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JolantaDaszyńska
TheEleconsoftheFirstThreeAmerican
Presidents:HowDidAmericansElect
Washington,AdamsandJeerson?
TheEleconofGeorgeWashington,1789
TerstconstitutionoftheUnitedStatesknownastheArticlesofConfed-
erationandPerpetualUnionwasadoptedbytheContinentalCongresson
November15th,1777.Ratificationbyallthirteenstatesdidnotoccuruntil
March1st,1781.TeArticlescreatedalooseconfederationofstateswith
aweakcentralgovernment.Tenationalgovernmentwasheadedbythe
ConfederationCongress.Ithadaceremonialpresidingofcerandseveral
executivedepartments,butnoindependentexecutivebranch.TeUnited
Stateshadnochiefexecutive.
AneedforastrongerfederalgovernmentledtotheConstitutionalCon-
ventionin1787.TeresultofitwastheUnitedStatesConstitutionadopted
onSeptember17th,1787.ItisthesupremelawoftheUnitedStatesofAmeri-
ca.TerstthreeArticlesoftheConstitutionestablishtherulesandseparate
powersofthethreebranchesofgovernment.Alegislatureisthebicameral
Congress,anexecutivebranchledbythepresident,andafederaljudiciary
headedbytheSupremeCourt.
ArticleII,section1createsthepresidency.Tesectionveststheexecu-
tivepowerinapresident.Bothpresidentandvice-presidentservefour-year
terms.Tissectionoriginallysetthemethodofelectingthepresidentand
vice-president,butthismethodhasbeensupersededbytheTwelfhAmend-
ment.(See:www.avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/art2.asp).
TeConstitutionrequiresthepresidenttobeanatural-bornAmerican
citizenoracitizenatthetimeoftheadoptionoftheConstitution,atleast
35yearsoldandaresidentoftheUnitedStatesforatleast14years(See:www.
gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-110hdoc50/pdf/CDOC-110hdoc50.pdf).