The chief executive of the United States and the head of the government
is the President.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention for a while favored a
proposal to let Congress choose the President. But, mindful of the
“checks and balance” principle, they worked out a scheme under which
each state was to “appoint” in “such manner as the legislature thereof
may direct” a number of “electors” equal to the state’s combined quota
of Senators and Representatives in Congress. These electors were to
meet in their respective states and cast their votes in writing for two
persons, of whom only one could be an inhabitant of the same state as
the electors. The ballots were then to be sealed and transmitted to the
president of the Senate, where they were to be counted in the presence
of both houses, and the person receiving the most votes was to be
President and the one obtaining the next highest number Vice-President.
In the first two elections this scheme functioned satisfactorily;
but by the third election it was well understood in advance that
the electors would vote either for John Adams or Thomas Jefferson,
although they were not pledged in advance. By 1800, however, two well
defined political parties had arisen; and at the election of that year,
electors were chosen on the understanding that they would vote for
the nominees of their respective parties. And that marked the end of
this carefully worked out scheme, and election of the President as the
choice of a political party was inaugurated. Nevertheless we still go
through the form of voting for electors who elect the President and the
Vice-President.
POLITICAL PARTIES
However, as things have developed, no one can understand how the United
States is really governed without taking into account the part played
by political parties.
The candidates for President and Vice-President of the respective
parties are nominated in national conventions. The delegates to
these conventions are apportioned among the states on the basis of
the representation in Congress, with some exceptions so far as the
Republican party is concerned with reference to the southern states. In
the Democratic Convention each state has twice as many delegates as it
has Senators and Representatives in Congress. The delegates are elected
in some states by state conventions and in others under direct primary
systems by which the delegates chosen are virtually instructed to vote
for the candidate favored by the voters.
One of the main duties of a national political convention is to adopt
a platform, theoretically expressing the party’s position regarding
the crucial issues of the campaign which is to follow. Candidates for
President and Vice-President are then chosen; and when the leading
parties have announced their platforms and nominated their candidates,
the real campaign is on.
This whole procedure has developed independently of the Constitution;
and yet it is quite clear that we have not merely government by certain
men filling certain offices under the Constitution and laws passed
pursuant thereto, but we have, in addition, government by parties. For
the President is not merely President of the United States, but he is
also ex officio the leader of his party.
QUALIFICATIONS
A person to be President or Vice-President must be a natural born
citizen of the United States, at least thirty-five years of age, and
fourteen years a resident within the United States.
SALARY
The President receives a salary of $75,000 a year. In addition there
is an appropriation of several hundred thousand dollars annually for
the upkeep of the White House, for clerks and attendants, traveling
expenses, motor cars, a yacht and other expenditures.
The Vice-President receives a salary of $15,000 a year.
THE CABINET
Strange as it may seem, the Constitution makes no provision for a
cabinet or ministers. The only reference to anything of the sort
is that the President “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.” The departments
referred to were not named in the Constitution; and they have been
created from time to time by Congress. In the beginning there were
three: The department of state, the department of the treasury, and the
war department. To these were shortly added the department of justice
and the post office department. At present there are, in addition
to these, the navy department, the department of the interior, the
department of agriculture, the department of labor and the department
of commerce. The total number of departments, then, is ten; and their
heads are by custom the members of the President’s cabinet.
The head of each department is appointed by the President with the
consent of the Senate; but this consent is very rarely withheld. A
department head may not sit in either the Senate or the House of
Representatives. This is in marked contrast, as already pointed out,
with the English system.
The cabinet meets regularly twice a week and may be summoned for a
special meeting at any time. The members sit at an oblong table in
order of seniority with the President at the head. The proceedings are
as a rule kept secret, and no formal record of the discussions that
take place is kept.
SALARIES
The members of the cabinet receive annual salaries of $15,000
each. They have under secretaries, assistant secretaries and other
subordinates whose salaries run from $10,000 down. Each department has,
of course, an extensive personnel.