U.S. Presidential flag, 1960-present

 Listen to Hail to the Chief

• The Story Behind the Presidential Anthem "Hail to the Chief"

 Podcast Resources

For a student-oriented perspective on presidential duties, go to Listen and Read: What Does a President Do?

Link to Presidential from the Washington Post to hear podcasts about each of the Presidents

What Does the President Do?

 
-The President is the leader of the government

-The President meets with leaders from other countries

-The President helps make agreements with other countries

-The President is in charge of the armed forces

-The President helps create laws

Who Can Be President?

 
Anyone who:
-Is at least 35 years old

-Was born in the United States

-Has lived in the United States for at least 14 years

Here is a list of all the United States Presidents.
 

How Do You Become President?

 
-The candidate (the person who wants to be in the government) has to be nominated by his/her political party (a group of people with similar ideas and goals for the government)

-There are candidates from different political parties who compete for votes

-He/she travels the country to meet people, and share their plans and ideas for the future

-On election day in November, American citizens who are at least 18 years old vote for who they want to be President

-The candidate with the most votes will become President-elect, meaning he or she will become President the next January 

-This means that the people chose who runs the government

 
-The winner is President for four years

-He/she can run for President one more time

-This means that he/she can be President for a limit of eight years

 

  Discussion Questions for the Students

-What makes someone a good President?
-What would you do if you were President?
- Why should you vote?
-What is the best/worst part about being President?


Click here for lesson plans to teach kids about elections

Click here for PBS Kids "The Democracy Project" to teach kids about being President, the importance of voting, and how the government works.


 


Book Suggestion: What Does the President Do? by Amanda Miller is geared specifically towards grades 1 and 2.


Presidents have also have advanced civil rights. Link to Commander-in-Chief: U.S. Presidents and Their Executive Power from the National Archives.

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which declared that all slaves were “forever free.”  

During Reconstruction, President Ulysses S. Grant signed several laws protecting the rights of African Americans, such as the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875. 

President Truman desegregated the Armed Forces in 1948, and can be read about here.