Name _________________________

Date _________________________

Period ___________ HR __________

The Federal Government

Chap. 6 -- Executive Branch: The Presidency

Directions: Using your textbook, chapter 6, pg. 207, complete the outline below.

I. The Office of the President

1. Introduction

1. The President is the head of the executive branch_______ of government.

2. The President is considered to be _by many, the most powerful person/position in the

world.__Leader of the free world.

3. There are only three official constitutional qualifications to be president:

a. be 35 years old_____________________________________________________

b. _be a natural-born citizen ______________________________________________

c. be a resident of the U.S*. for fourteen* (14) years___________________________

B. Characteristics of Presidents

1. all white males, but one___________ 2. most come from large states_________

3. many have been lawyers_________4. all were Protestant Christians, but one

5. most are college-educated _______ 6. opportunities now exist for others due to modern media

C. Presidential Elections

1. Elections held every four_________ in years divisible by four____.

2. Election is done indirectly_______ by the Electoral College_________, with each state

getting a number of electors(NJ = 14) equal to its number of representatives_

and senators. Washington, D.C. gets three votes. (538______ total)

3. A majority of 270______ votes is needed to win election. If no majority is won, then the

House of Reps.______________ decides the election, which has happened only twice.

4. Electors vote in each state_____________ in December, with Congress announcing the

winner officially in _early January. January 20th – Inauguration Day

D. Terms of Office

1. Following Washington's lead, no president served more than two terms__, until Franklin

Roosevelt, who won _four terms in a row!______________.

• The 22nd______ Amendment limited the president to two elected terms_, or a maximum of ten years, if the presidency began during another’s term.

3. Salary and other Monies

a. Since 2001, salary is $400,000/yr.__ b. Residence: The White House_________

1. Domestic staff: 90+/-__ d. Maryland retreat: Camp David_________________

e. Traveling fleet of special cars, helicopters, jets, , such as Air Force One____.

4. Election and Terms of Office

a. Presidents serve a term of four years______________

• Presidents are limited to two___ terms in office by the 22nd__ Amendment.

1. The Vice President (Kamala Harris…first woman VP)

2. Qualifications – Same as the president________________________

3. Official duties are: a) to replace the president__, if he dies or leaves office; and to b)

be President___ of the U.S. Senate________; c) plus many presidents have given

their V.P.’s _various other duties, such as Cabinet (highest advisors) membership_____.

1. Presidential Succession (chart, pg. 192)

a. 1947 – Presidential Succession Act – If something should happen to the president,

the order of who succeeds, or takes over, to the fourth position is:

1)_Vice President________ _______________; 2) Speaker of the House;

3. Senate President Pro Tempore_______; 4) Secretary of State.

b. 1967 – The Twenty-Fifth Amendment – _the vice president becomes president, chooses a

new V.P., with the approval (consent) of the Senate and House. V.P. can also take over

temporarily if something, like surgery, happens to the president.