The head of state and head of government of the United States is the president of the United States (POTUS)[A]. In addition to leading the executive part of the federal government, the president also serves as the head of the US armed forces.
Since the first president, George Washington, assumed office in 1789, the presidency has significantly increased in power [11].(6) Even though the amount of presidential power has fluctuated over time, since the start of the 20th century and continuing into the 21st, when Franklin D. Roosevelt and George W. Bush both held the office, the presidency has been progressively more important in American politics.In [12]13] The president is one of the most influential political personalities in the world today.
As the head of the country with the biggest economy as measured by nominal GDP, the president has considerable hard and soft authority both at home and abroad.
The president is granted executive authority under Article II of the Constitution, which also creates the executive arm of the federal government. The authority entails the responsibility for designating federal executive, diplomatic, regulatory, and judicial personnel as well as the implementation and enforcement of federal law.
The modern presidency is primarily in charge of carrying out U.S. foreign policy, as evidenced by constitutional clauses granting the president the authority to select and receive ambassadors and to negotiate treaties with foreign governments, as well as by later laws passed by Congress. The position entails commanding the most costly armed forces in the world, possessing the second-largest nuclear arsenal.
Additionally, the president is heavily involved in both domestic and federal policymaking. Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution grants the president the authority to sign or veto federal legislation as part of the system of separation of powers. Major policymaking is greatly influenced by the results of presidential elections because modern presidents are typically seen as the leaders of their political parties.
Presidents actively advocate for their policy priorities to members of Congress, who frequently rely on them for their electoral support.18] Presidents have also used executive orders, agency rules, and judicial nominations more frequently in recent decades to influence domestic policy.
Along with the vice president, the president is indirectly chosen to a four-year term by the Electoral College. No one who has been elected to two terms as president may be elected to a third under the Twenty-second Amendment, which was passed in 1951. Furthermore, nine vice presidents have taken over as president in the event of a president’s resignation or death during their term.[B]
A total of 45 people have had 46 presidencies during 58 periods of four years.[C] As of January 20, 2021, at noon EST, Joe Biden is the 46th and current president of the United States.
History and development of the President of the United States
Origins
The Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, representing the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War, proclaimed the colonies’ independence and end of British domination. The Second Continental Congress overwhelmingly adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, largely thanks to the writings of Thomas Jefferson.20] Acknowledging the need for close coordination in their attempts to defeat the British, the Continental Congress also started working on writing a constitution that would unite the states.
Prolonged discussions ensued over several matters, such as voting and representation, as well as the precise authority to be granted to the national government.[22] The Articles of Confederation, which created an enduring union between the states, were completed by Congress.
With force from March 1, 1781, the Articles established the Congress of the Confederation as the primary political authority, but it lacked legislative authority. It could establish its own rules, decisions, and resolutions, but not laws.
It also couldn’t charge taxes or make its residents comply with regional business requirements.21] This institutional structure mirrored the way that Americans thought the overthrown British system of the Crown and Parliament should have operated in relation to the royal dominion: as a superintending body for issues that affected the whole empire.21] Since the states were no longer subject to a monarchy, they gave Congress some of their old royal prerogatives (such as declaring war, accepting diplomats, etc.); the remaining prerogatives remained with their individual state governments. A was chosen by the Congressmen.
The Treaty of Paris granted each of the former colonies freedom in 1783. As soon as peace was achieved, each state focused on its own internal issues.[20] As a result of heightened commercial conflicts between adjacent states, Americans found their various economies in crisis and their continental borders under assault by 1786.
They saw their hard cash being laundered into foreign markets to finance imports, their trade in the Mediterranean being targeted by pirates from North Africa, and their foreign-financed debts from the Revolutionary War being unpaid and accumulating interest.20] Political and civil upheaval was imminent. The failure of the Articles of Confederation was shown by incidents like the Shays’ Rebellion and the Newburgh Conspiracy.
After the commercial and fishing disputes between Virginia and Maryland were successfully resolved at the 1785 Mount Vernon Conference, Virginia called for a trade conference involving all the states. This conference was scheduled for September 1786 in Annapolis, Maryland, with the goal of resolving more extensive interstate commercial disputes.
Alexander Hamilton led the Annapolis delegates in calling for a convention to propose amendments to the Articles, to be convened in Philadelphia the following spring, after the convention failed due to low turnout brought on by mistrust among the majority of the other states. It looked as though there would be no chance for the next convention until James Madison and Edmund Randolph managed to get George Washington to travel to Philadelphia as a delegate from Virginia.20]24]
The 12 state delegations that attended the May 1787 Constitutional Convention (the state of Rhode Island did not send delegates) brought with them a wealth of institutional arrangements between the legislative and executive branches that they had personally experienced from their respective state governments.
The majority of states continued to have weak executive branches with no veto or appointment authority, chosen yearly by the legislature for a single term, sharing authority with an executive council, and being challenged by powerful legislative bodies.20] The biggest exception was provided by New York, which had a powerful, unitary governor with the ability to veto and appoint people. The governor was elected to a three-year term and could be reelected an unlimited number of times.20] The U.S. Constitution was framed by the presidency during secret deliberations in Philadelphia.
1789–1933
George Washington, the country’s first president, created a number of standards that would later come to characterize the position.[25][26] His choice to step down after two terms allayed concerns that the country would descend into monarchy[27] and set a precedent that the Twenty-Second Amendment would eventually make permanent in 1940.
Political parties had emerged by the time of his presidency, as evidenced by the fact that, in 1796, John Adams overcame Thomas Jefferson in the first presidential election that was actually contested.29]
Following his victory over Adams in 1800, Jefferson, along with fellow Virginians James Madison and James Monroe, each served two terms, ultimately governing the country during the Era of Good Feelings until John Quincy Adams, the son of President Adams, emerged victorious in 1824 following the Democratic-Republican Party.
Since Andrew Jackson did not come from the elite of Virginia or Massachusetts, who had controlled the president for the previous forty years, his victory in 1828 marked a historic turning point.[/30] Jacksonian democracy aimed to increase popular engagement as the country quickly moved westward, while strengthening the presidency at the expense of Congress.
But with the Panic of 1837, Martin Van Buren, his successor, lost support, and the office was further weakened by William Henry Harrison’s passing and the strained ties that followed between John Tyler and Congress.33] Eight different men, including Van Buren, would occupy six presidential terms in the twenty-four years between 1837 and 1861; none would hold the office for more than one term.33] The Senate was significantly involved in this during this time.
Abraham Lincoln is regarded by historians as one of the greatest presidents of the United States because of his leadership during the Civil War.(D) Because of the war and Republicans’ control over Congress, the presidency was extremely powerful, and Lincoln’s reelection in 1864 marked the first presidential reelection since Jackson in 1832. Following Lincoln’s death, his successor Andrew Johnson was completely despised by the political community[38] and almost removed from office[39].
Congress continued to hold significant influence during the two terms that Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant presided over the United States. Grover Cleveland finally became the first Democratic president elected since before the war, having run and won twice in three successive elections (1884, 1888, and 1892) after Reconstruction ended. William McKinley was the first sitting president to win in 1900.
Following McKinley’s murder, Theodore Roosevelt rose to prominence in American politics.(40) Historians contend that Roosevelt’s strengthening of the presidency, among other notable achievements, including dismantling trusts, conservationism, labor reforms, emphasizing personal character over issues, and personally selecting William Howard Taft as his successor, permanently altered the political system[41].
Despite the Senate rejecting Wilson’s plan for the League of Nations, Woodrow Wilson led the country to victory in World War I the next decade.42] Though popular while in office, Teapot Dome and other scandals would mar Warren Harding’s legacy[43], and Herbert Hoover swiftly lost support after failing to end the Great Depression.In [44]
Imperial presidency
Historians now refer to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ascent to power in 1933 as the beginning of the Imperial presidency.45] With the public’s backing for significant reform and the massive Democratic majorities in Congress, Roosevelt’s New Deal significantly expanded the reach and power of the federal government, adding new executive departments.[46]: 202-12-1
With the establishment of the Executive Office of the President in 1939, the typically tiny presidential staff was considerably increased; none of them need Senate confirmation.229–231 in [46] The United States’ triumph in World War II, Roosevelt’s historic reelection to a third and fourth term, and the expanding American economy all contributed to the office’s reputation as a position of global leadership.In [46]: 269 Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, his successors, both held two terms .
Congress passed a number of measures in an effort to regain credibility after Richard Nixon’s presidency crumbled due to the Watergate scandal and Lyndon B. Johnson lost popular support as a result of the Vietnam War.[49][50]
Among these were the legislative Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which aimed to increase legislative fiscal powers, and the War Powers Resolution, which was passed in 1973 in defiance of Nixon’s veto[52][53].54] Gerald Ford acknowledged that “the historic pendulum” had shifted in favor of Congress by 1976, which raised the prospect of a “disruptive” decline in his capacity to lead.In [55] Jimmy Carter, Ford’s successor, was unsuccessful in winning reelection to a second term.
Following the end of the Cold War and the US’s ascent to prominence in the global arena, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all held two terms as president. In the meantime, political division in Congress and the country grew over time, particularly after Republicans won control of the House for the first time in forty years in the 1994 midterm elections and the emergence of regular filibusters in the Senate in the last few years.
In [59] Therefore, in order to carry out significant initiatives, recent presidents have placed a greater emphasis on executive orders, agency rules, and judicial appointments than on legislation and congressional authority.60] This ongoing polarization has been reflected in presidential elections in the twenty-first century; Obama was the only candidate to win by more than five percent of the popular vote.