The President of the United States

Roles of the President

• Our president has many different roles. The following slides will help you gain a better understanding of these roles.

Commander in Chief

• In this role he must appoint top military officials.

• This is people who he feels will protect our country and help maintain peace.

Commander in Chief

• As commander in chief the president must protect our country during war and keep it strong during peacetime.

• He shares responsibilities with congress on deciding to go to war

Chief Executive

• he enforces federal laws, treaties, and federal court rulings

• develops federal policies

• prepares the national budget

• appoints federal officials

Chief of State

• The president has a role as being chief of state

• In this role he shows his American pride by attending celebrations, or throwing out the first pitch of a baseball game

Also as chief of state the president is responsible for greeting other foreign leaders as they arrive in the United States

Foreign Policy Leader

• In this role the president decides on how much money our country will donate to aid for other countries

Foreign Policy Leader

• Also as foreign policy leader the president appoints ambassadors and sign treaties

Party Leader

• As party leader the president tries to convince his party and the competing party to choose his ideas and policies and vote for them

Party Leader cont’d

• Also as party leader he works very hard to keep his party in control of both the House and the Senate.

• This control may help his party win elections and get bills passed.

Representative of the Nation

• As our nation’s leader the president is the person who represents our nation.

• He shows his confidence in dealing with problems to help the people of our country feel confident and safe.

Chief Agenda Setter

• The president delivers a state of the union address several times during the year

• At this address he proposes to the country his agenda for the year or time period he is discussing

Chief Agenda Setter

• The president will describe in his speeches which topics he feels the American people and lawmakers should support.

• These topics may include:– Social Security– Education– Homeland Security

Who can become president of the United States?

• You must be a citizen of the United States• You must be at least 35 years old• You must have been a citizen of the United

States for at least 14 years

How long can you be President?

• No one can be elected to this office more than twice

• This means if you have won two elections then you may not run for a third

• The next election will have new candidates competing for the presidency

• If you are placed into this office from for example the death of a president, and you serve in his place two or more years you can not serve but one more term

• The following site is a helpful website that will help guide your studying while learning about the president of the United States.

• http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=385

Extra Credit

• After learning these facts about the president. Please complete the following word find at this website for 3 extra points on your test.

• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/pres/wordsearch/preswordsearch.shtml

The president is very important!

BibliographyQualifications for the office of President. Retrieved 19 March 2006.

<http://www.presidentsusa.net/qualifications.html>

US Presidents Word Find. Retrieved 1 March 2006. <http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/pres/wordsearch/preswordsearch.shtml>