Summary
Contents
This comprehensive guide is the definitive source for researchers seeking an understanding of those who have occupied the White House and on the institution of the U.S. presidency. Readers turn to Guide to the Presidency for its wealth of facts and analytical chapters that explain the structure, powers, and operations of the office and the president’s relationship with Congress and the Supreme Court. The work is divided into eight distinct subject areas covering every aspect of the U.S. presidency.
Chapter 10 Head of State
Chapter 10 Head of State
In every government, there is one or sometimes more than one person whose job it is to embody the nation and preside at ceremonies celebrating a people's unity and spirit. This role, of head of state, responds to a powerful psychological need for symbolic leadership. The duties of a head of state are as various, and their significance as varied, as the times demand. In many countries the function of head of state (sometimes called chief of state) is fulfilled by a monarch with little governmental authority or an official whose post was created to separate symbolic from substantive executive responsibilities. One of the fundamental characteristics of the American form of government is that the Constitution ...
