Studies in Civics Part 29

_Clause 4.--Times of These Elections._

_The congress may determine the time of choosing the electors,[1] and the day on which they shall give their votes;[2] which day shall be the same throughout the United States.[3]_

[1] The day designated by congress is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The election always comes in "leap year."

[2] The electors meet and vote on the second Monday in January.

[3] This provision was designed, first, to prevent fraud in voting; and second to leave each state free to act as it thought best in the matter of persons for the offices, unbiased by the probability of success or failure which would be shown if the elections occurred on different days in different states.

It may be desirable to know in this connection that:

The president of the senate sends for missing votes, if there be any, on the fourth Monday in January.

The counting of votes is begun on the second Wednesday in February and continued until the count is finished. (See page 334.)

In case the electors have not given any one a majority for the presidency, the house proceeds at once to elect. In a similar case the senate proceeds at once to choose a vice-president.

The provisions of the continental congress for the first election were:

1. Electors to be chosen, first Wednesday in January, 1789.

2. Electors to vote, first Wednesday in February.

3. The presidential term to commence first Wednesday in March. The first Wednesday in March in 1789 was the fourth day of the month, and on that day the presidential terms have continued to begin.

_Clause 5.--Qualifications of President and Vice-President.

No person except a natural born citizen,[1] or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this const.i.tution,[2] 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,[3] and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.[4]_

[1] The importance of the office is such as, in the opinion of the framers of the const.i.tution, to necessitate this requirement. And it does not seem unjust to make this limitation.

[2] This exception was made from a sense of grat.i.tude to many distinguished persons, who, though not native citizens, had placed their lives and fortunes at the service of this country during the revolution, and who had already become citizens of the young republic. This provision is now, of course, obsolete.

[3] Age should bring wisdom. The age specified is great enough to permit the pa.s.sions of youth to become moderated and the judgment matured. As a matter of fact, the youngest president yet elected was much older than this minimum. In monarchies the rulers are sometimes children. It cannot be so with us.

[4] But a "natural born citizen," even, may live so long in a foreign country as to lose his interest in his native land. This provision is intended to preclude the election of such persons to the presidency. They might seek it at the instance of a foreign government, for sinister purposes.

Will residence during _any_ fourteen years satisfy the requirement?

Commentators generally have expressed an affirmative opinion, based upon the fact that James Buchanan and others were elected president on their return from diplomatic service abroad. It must be remembered, however, that a person sent abroad to represent this government _does not lose his residence in this country_. Therefore the fact of Mr. Buchanan being elected after acting as our minister to England, has no bearing upon the question. On the other hand, the evident purpose of the provision could hardly be satisfied if a boy, a native of this country, should live here until fourteen years of age and then spend the rest of his years in a foreign country. And when the matter is carefully considered, it will be seen that the only fourteen years which will secure that state of mind in the candidate which is sought by the provision, are the fourteen years _immediately preceding election_. Again, twenty-one and fourteen equal thirty-five. A person "comes of age" at twenty-one. The fourteen years of _manhood_ added would just make thirty-five years, the minimum age required. This coincidence could hardly have been accidental, and justifies the view expressed.

According to the twelfth amendment, the qualifications of the vice-president are the same as those of the president.

_Clause 6.--Vacancies._

_In case of the removal of the president from office, or of his death, resignation or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the vice-president, and the congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability, both of the president and vice-president, declaring what officer shall then act as president, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a president shall be elected._

If no regular succession were established, there would be danger of anarchy.

By an act pa.s.sed March 1, 1792, congress provided that in case of the disability of both president and vice-president, the duties of the office of president should devolve upon the president _pro tempore_ of the senate; and in case of a vacancy in that office, that they should then devolve upon the speaker of the house of representatives.

But when president Garfield died there was no president _pro tempore_ of the senate and no speaker of the house; so that when vice-president Arthur became president, there was no one to succeed him in case of his disability. It was then expected that congress would devise another plan of succession; but it did not. When vice-president Hendricks died, there was again no president _pro tempore_ of the senate or speaker of the house. This recurrence of the danger within four years prompted congress to provide an order of succession less liable to accident than the one so long in use. The succession was placed in the cabinet in the following order: Secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, secretary of war, attorney-general, postmaster-general, secretary of the navy, and secretary of the interior.

When the vice-president or secretary becomes president, he serves for the remainder of the term.

One very important item in this connection the const.i.tution leaves unprovided for, namely, who shall determine when "disability," other than death, occurs or ceases? Certainly the decision should not be left to those interested in the succession. No official answer to this question has yet been given.

_Clause 7.--President's Salary._

_The president shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation[1] which shall be neither increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected,[2] and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States or any of them.[3]_

[1] Otherwise a person of moderate means would be debarred from accepting the position, and the country might thereby be deprived of the services of some man of lofty character.

[2] Thus congress can neither bribe nor drive the president into doing anything which he may regard as unwise or wrong. And on the other hand, the president has no temptation to try to "undermine the virtue" of congress for his own pecuniary benefit.

[3] This provision has the same purpose in view as the last. "He is thus secured, in a great measure, against all sinister foreign influences. And he must be lost to all just sense of high duties of his station, if he does not conduct himself with an exclusive devotion to the good of the whole people, unmindful at once of the blandishments of courtiers, who seek to deceive him, and of partizans, who aim to govern him, and thus accomplish their own selfish purposes." [Footnote: Story]

Till 1873 the salary of the president was $25,000 a year. It was then raised to $50,000 a year. He also has the use of the White House, which is furnished at national expense; and special appropriations are frequently made to cover special expenses. And yet few presidents have been able to save anything out of their salaries.

The vice-president receives $8000 a year.

_Clause 8.--Oath of Office._

_Before he enter upon 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 const.i.tution of the United States."_

This oath is usually administered by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. It is very simple, pledging the president to two things only; but they are the essential things.

"Taking the oath" is a part of the inauguration ceremonies which occur, usually, on the fourth of March.

_Pertinent Questions._

Was there any president under the confederation? Why? When does the president's term begin? Suppose that day comes on Sunday? How does a presidential term compare with that of senator? Of representative? The first proposition in the const.i.tutional convention was to make the presidential term seven years, and limit a person to one term. Is the present plan better or not as good? For how many terms may a person be elected president? What presidents have been elected for a second term?

How many presidential electors is this state ent.i.tled to? New York?

Illinois? Wisconsin? Delaware? How many are there altogether? Show how the present mode is an advantage to the small states. Who were the electors of this state in the last presidential election? Get a "ticket" or ballot and study it. Tear off, beginning at the top, all that you can without affecting the vote. How could a person have voted for one of the republican candidates without voting for the other? Where did the electors of this state meet? When? Did you preserve the newspaper report of their proceedings?

Could the president and vice-president be chosen from the same state? How many electoral votes were necessary to a choice last time? How many did each candidate receive? In case of election by the house of representatives, what is the smallest possible number that could elect? In case the house should fail to choose a president before the fourth of March, who would be president? Have we ever been threatened with a case of this kind? Which presidents have been elected by the house? Has a vice-president ever been chosen by the senate?

Specify four differences between the old and the new way of electing president and vice-president. Which was the most important change? What statement in the twelfth amendment was unnecessary in the original provision? If "two-thirds of the senators" are present, are two-thirds of the states necessarily represented? What is the smallest number of senators that could elect a vice-president? How many times has the vice-president succeeded to the presidency? What caused the vacancies? Is the result of the election known before the meeting of the electors?

Who is our present minister to England? Would a son of his born in England today be eligible in due time to the presidency? Make a comparative table, giving the qualifications, mode of election (general), and term of representatives, senators and president.

Who is now vice-president of the United States? Have we ever had more than one vice-president at the same time? Name the persons, in their order, who would succeed to the presidency if the president should be unable to perform his duties. If the president should become insane, who would decide that such is the fact? How long would the person thus succeeding to the position of acting president serve? State four ways in which a vacancy in the office of president may occur. If the president leaves Was.h.i.+ngton, is a vacancy created? If he leaves the country? If he is impeached? In case of the non-election of either president or vice-president, who would serve? How long? How is a vacancy in the office of vice-president filled?

At what "stated times" is the salary of the president paid? In November, 1872, President Grant was re-elected. His new term began March, 1873. In the meantime the salary of the president was increased to $50,000. Did President Grant get the increase? Explain.

Does the vice-president take an "oath of office?" If he succeeds to the presidency must he take the oath prescribed in the const.i.tution? What const.i.tutional provision for the salary of the vice president? Compare the duties of a governor of a state with those of the president.