The Constitution of the United States Part 5: "The Executive Branch"

Article II of the U.S. Constitution lays out the guidelines for the executive branch.  Let's dive right in!

Section 1: The President

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

 Recommending that there be one person in charge of the executive branch drew a lot of groans from members of the constitutional convention who remembered the tyrannical leadership of King George II. James Wilson explained that clear, timely, and responsible leadership would only be available if there were a single person in charge. 

Edmund Randolph of Virginia suggested that there be thee people in charge of the executive branch, all from different parts of the country. Benjamin Franklin was against the single executive idea stating that, "The first man put at the helm will be a good one, nobody knows what sort may come afterward."

After rigorous debate, it was decided that there would be a single person in charge of the executive branch, but that person would only hold the position for four years. Note that it says nothing about limits on re-election. That won't come about until 1951 with the ratification of the 22nd Amendment. 

As you can imagine, there was also much debate on what to call this single point of contact in charge of the executive branch. They settled on, "President of the United States of America," then tried to figure out how this person should be elected.

The Electoral College

Three big ideas were debated on how to elect the President. One idea was to have the Congress elect a president. However, this went against the principle of separating powers that the founders were trying to achieve. Another idea was to have the President elected by popular vote. This idea was shot down by James Madison. He argued that people would most likely vote for candidates from their home state, making it unfair to candidates from smaller states. James Madison was from a large state, Virginia.

The third option suggested that a special group of people called, "electors" be responsible for choosing the president. It was believed that this group of people would be able to look at more than just state interests and make a decision based on the needs and wants of the entire country. Before 1820, state governments chose electors, but since 1820 the people choose the electors based on their vote for President. It's important to note that the number of electors for a particular state is equal to their number of Representatives and Senators combined.

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.

This seems pretty straight forward unless more than two people are running for President. This was exposed in the election fo 1860 when Abraham Lincoln had the most electoral votes which equaled 40%. Lincoln wasn't even on the ballot of 10 states in the South! More on that later. This section then goes into how a President is chosen if no candidate has a majority of the electoral votes. I'll save you some reading; Congress chooses.

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.

2016 Electoral Map (Gila Valley Central)

In the next part, the method in which the electors operate is pretty confusing. I'll post small parts to break it down.

This is to stick with the idea that electors would be thinking of the country as a whole and not just their state.

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;

This part is very interesting:

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.

This was changed by the 12th amendment so that each President and Vice President is voted on separately. Can you imagine a President Trump and Vice President Clinton? Or a President Obama with a Vice President McCain? 

Qualifications

Article II then explained who is allowed to be the President of the United States. The founders were adamant that this government be of, by, and for the people. The President, they believed, should be a citizen of "The People" that was elected by "The People", not a King or Dictator that received their position because of family ties or military might. Here are the criteria.

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.

1) Must be a natural-born citizen: Each President must be born as a U.S. citizen. Naturalized citizens may serve in Congress, but they may not serve as President.

2) Must be at least 35 years old: Representatives must be 25, Senators must be 30, and the President must be 35.

3) Must have lived in the U.S. for 14 years: Again, compared to Representatives at seven years a U.S. resident and Senators at nine.

Defending the Constitution

The next part explains how to replace the President in the event he is unable to fulfill his obligation, which has been modified by the 20th and 25th Amendments. It then states that the President shall receive payment, which will not be increased or decreased while they are in office. Along with this, it states that they are not to make any other money while serving as President.

President Regan; 1985 (Politico)

The last paragraph of section one states the oath of office that the President takes as they are sworn in.

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.”

Note that the President is swearing to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and not the people, the congress, etc. The founders always wanted the government to be grounded in principle and that principle was laid out in the document they were creating.

Section 2: Duties

Command

Section two outlines the duties that the President holds as Commander of all the armed forces, set up his advisors, 

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; 

Is states that the President is the Commander in Cheif of the Army and the Navy all the time, but says that he only has that authority over state militias when they are called into service of the United States. Those militias are commanded by their state governors on an everyday basis.

Advisors

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, 

This is referring to the Presidents advisors or, Cabinet. The first President, George Washington, established the Secretary of War, Secretary of the Treasury, and the Post Master General. As of this writing, there are 15 executive departments in President Trump's cabinet, which must be confirmed by the senate.

Pardon

and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

This gives the President the power to forgive certain crimes against the United States. This may be done for a wide variety of reasons. Sometimes is it to allow the country to move on. For instance, President Washington pardoned two men for their role in the Whiskey Rebellion. President John Adams also pardoned men for their role in the Whisky and Fries Rebellion. 

One of the most famous pardons was granted to President Richard Nixon by President Gerald Ford after Nixon resigned from the Presidency following the Watergate scandal. President Nixon was under investigation and was headed for removal from Impeachment when he resigned. President Ford graded him a full and unconditional pardon in the only pardon ever grated to a former President.

Treaties and Appointments

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.

In the Articles of Confederation, states could make their own deals with other countries. You can imagine that countries would pit states against each other to try and make the best deal for themselves. The constitution put treaties in a single point of contact so that the President could make the best deal for the United States instead of having individual states being taken advantage of. 

The President also makes their pick for other positions, including ambassadors and judges for the Supreme court. In a beautiful balance of power, these appointments are not absolute until confirmed by the senate.

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.

This is an interesting power that gives the President flexibility when the Senate is in recess and unavailable to confirm an appointment. If there is a position that needs to be filled while the Senate is away, the President may fill it, without Senate approval. That appointment may last until the Senate comes back and leaves again. Sometimes the Senate will approve the "recess" appointment, and sometimes they will not. It allows the President to keep a full complement of advisors in a "take it now, pay for it later" kind of system.

Section 3: Interacting with Congress

State of the Union

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;

2019 State of the Union (Financial Times)

Presidents use to simply provide Congress with a written report of how the country was doing and the priorities they wanted to see during the next calendar year. Every President since Woodrow Wilson in 1913 has gathered both houses and given the address orally. First on the radio, and now on television and streaming, the President gives the State of the Union not only to Congress but to the world.

 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;

Basically, if Congress is not getting along, the President can call them together, or adjourn them. He can not make laws or do their job for them, but he can force them to do their job.

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.

Along the same lines as having a single point of contact for treaties, the President may also meet with foreign leaders on behalf of the United States. It clears up confusion in foreign affairs. If you are meeting with the President of the United States; You are meeting with the United States.

Section 4: Removal

The Founders understood that people were flawed and that giving one person the power of the presidency without the ability to remove them could be disastrous. After all, Cesar was elected with no way of removal other than by force.

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.

This is a two-part process. If you go back to the sections on the House of Representatives and the Senate, it will explain further. To be removed from office, the President must be impeached by the House of Representatives. This is done by a simple majority. Think of this part as the investigation leading up to a trial. Then the Senate, who "has the sole power to try all impeachments" will place the President (or other officials) on trial. Each senator casts one vote as either guilty or non-guilty. To remove the President 2/3 of the Senators must vote guilty. 

The founders knew that there needed to be a process to remove the President, but they also knew that it must be thorough. Again we see the separation of power in that both houses of Congress take part in an Impeachment. The judicial branch gets involved as well when a President is on trial. The Chief Justice will preside over the proceedings when the President of the United States is being impeached. 

As for the crimes, the founders also knew that a President shouldn't be impeached for frivolous actions. Treason against the United States; That's pretty serious. Bribery from the position of the Presidency; That's pretty serious. "Other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" allow this clause to change with the times.

There it is. The Executive Branch.
I would really appreciate comments and/or questions that you may have!


Next week we will dive into the Judicial branch!

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Here is a link to the U.S. Constitution.

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Resources:

Hart, D., Bower, B., & Lobdell, J. (2002). History alive. Palo Alto, CA: Teachers Curriculum Institute.

Other various sources.

https://constitutionus.com/