Starters Jonathan Milner Starters Jonathan Milner

Can someone convicted of a crime become president?

U.S. Constitution: Article I, Section 1

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, 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, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

  1. Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution lays out the requirements for president. Does the passage above say anything about people convicted of crimes?

  2. According to Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, How old does someone have to be to run for president?

  3. Many would argue that instead of an age minimum for president, we should have an age maximum. The two current candidates for president have a combined age of 158. Would you set a presidential age maximum and if so, what would it be?

  4. In 1787 at the time of the Constitutional convention, life expectancy in the US was about 36. Today the life expectancy in the US is about 79. If you were to Amend the Constitution, how would you change the age requirement for president?

  5. Many people might argue that a convicted felon should be disallowed to run for president. Others might argue that someone from North Korea should be allowed to run for President, because in a democracy, the will of the people is what matters so we should be allowed to vote for whomever we want. How democratic (with a little d) is having any constraints on who can run for president? Shouldn’t it be up to the people to decide?

  6. If you were to amend the Constitution to change the presidential requirements you would need to convince 2/3 of Congress, and 3/4 of states to agree with you. That would not be easy to do. Why do you think the Framers made it so difficult to amend the Constitution?

  7. There are no limitations based on character or criminal record in the presidential requirements listed in the US Constitution. While some states prohibit felons from running for state and local office, these laws do not apply to federal offices. How does this illustrate the concept of federalism?

  8. If you were born a citizen on the day of adoption of the Constitution: June 21, 1788 how old would you be today?

  9. Some would argue that a common criminal is not as bad a slave owner. According to surviving documentation, at least thirteen presidents were slave owners at some point during their lives: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren (Oh no, Old Kinderhook!), William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, and Ulysses S. Grant. Should they have been disqualified from being president?

  10. A natural born citizen refers to someone who was a U.S. citizen at birth, and did not need to go through a naturalization proceeding later in life. Natural born citizens are either born on U.S. soil or are born abroad to U.S. citizens. Citizenship has been an issue for presidents throughout US history. Opponents alleged that President Chester Alan Arthur (R.) (served 1881-1885) was born in Canada and therefore not natural born. In 1964, some questioned the eligibility of Senator Barry Goldwater (R.-Ariz.), who, although an Arizona native, was born three years before that U.S. territory became a state. Senator John McCain (R.), another Arizonan, faced similar questions because he first drew breath in the U.S. Panama Canal Zone. The qualifications of Senator Barack Obama (D.-Ill.) were attacked because his father was a Kenyan. In 2016, opponents of Senator Ted Cruz (R.-Tex.) pointed out that Cruz was born in Canada. His mother was American, but his father was Cuban. This year, Donald Trump attacked his primary opponent Nicki Haley for not being eligible to run for office since her parents were born in India. (Haley is a natural born citizen because she was born in the U.S.). Why do you think the Framers wanted presidents to be natural born citizens?

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Get Creative

I made the following requirements for my own amended US constitution:

No Person except a natural born Citizen of North Carolina, 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 twelve Years, and been fourteen days a Resident within the United States, and be less than 55 and a half years of age, and shall have a pet dog.

Make your own amended US constitutional presidential requirements.

Act on your Learning

An amendment to the Constitution will have to pass the Congress. Contact your U.S. House Representative and ask them to begin the Amendment process for your presidential requirement amendment.

Learning Extension

 
 
 
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