The Constitution · Article II
Article II: The Executive Branch
About 30 min total: 5 min reading + 25 min for its 21 practice questions
The President: election by electors, qualifications, oath, powers, duties, and impeachment.
- Signed
- September 17, 1787
- In effect
- Ratified June 21, 1788 (9th state); government began March 4, 1789
What's in Article II
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| § 1 | Executive power in a President; 4-year term; election by electors; qualifications; succession; pay; oath of office. |
| § 2 | Commander in chief; pardons; treaties (two-thirds of the Senate) and appointments (with Senate advice and consent). |
| § 3 | State of the Union; receive ambassadors; "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"; commission officers. |
| § 4 | Impeachment for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." |
Key clauses
Vesting Clause (§1)
"The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."
A single President leads the executive branch.
Electors (§1)
"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"
Each state gets electors equal to its House plus Senate seats: the Electoral College.
Qualifications (§1)
"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."
The President must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35, and a U.S. resident for 14 years.
Oath of office (§1)
"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."
The only oath whose words are written in the Constitution.
Commander in Chief (§2)
"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States"
Civilian control of the military.
Pardons (§2)
"he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."
The President can pardon federal crimes, but not to stop an impeachment.
Treaties and appointments (§2)
"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"
Treaties need two-thirds of the Senate; ambassadors, judges, and officers need Senate confirmation (a check).
Take Care Clause (§3)
"he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"
The President must enforce the laws.
Impeachment (§4)
"shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Grounds for removing the President, Vice President, and civil officers.
Quotations: National Archives transcription of the Constitution (original spelling, such as "chuse" and "Defence").
Why it was written this way
The Articles of Confederation had no executive at all, so no one enforced national laws. Delegates feared both a weak executive and a king. They debated election by Congress, state legislatures, or the people and settled on the Electoral College, a compromise that gave large states weight through House seats and small states a boost through Senate seats, and left it to state legislatures to decide how to choose electors. George Washington, who presided over the Convention, was widely expected to be the first President, which made delegates more comfortable with a strong single executive.
Key Supreme Court cases
- United States v. Nixon (1974): Executive privilege is not absolute
- Bush v. Gore (2000): The 2000 election recount
What the FCLE tends to ask
- Qualifications: natural-born citizen, 35, 14 years a resident.
- Treaties need two-thirds of the Senate; appointments need a Senate majority (checks and balances).
- The original electoral process was changed by the 12th Amendment; succession and disability by the 20th and 25th.
| This | With this |
|---|---|
| President makes treaties | Senate ratifies them (two-thirds); Congress declares war |
| Pardon power | Cannot be used to stop an impeachment |