Qualifications to Become President of the U.S.
What are the qualifications to be president of the United States?Forget the nerves of steel, charisma, background and skill set, the fund-raising network, and the legions of loyal folks who agree with your stance on all the issues.To get into the game, you have to ask how old you are and where you were born.
The officeholder's age, time of residency in the U.S., and citizenship status are only some of the eligibility requirements for president.
The requirements have been changed twice.The qualifications were the same for the vice president of the United States.Office holders were limited to two terms as president.
The framers of the Constitution believed that the person holding the nation's highest elected office should be a person of experience and maturity.The character and talent of a middle-aged person is fully developed, allowing them a greater opportunity to have experience in public service.
The average age of U.S. presidents is 55 years and 3 months.On November 22, 1963, hours after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson was inaugurated as the 36th President of the United States.Theodore Roosevelt became president at the age of 42 years and 322 days after the assassination of William McKinley.John F. Kennedy was elected president at the age of 43 years and 236 days.When Joe Biden is inaugurated as president on January 20, 2021, he will be 78 years and 61 days old.
The president of the United States must have been a resident for at least 14 years in order to be a member of Congress.The Constitution is vague on this point.It isn't clear whether those 14 years need to be consecutive or the precise definition of residency.Justice Story wrote that "by'residence,' in the Constitution, is to be understood, not an absolute inhabitancy within the United States during the whole period; but such an occupyancy, as includes a permanent residence."
To be eligible to serve as president, a person must either be born in the U.S. or overseas to a citizen parent.The Framers intended to keep foreign influence out of the highest administrative position in the federal government.John Jay felt so strongly about the issue that he sent a letter to George Washington, demanding that the new Constitution require a strong check to the admission of Foreigners into the administration of our national Government.Justice Story wrote that the natural-born-citizenship requirement cuts off all chances for ambitious foreigners, who might otherwise be intriguing for the office.
Children of enemy aliens or foreign diplomats who are born within the borders of a country are not considered to be citizens of that country.The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are eligible to serve as president.
It's not clear if children born abroad to United States citizens are eligible to serve as president.Since 1350, the British Parliament has applied the rule of jus sanguinis, which means that newborn children inherit the citizenship of their parents regardless of where they were born.When Congress enacted the first U.S. naturalization law in 1790, it stated that the children of citizens of the United States, that may be born beyond the sea or into the US, shall be considered as natural born.
The question of whether the term "natural born Citizen" used in the presidential eligibility clause incorporates both the parliamentary rule of jus sanguinis and the common law principle is still unanswered.The 14th Amendment was not available in the 1898 case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark.According to most constitutional experts, George Romney was eligible to run for president in 1968 because he was born in Mexico to American parents.