Part Two: The Executive Branch

WILLIAM "BILL" JEFFERSON CLINTON - is currently the President of the United States of America. He belongs to the Democratic Party and was re-elected for a second term in November 1996 as the 42nd President.

He was born on Aug. 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas and is the son of William Blythe and Virginia Cassidy Blythe. His father, a traveling salesman, died in an auto accident before Bill was born. His mother married Roger Clinton, and several years later, at age 16, William Jefferson Blyth III changed his name to William Jefferson Clinton.

Clinton attended Georgetown University, Oxford University in England as a Rhodes scholar, and Yale Law School. Earlier, he taught at the University of Arkansas from 1973 to 1976. He was elected Arkansas state attorney general in 1976. In 1978, he was elected governor of Arkansas, becoming the nation's youngest governor. He married Hillary Rodham in 1975 with whom he has a 16-year old daughter named Chelsea.

  1. The Office Of The President:

    • The President acts as leader of the country and Commander in Chief of the military.
    • He approves or vetoes the bills which Congress passes.
    • He appoints people to certain positions (Cabinet members, heads of independent executive agencies, supreme court justices and judges of other federal courts) in government subject to Senate approval.
    • The President is elected by the people, but not directly. The people cast their votes for Presidential electors.
    • Presidential elections occur every four years.
    • The newly elected President is inaugurated on January 20, two months after the November election. This is defined by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.
    • Each President may serve only two terms and each term is four years. This provision is defined by the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.
    • The White House in Washington, D.C. is the official residence of the President.

  2. According to the Constitution, the president must:

    • Be a natural-born citizen of the United States.
    • At least 35 years old.
    • Have lived in the United States at least 14 years.

    These are the same requirements for the vice president.

  3. George Washington, who was the first president of the United States, is also referred to as the "Father of our Country." His inauguration was on April 30, 1789 in New York City which was then the capital of the Republic. Washington was an American general and Commander in Chief of the colonial armies in the American revolution (1775-83). He was unanimously chosen president of the Constitutional Convention (1787) and overwhelmingly elected first president of the republic (1789), followed by reelection in 1792. He died on Dec. 14, 1799 at Mt. Vernon, Virginia.

  4. Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, was the president during the Civil War. He referred to the Republic as "A government of the people, by the people, and for the people." These words were used in his famous "Gettysburg address" which was given in November, 1863, at the dedication of a portion of the Gettysburg battlefield as a national cemetery.

  5. The following presidents were assassinated while in office: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. Two others, William Harrison and Zachary Taylor, died shortly after inauguration.

  6. The 5th president, James Monroe, in a message to Congress in 1823, announced it as his opinion that no foreign countries should thereafter attempt to colonize any part of the American continent, and said that any attempt to do so would be regarded by the United States as an "unfriendly act," and the principle has been generally agreed upon internationally.

  7. The Vice President is the second highest office in the country. If the president dies, leaves office, or cannot perform his/her duties, the vice president becomes president. This provision was established by the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. For this reason, the vice president must meet the same requirements as the president.

  8. The Vice President presides over the Senate and votes in case of a tie. He or she becomes president if the president is disabled or otherwise cannot serve. The vice president acts as a link between the president and the Senate. He participates in Cabinet meetings and serves as a member of the National Security Council.

  9. Albert Gore Jr., who was formerly a Democrat U.S. senator from Tennessee, is currently the vice president of the United States. He was elected to office in 1996.

  10. The order of succession to the presidency of the United States is as follows: Vice President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and Secretary of State. The line of succession then includes the other Cabinet members in a set order. This order ensures that the country will never be without a leader.

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