The President of the United States - this title has come to earn so much honor,
as it is considered “the most powerful elected official in the world” (World
Book). Some of America’s most distinguished men were once presidents, and we
recall such great names as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D.
Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. This prestigious position is not something one
is just handed, and when one does obtain it, it is very hard work. In this
paper, I will help illustrate the role of the President, and his/her affect on
our American Government. The position of President was created during and
immediately after the Revolutionary War under laws called the Articles of
Confederation. The name itself came from the original name for the chief officer
who presided over congress. The first man who had taken this position was George
Washington, whose name every American is familiar with. To the position,
Washington brought great “courage, prestige, and wisdom” (Schlesinger, 21),
and created a sort of legacy for those after him to follow. The legacy was
followed, and expanded with men who interpreted the constitution in new ways,
and increased the power of the presidency. Presidents such as Thomas Jefferson,
Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln are examples of this. As America became a world
power, the President was given more power. Men like Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow
Wilson, FDR, and John F. Kennedy then used the position to advance the freedom
of our country, and encourage the development of our minds and souls. As time
passed, rules and regulations were made to ensure the President’s job was for
the best interest of this country. For instance, to become President, one must
pass some certain legal qualifications set by the Constitution. “The President
must be 35 years old, have lived in the United States at least 14 years, and be
a natural born citizen” (World Book). These qualifications were set as a means
of filtering out some candidates. To serve this nation efficiently, our
forefathers believed that you must be older, and of American heritage. These
rules were made in protection of the welfare of our country. With the
twenty-second amendment came the limit on the President’s term of office.
Before this, a president could be in office as long as the people elected him,
such as Roosevelt, who stayed in the White House from March 1945 to his death in
April 1945. The limit in place now is that no president is able to be elected to
Presidentcy more than twice, and nobody who has served more than two years of
someone else’s term can be elected more than once. Another set standard is the
salary of the President. As established by congress, the President receives
$200,000 a year, not including the $50,000 the chief executive also gets for
expenses, allowances for staff, travel, and maintenance of the White House.
After leaving office, the President qualifies for a basic pension. As of 1990, a
newly retired president would receive a hefty pension of about $138,900 yearly,
and use of office space, staff, and mailing expenses. Widowed spouses of former
Presidents receive a pension of $20,000 a year. The President is employed by the
executive branch, of the three branches our government was divided into. This
branch consists of the Executive Office, 14 executive departments, and about 75
independent agencies. In total, the executive branch has about 3.75 million
employees. The executive office directly serves the president, such as the
President’s physician, secretaries, and a number of close influential aides
and agencies. The job of the executive departments is to directly administer the
federal government, and the independent agencies’ job is to conduct the
federal programs in many fields. The President is the chief of this branch. The
only roles the constitution distinguishes are those of chief administrator of
the nation and commander of its armed forces. However, “court decisions,
customs, laws, and other developments have greatly expanded the President’s
responsibilities and powers” (World Book). After these two hundred years of
development, the President’s job can be described in seven names: Chief
Executive, Commander in Chief, Foreign Policy Director, Legislative Leader,
Party Head, and Chief of State. The first on the president’s resume, the Chief
Executive has four main duties: to enforce federal laws, develop federal
policies, prepare the national budget, to appoint federal officials. The next
title a President must fill is Commander in Chief. To do this, the President is
expected to “defend the country during war-time and to keep it strong during
peacetime” (Bernstein,11). Only the president can decide whether to use
nuclear weapons or not. As the Foreign Policy Director, the constitution gives
the President the “power to appoint ambassadors, make treaties, and receive
foreign diplomats” (World Book). The Foreign Policy is also able to refuse to
recognize a newly formed government, propose legislation dealings with foreign
aid and other international activities, and make executive agreements with
foreign leaders without senate approval. The Legislative Leader position of the
President describes how greatly the President is able to influence the laws that
congress passes. One instance is where the President gives his State of the
Union address, where he discusses the major problems, facing the nation and
recommends legislative programs to solve them. The president also uses his
cabinet officers to win congressional support for the president’s programs.
Another power to influence laws is his constitutional power to veto any bill. As
the Popular Leader, the President is expected to represent every citizen and
every state. That is what he agreed to when he was elected, and this part is
very important in a representative government. The Popular Leader must also
maintain good communication with his people, such as Roosevelt did with the
fireside chats. Through this, he is able to promote legislation, and to inform
the people. Another name to describe the President is Party Head. This term is
used to show that the President, as the leader of a political party, will help
push issues his party feels strongly about, and hope that the congress is made
up of enough of his party to pass his programs. Lastly, the President earns the
title Chief of State. “As the foremost representative of the U.S. government,
the President is expected to show pride and celebrate American achievements and
traditions”. He is also expected to host dinners for visiting foreign
officials, and represents the United States in visits to other countries. Former
President Harry S. Truman once said, "All the president is, is a glorified
public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people
to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway." In a way, this
summary is very true. The President can not do all of the jobs I previously
informed you about by him. In the end, our President becomes the king of
delegation. In fact, he couldn’t do them without the help of his whole office,
and the whole branch, and the whole government, and in the end, the whole
people, whom the President so earnestly attempts to represents. The President of
the United States of America

Bibliography
Agel, Jerome and Bernstein, Richard B. The Presidency. Copyright 1989, Thomas
Allen and Son, Marham, Ontario. Cunriffe, Marcus. The American Heritage History
of the Presidency. Copyright 1968 by American Heritage Publishing Company.
http://www.quoteland.com/quotes/search/search.cgi?query=president Schlesinger
JR., Arthur M. The Presidency. Copyright 1988 by Chelsea Home Publishers. New
York, NY.