The President: History And Requirements

THE PRESIDENT Name Course Date of submission Introduction The president, commonly referred to as POTUS in the United States, is an individual who leads the executive branch of government. The president of the U.S. is the head of state, government, and commander-in-chief of the U.S. Forces. To hold this office, one has to understand its history, fulfill various requirements, go through an electoral process and take up diverse responsibilities. History of the president According to History.com, the position of the president came about in the 1700s when “the American Founding Fathers” came up with the idea of having one individual elected by the population, to lead the executive branch of the federal government. The idea came to life in 1789 when George Washington became the first president and made the US the leading country to establish the office of the head of state in the modern type of government. Since 1789, the country has had forty-four heads of state, with President Donald Trump as the current and 45th president of the US.[. History.com. “U.S. Presidents,” (2019). /topics/us-presidents.] [. USA gov. “Presidents, vice presidents, and first ladies of the United States.” (2019, March 19). /presidents] Requirements to become the president According to the Heritage Foundation, the US constitution enforces three requirements that one must meet to become president. Article II section I affirms that only natural born citizens or a resident of the US since the constitution became law can become president. The Constitutional Convention introduced this rule as a way of preventing foreigners from becoming part of the national government and ensuring only loyal citizens led the country. Second, a person must be aged thirty-five or older, who are presumed to be mature. Third, one must have been a resident of America for fourteen years.[. The Heritage Foundation. “Presidential eligibility”, by James Ho, Gibson Dun and Crutcher (2017). /constitution/#!/articles/2/essays/82/presidential-eligibility.] According to Amendment XXII, section 1 of the American constitution, however, a person can be disqualified from running for president for various reasons. One, the 22nd Amendment states that a person can only serve as the president for two terms. Further, the Amendment observes that a person who has served as president or acting president for two years is not eligible for a second term. Two, Article 1, Section 3, Clause 7 disqualifies a person from running for president once impeached. Three, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies a person who took an oath to uphold the constitution but went against it from becoming the head of state unless the Congress through a two-thirds vote lifts the ineligibility. The election process of a president Article II, Section I of the US Constitution outlines the process by which individuals should follow to become president; this is according to the Library of Congress. The election of an American President follows five critical steps. The initial step is the primaries and caucuses elections. The year before the general election, several candidates express their interest in running for president under different parties, and in the summer of the same year, they begin this process by trying to win the tickets from their respective parties. A primary election is an election at the state level where party members select one of the aspiring candidates to be their representative in the voting process. On the other hand, aspiring candidates go through caucus elections where party members in a city, town or state come together to choose their candidate of choice. The second step is the national party convention. Once all the states complete the primaries and caucuses elections, each party holds a national caucus. Here, all the elected delegates converge to vote for one candidate who will become the presidential aspirant of that party. The Library of Congress states that the contender who garners the majority of the votes wins the party nomination for the presidency. Next, the presidential candidate picks his running mate, and the two begin the race to the Whitehouse. In the third step, presidential candidates from each party start campaigning. The campaigns include traversing the country to explain to the voters and the population at large of one’s plan when they become the head of state. Also, the candidates hold rallies, debates and make adverts to persuade voters to support them.[.Library of Congress. “Political primaries: How are candidates nominated?” (2019). /teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/elections/political-primaries.html] The fourth step is the general election. In the first Tuesday of November after every four years, the general election takes place. All regis...