| - Section 1 · President, term of office, electors, qualifications, succession, compensation; Oath of office.
- The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his
Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected,
as follows
- Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the
whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or
Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
- The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not
be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the
Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of Government of
the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person
having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of
Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then
the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a
Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing
the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for
this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States
shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest
Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal
Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
- The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes;
which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
- No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this
Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not
have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. [note: qualification of the Vice President Amendment 12].
- In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the
Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law
provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President declaring
what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a
President shall be elected. [Modified by: Amendment 20 & Amendment 25].
- The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor
diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any
other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
- Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear
(or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Section 2 · President as Commander in Chief; the cabinet; power of pardon; power to treat; nomination of certian officers.- The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia
of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing,
of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their
respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States,
except in Cases of Impeachment.
- He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the
Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint
Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United
States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the
Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in
the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
- The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting
Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section 3 · President, communicates to congress, may convene and ajourn congress, receives ambassadors, executes laws, commissions officers.- He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to
their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions,
convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of
Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other
public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the
United States.
Section 4 · All civil offices forfeit for certain crimes.
- The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on
Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
| The character of the Executive was one of the most delicate problems that the convention faced. Madison's Virginia Plan called for the executive to be elected by the Legislature, thus concentrating power in that body. However, experience in the states argued that a strong executive (balanced against the legislature) was essential where foreign relations were concerned, and especially when legislative impasse occurred. Popular election of the executive was considered, but most felt that this would be too dangerous. The answer arrived with the invention of the electoral college, a body of "electors" appointed in each state in proportion to the total number of federal legislators for that state. How they were to be appointed was left up to each state legilature, except for certain restrictions on who would qualify for the office. Madison, for one, was satisfied that control of election of the President would be placed firmly in political hands in each state.
The election of the vice President quickly became a problem. The office, with it's limited duties and almost non-existent authority was an uncomfortable one. The original system whereby the vice President would be the President's leading campaign opponent (and often, enemy-for-life) would prove unworkable. The twelfth Amendment would later remedy these problems.
The balance of power built into the constitution is most obvious in the relationship between the Executive and Legislative branches. Authorities for appointment, veto, review, and prosecution, are all very clearly assigned and defined. While the President is the Commander in Chief of the military, the Congress alone may declare war—and the House bears responsibility for paying and provisioning the military.
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