This document provides information about U.S. presidents, including their demographic characteristics, qualifications, benefits, roles, and powers. It shows that all U.S. presidents have been male, Caucasian, and primarily Protestant and of British ancestry. It also outlines the formal powers granted to the president by the Constitution as well as informal powers that have increased in importance, such as executive orders and executive privilege. Quotations from several presidents about the challenges and responsibilities of the office are also included.

1. Hail to the ChiefHail to the Chief

2. Demographic
Characteristics of U.S.
Presidents
• 100% male
• 100% Caucasian
• 97% Protestant
• 82% of British
ancestry
• 77% college educated
• 69% politicians
• 62% lawyers
• >50% from the top 3%
wealth and social class
• 0.5% born into
poverty
• 69% elected from
large states

3. Fortunate Son
Recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival
(1969)
Some folks are born made to
wave the flag,
Ooh, they’re red, white and
blue.
And when the band plays,
“Hail to the Chief,”
Ooh, they point the cannon at
you, lord,
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t
no senator’s son, son.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t
no fortunate one, no.
Some folks are born silver
spoon in hand,
Lord, don’t they help
themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to
the door,
Lord, the house looks like a
rummage sale, yes,
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t
no millionaire’s son, son.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t
no fortunate one, no.

4. Fortunate Son
Recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival
(1969)
Some folks inherit star spangled
eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war,
lord,
And when you ask them, “How
much should we give?”
Ooh, they only answer more!
more! more! yo,
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t
no military son, son.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t
no fortunate one, one.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t
no fortunate son, son.
It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t
no fortunate son, no, no, no.

5. Constitutional Qualifications
 Must be at least 35
years old
 Must have lived in
the United States for
14 years
 Must be a natural
born citizen

6. Presidential Benefits
 $400,000 tax-free salary
 $50,000/year expense
account
 $100,000/year travel
expenses
 The White House
 Secret Service
protection
 Camp David country
estate
 Air Force One personal
airplane
 Staff of 400-500
Christmas at the White House, 2004

7. Presidential Roles

8. Head of State
Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983
President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall,
1963

9. Chief Executive
President Bush holds cabinet meeting
in October, 2005
President Clinton with Janet Reno,
the first female Attorney General,
February, 1993

10. Commander-in-Chief
President Bush aboard U.S.S.
Lincoln, May, 2003
President Johnson decorates a soldier
in Vietnam, October, 1966

11. Chief Legislator
President Clinton delivers the State
of the Union Address, 1997
President Roosevelt signs into law the
Social Security Act, 1935

12. Political Party Leader
President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s
nomination in 1980

13. Crisis Manager
Vice-President Johnson sworn in
aboard Air Force One
after President Kennedy’s
assassination, 1963
President Bush at Ground Zero after 9-11

14. Moral Persuader
President Lincoln during the Civil
War, 1862
President Roosevelt and the “Bully
Pulpit,” 1910

15. Formal Powers of the
President
 Constitutional or enumerated powers of the
presidency
 Found primarily in Article II of the Constitution

16. Formal Powers:
Commander-in-Chief
 Commander in Chief of the Army & Navy
 Commander in Chief of the state militias (now
the National Guard)
 Commission all officers

17. Formal Powers:
Chief Executive
 “Faithfully execute” the laws
 Require the opinion of heads of executive
departments
 Grant pardons for federal offenses except for
cases of impeachment
 Nominate judges of the Supreme Court and all
other officers of the U.S. with consent of the
Senate
 Fill vacancies that may happen during recess of
the Senate

18. Formal Powers:
Foreign Affairs
 Appoint ambassadors, ministers and consuls
 Make treaties subject to Senate confirmation
 Receive ambassadors

19. Formal Powers:
Chief Legislator
 Give State of the Union address to Congress
 Recommend “measures” to the Congress
 Upon “extraordinary occasions” convene both
houses of Congress

20. Formal Powers:
Chief Legislator (cont.)
 Presidential Veto
 Veto Message within 10 days of passing the House of
origin
 Pocket Veto - President does not sign within 10 days
 Congress can override with 2/3 majority from both
Houses
 Veto Politics
 Congressional override is difficult (only 4%)
 Threat of veto can cause Congress to make changes
in legislation

21. • Those powers not explicitly written in the
Constitution
• Similar to “necessary and proper” powers
of Congress
• In the modern era (since 1933), the
President’s informal powers may be
significantly more powerful than his
formal powers
Informal Powers

22. Executive Orders
• Orders issued by the
President that carry the force
of law
• Clinton’s “Don’t ask don’t
tell” gays in the military
policy
• FDR’s internment of
Japanese Americans
• GWB trying suspected
terrorists in military tribunals
Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942

23. Executive Agreements
• International agreements, usually related to trade, made
by a president that has the force of a treaty; does NOT
need Senate approval
• Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803
• GWB announced cuts in the
nuclear arsenal, but not in a
treaty; usually trade
agreements between
US and other nations

24. Executive Privilege
• Claim by a president that he has the right to decide
that the national interest will be better served if
certain information is withheld from the public,
including the Courts and Congress
• United States v. Nixon
(1973) – presidents do
NOT have unqualified
executive privilege (Nixon
Watergate tapes)

25. Questions for Discussion
• Why are informal powers more important
than formal powers, particularly to modern
presidents?
• Identify several advantages and
disadvantages of the use of the president’s
informal powers.
• Has the use and perhaps abuse of the
informal powers created an “Imperial
Presidency?” Defend your answer.

26. Presidential Quotations

27. President Harry S. Truman
"I sit here all day
trying to persuade
people to do the things
they ought to have the
sense to do without my
persuading them.
That's all the powers
of the President
amount to."
Truman, 33rd President, 1945-53

28. President John F. Kennedy
“No easy problem
ever comes to the
President of the
United States. If
they are easy to
solve, somebody else
has solved them.”
President Kennedy’s nationally televised
address during the Cuban Missile Crisis,
October, 1962

29. President Lyndon B. Johnson
“The presidency has
made every man who
occupied it, no matter
how small, bigger than
he was; and no matter
how big, not big enough
for its demands.”
President Johnson,
36th President, 1963-69

30. President Richard M. Nixon
"Under the doctrine of
the separation of
powers, the manner in
which the president
personally exercises his
assigned executive
powers is not subject to
questioning by another
branch of government." In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal,
President Nixon departs the White House
after his resignation, Aug., 1974

31. President George W. Bush
“To those of you who
received honors,
awards, and
distinctions, I say 'Well
done.' And to the C
students, I say 'You, too,
can be president of the
United States.'”
President George W. Bush, speaking
at Yale University's 300th
commencement ceremony
President Bush, 43rd President,
2001-present