have an established order of succession.
LESSON 1 REVIEW
Review Vocabulary
1. Write a sentence that explains the role of electors in choosing the president.
Each state and the District of Columbia have a LA.7.1.6.1
Answer the Guiding Questions
2. Explaining What three requirements must a person meet to become president or vice president of the United States?
The U.S. Constitution lists only three rules SS.7.C.3.3
3. Summarizing What role is given to the vice president in the constitution?
The Constitution gives little power to the vice SS.7.C.3.3
4. Speculating For what reasons might the Twenty­fifth Amendment be used to replace a president?
Other questions about presidential succession were SS.7.C.3.8
5. EXPOSITORY WRITING Which characteristic do you think is most important in a president? Is it the president's profession,
education, religion, or some other characteristic? Explain your reasoning in a paragraph.
education.
I think that the most important SS.7.C.3.8
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