demographic characteristics of u.s. presidents

Demographic Characteristics of U.S.

Presidents• 100% male• 97% 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

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

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

Presidential Roles

Constitutional Roles

There are 5 expressed roles of the president found in the constitution

Head of StateQueen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983

President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall, 1963

Head of State

• Performs ceremonial roles• Some examples include:

– Hosting foreign leaders– Throwing the first baseball at a game– Meeting public figures, kings, and queens.

Bush throws first pitch last Sunday at the opening game between the washington nationals and the atlanta braves

Chief Executive

President Bush holds cabinet meeting in October, 2005

President Clinton with Janet Reno, the first female Attorney General,

February, 1993

Chief Executive

• Makes sure the laws of congress are carried out

Examples:– Executive Orders- rules that have the force

of the law– Presidential Appointments/Removals-

appoint or remove people from cabinet, government agencies, etc.

Chief Executive

• Reprieve- postponement of legal punishment

• Pardon- release from legal punishment

• Amnesty- a group pardon to people for offenses against the government

ex: Carter’s amnesty for draft dodgers

Commander-in-Chief

President Bush aboard U.S.S. Lincoln, May, 2003

President Johnson decorates a soldier in Vietnam, October, 1966

Commander in Chief

• Power to make “war” or send troops to fight in a certain area

• Power to support war effort by raising gas, ration food, and use industries to make war goods

Chief Diplomat

Ronald Reagan 1987

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”

President Bush and

President Putin of Russia

Chief Diplomat

• Makes foreign policy decisions– Constant struggle between president and

congress over foreign policy

• Signs Treaties – checks and balances- Congress must

approve

Chief LegislatorPresident Clinton delivers the State

of the Union Address, 1997

President Roosevelt signs into law the Social Security Act, 1935

Chief Legislator

• President describes laws and policy he would like to create

• See political cartoon on page 255.

Unwritten Roles• Many roles of the President have

developed over the course of history.

Political Party Leader

President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s nomination in 1980

Party Leader

• Supports his own party

• Patronage: Appoint loyal party members to important positions

Party Leader• President should represent all people so what about

his party?

• Presidents are sometimes criticized for crossing party lines by the party, the media, and the public.

• When President Clinton compromised with the Republican Congress to enact legislation in 1996, more liberal members of his own party criticized him.

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

Moral Persuader

President Lincoln during the Civil War, 1862

President Roosevelt and the “Bully Pulpit,” 1910

Economic Planner

FDR New Deal

Economic Planner

• This role greatly increased after the “New Deal” of FDR.

• Makes decisions about the budget, government spending, tax policy, etc.

Chief Administrator• Directs government agencies• Employs 3 million people to conduct

government businesses

Chief Citizen• Representative of all people

• Works for and represents the public interest