President

Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)

in governmental matters the highest officer of the state in a modern republic. The president of the French Republic is elected for seven years by the National Assembly. The president of the United States is chosen once in four years by a college of presidential electors. These electors are elected by the voters of the respective states in November of each leap year . Though charged with the legal duty of electing the president, they vote invariably for candidates named in a nominating convention held prior to the presidential campaign. The president of the United States is commander-in-chief of the army and of the navy and of the militia of the several states when in the service of the nation. He has power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the laws of the United States. With the consent of two-thirds of the Senate, the president makes treaties and appoints cabinet officers, heads of bureaus, foreign ministers, consular agents, federal judges, territorial officials, postmasters, and the principal officers of the navy and the army. He may be impeached by the House of Representatives and be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. His salary is $100,000 a year. He is provided with an official residence at Washington, known as the White House. A large appropriation is made annually for the maintenance of the residence, for secretaries, traveling expenses, and other necessary outlay. Twenty-six different persons have been presidents of the United States. George Washington was the first president. William Henry Harrison was the oldest; Theodore Roosevelt, the youngest. William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, and William McKinley died in office. As vice-presidents, Tyler, Fillmore, Johnson, and Arthur succeeded Presidents Harrison, Taylor, Lincoln, and Garfield, respectively, and were not reelected to the office. Vice-President Roosevelt succeeded President McKinley and was subsequently elected for four years. Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Grant, and Cleveland served two terms each. The two terms of President Cleveland were separated by an interval of four years. Roosevelt is considered usually as having served two terms. Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley were re-elected, but died before they had completed their second terms. Washington set the example of declining to run for a third term. This precedent has all the force of an unwritten law. John Quincy Adams and Benjamin Harrison were the sons of President John Adams and William H. Harrison respectively. With the exception of Theodore Roosevelt and Martin Van Buren who are of Dutch descent, the paternal ancestry of all the presidents may be traced to the British Isles, being either English, Welsh, Scotch, or Irish. The office of president, like any other position, is largely what the holder makes it. It is probable that George Washington, the first president, looked upon the office as one rather of dignity than of activity. He is credited with having maintained a carriage and having upheld social usages savoring of European royalty and with having refrained from direct attempts to shape legislation and guide the movements of the nation. Thomas Jefferson, on the contrary, is said to have ridden into Washington unconcernedly on horseback and to have hitched his horse to a post like any other plain American citizen. He was full of plans such as the Lewis and Clark Expedition , the Louisiana Purchase, and other measures for the national welfare. Among the presidents who have been distinguished for force of character are Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Cleveland, and Roosevelt. The last named in particular threw himself energetically into all departments of the government. He cannot be said to have pleased the older officials, but what the chiefs of the various departments were inclined to term presidential interference, the public, having little admiration for mossback methods and red tape, regarded rather as administrative efficiency. There is a recent tendency to look to the president to insist on congressional activity. The presidential succession is fixed by chapter four of the acts of the forty-ninth Congress, first session. In case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the president and vice-president, then the secretary of state shall act as president until the disability of the president or vice-president is removed or a president is elected. If there be no secretary of state, then the secretary of the treasury will act; and the remainder of the order of succession is as follows: The secretary of war, attorney-general, postmaster-general, secretary of the navy, and secretary of the interior. The acting president must, upon taking office, convene Congress, if not at the time in session, in extraordinary session, giving twenty days' notice. This act applies only to such cabinet officers as shall have been confirmed by the Senate and are eligible under the Constitution to the presidency. See Constitution ; Vice President ; Electoral Commission ; Electoral College ; Cabinet ; White House; and separate articles on the presidents. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. Name. Birthplace. Year. Paternal Ancestry. Residence. Inaugurated. Politics Place of Death. Year. Age. Year. Age. 1 George Washington Westmoreland Co., Va 1732 English Va. 1789 57 Fed Mt. Vernon, Va 1799 67 2 John Adams Quincy, Mass. 1735 English Mass. 1797 62 Fed Quincy, Mass. 1826 90 3 Thomas Jefferson Shadwell, Va. 1743 Welsh Va. 1801 58 Rep Monticello, Va. 1826 83 4 James Madison Port Conway, Va. 1751 English Va. 1809 58 Rep Montpelier, Va. 1836 85 5 James Monroe Westmoreland Co., Va. 1758 Scotch Va. 1817 59 Rep New York City 1831 73 6 John Quincy Adams Quincy, Mass. 1767 English Mass. 1825 58 Rep. Washington, D.C. 1848 80 7 Andrew Jackson Union Co., N.C. 1767 Scotch-Irish Tenn. 1829 62 Dem Hermitage, Tenn 1845 78 8 Martin Van Buren Kinderhook, N. Y. 1782 Dutch N. Y. 1837 55 Dem Lindenwold, N. Y. 1862 79 9 William H. Harrison Berkeley, Va. 1773 English O. 1841 68 Whig Washington, D. C. 1841 68 10 John Tyler Greenway, Va. 1790 English Va. 1841 51 Dem Richmond, Va. 1862 72 11 James K. Polk Mecklenburg Co., N. C. 1795 Scotch-Irish Tenn. 1845 50 Dem Nashville, Tenn. 1849 53 12 Zachary Taylor Orange Co., Va 1784 English La. 1849 65 Whig Washington, D. C. 1850 65 13 Millard Fillmore Summerhill, N. Y. 1800 English N. Y. 1850 50 Whig Buffalo, N. Y 1874 74 14 Franklin Pierce Hillsboro, N. H. 1804 English N. H. 1853 49 Dem Concord, N. H. 1869 64 15 James Buchanan Cove Gap, Pa 1791 Scotch-Irish Pa 1857 66 Dem Wheatland, Pa. 1868 77 16 Abraham Lincoln Larue Co., Ky 1809 English Ill. 1861 52 Rep Washington, D. C. 1865 56 17 Andrew Johnson Raleigh, N.C. 1808 English Tenn. 1865 57 Rep Carter's Depot, Tenn. 1875 66 18 Ulysses S. Grant Point Pleasant, O 1822 Scotch D. C. 1869 47 Rep Mt. McGregor, N.Y. 1885 63 19 Rutherford B. Hayes Delaware, O. 1822 Scotch O. 1877 54 Rep Fremont, O. 1893 70 20 James A. Garfield Cuyahoga Co., O 1831 English O. 1881 49 Rep Long Branch, N. J. 1881 49 21 Chester A. Arthur Fairfield, Vt. 1830 Scotch-Irish N. Y. 1881 51 Rep New York City 1886 56 22 Grover Cleveland Caldwell, N.J. 1837 English N. Y. 1885 48 Dem Princeton, N.J. 1908 71 23 Benjamin Harrison North Bend, O 1833 English Ind. 1889 55 Rep Indianapolis, Ind. 1901 67 24 Grover Cleveland Caldwell, N.J. 1837 English N.Y. 1893 56 Dem Princeton, N.J. 1908 71 25 William McKinley Niles, O 1843 Scotch-Irish O. 1897 54 Rep Buffalo, N.Y. 1901 58 26 Theodore Roosevelt New York City 1858 Dutch N.Y. 1901 43 Rep 27 William H. Taft Cincinnati, O. 1857 English O. 1909 52 Rep Presidential Election. The following table, compiled from the official reports of the various secretaries of state, gives the popular vote of 1908 by states and parties: States. Rep. Dem. Soc. Pro. Alabama. . . . . 25,305 74,374 1,399 665 Arkansas. . . . . 56,760 87,015 5,842 1,194 California. . . . . 214,398 127,492 28,659 11,770 Colorado. . . . . 123,700 126,644 7,974 5,559 Connecticut. . . . . 112,815 68,255 5,113 2,380 Delaware. . . . . 25,014 22,071 239 670 Florida. . . . . 10,654 31,104 3,747 1,356 Georgia. . . . . 41,692 72,413 584 1,059 Idaho. . . . . 52,621 36,162 6,400 1,986 Illinois. . . . . 629,932 450,810 34,711 29,364 Indiana. . . . . 348,993 338,262 13,476 18,045 Iowa. . . . . 275,210 200,771 8,287 9,837 Kansas. . . . . 197,219 161,209 12,420 5,033 Kentucky. . . . . 235,711 244,092 4,060 5,887 Louisiana. . . . . 8,958 63,568 2,538 . . . . . Maine. . . . . 66,987 35,403 1,758 1,487 Maryland. . . . . 116,513 115,908 2,323 3,302 Massachusetts. . . . . 265,966 155,543 10,779 4,373 Michigan. . . . . 335,580 175,771 11,586 16,974 Minnesota. . . . . 195,835 109,401 14,471 10,114 Mississippi. . . . . 4,463 64,250 1,048 . . . . . Missouri. . . . . 346,915 345,889 15,398 4,212 Montana. . . . . 32,375 29,431 6,000 1,500 Nebraska. . . . . 126,997 131,099 3,524 5,179 Nevada. . . . . 10,214 10,655 2,029 . . . . . New Hampshire. . . . . 53,144 33,655 1,299 905 New Jersey. . . . . 265,326 182,567 10,253 4,934 New York. . . . . 870,070 667,468 38,451 22,667 North Carolina. . . . . 114,084 136,927 345 . . . . . North Dakota. . . . . 57,680 32,885 2,465 1,453 Ohio. . . . . 572,312 502,721 33,795 11,402 Oklahoma. . . . . 110,558 122,406 21,779 . . . . . Oregon. . . . . 62,530 38,049 7,339 2,682 Pennsylvania. . . . . 745,779 448,785 33,913 36,694 Rhode Island. . . . . 43,942 24,706 1,365 1,016 South Carolina. . . . . 3,963 62,288 100 . . . . . South Dakota. . . . . 67,675 40,266 2,846 4,039 Tennessee. . . . . 118,195 135,608 1,870 360 Texas. . . . . 65,666 217,167 7,870 1,634 Utah. . . . . 61,028 42,601 4,895 . . . . . Vermont. . . . . 39,552 11,496 802 799 Virginia. . . . . 52,579 82,948 254 1,111 Washington. . . . . 106,062 58,691 14,177 4,700 West Virginia. . . . . 137,868 111,418 3,679 5,139 Wisconsin. . . . . 247,747 166,632 28,168 11,572 Wyoming. . . . . 20,846 14,918 1,715 66 Totals. . . . . 7,677.433 6,411,794 421,745 253,119 George Washington. Famous presidents Thomas Jefferson. Famous presidents Theodore Roosevelt. Famous presidents Abraham Lincoln. Famous presidents William Howard Taft. Famous presidents Grover Cleveland. Famous presidents