A More Roman US Constitution?

What would be the effect of the new American Republic had, say, three Consuls instead of one President? Here is my altered text for the Constitution (I’ve put the important parts in bold). Have fun! :D
Article II - The Executive Branch
Section 1 - The President
· The executive Power shall be vested in three Consuls who together make up the Presidency of the United States of America. The actions of this Presidency shall be made by a unanimous vote, or, if such agreement is not possible, by the agreement of two Consuls over the dissent of the third. In the event of the absence of one or more Consul from the seat of Government, the remaining Consuls may act as a quorum; however the actions thus taken must be ratified by the next full meeting of the Presidency.
· The first two Consuls shall hold their Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with a Vice-Consul chosen for the same Term, be elected, one in the middle of the Term of the other, as follows:
· Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
· The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not lie an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be a Consul, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for Consul; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the Consul. But in chusing the Consul, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the Consul, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice Consul. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice-Consul
· The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
· 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 Consul; 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.
· The third or Chief Consul will be elected, along with a Vice-Chief Consul, for a term of eight years as follows:
· They shall be nominated nine months prior to the expiration the term of the previous Chief Consul by the other two Consuls and confirmed by a two-thirds majority of the members of the House of Representatives. If the Consuls fail to nominate or the House fails to confirm the nomination by the period three months prior to the end of the term, then the Chief Consul shall be chosen in like manner as the other Consuls.
· No person except a natural born Citizen who is a direct descendent of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, shall be eligible to the Office of Chief Consul; 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.
· In Case of the Removal of a Consul from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice Consul elected at the same time and under the same qualifications, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the Consul and Vice Consul, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
· The Presidency shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
· Before a Consul enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:
· "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

... [For sections 2-3 just replace “President” with “Presidency”]

Section 4 - Disqualification
The Consuls, Vice Consuls and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
 
who is a direct descendent of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence,

What happens if none of the descendants want to take office? or if they have died out?
 
Okay, the Declaration of Independence is still sitting around in the National Archives; when can I go sign it?

[/misiniterpretation]
[/case-that-will-come-to-the-Supreme-Court-sometime]
 
What happens if none of the descendants want to take office? or if they have died out?

There were 56 people who signed it, and according to the official descendants organization, there are now more than 2,673 active members of that organization. Who knows how many more there are out there that don't participate. I’m pretty sure you could find at least one of them with political ambitions or a sense of civic virtue.

Also, you could have some fun with "illegitimate" descendants, if they can prove it (Descendants of Sally Hemming and Thomas Jefferson, for example).
 
There were 56 people who signed it, and according to the official descendants organization, there are now more than 2,673 active members of that organization. Who knows how many more there are out there that don't participate. I’m pretty sure you could find at least one of them with political ambitions or a sense of civic virtue.

Also, you could have some fun with "illegitimate" descendants, if they can prove it (Descendants of Sally Hemming and Thomas Jefferson, for example).
or someone incompetent enough to be used as a puppet :rolleyes:
 
I remember to have watched very far in the time a history program where it said the Americans took inspiration from the Spartans for the development of the Constitution; some time ago, one of my professors said they instead took the ideas from the Athenians.

Because i'm a bit confused on this matter, who had right and who had wrong?
 
Good Question

I remember to have watched very far in the time a history program where it said the Americans took inspiration from the Spartans for the development of the Constitution; some time ago, one of my professors said they instead took the ideas from the Athenians.

Because i'm a bit confused on this matter, who had right and who had wrong?

To be honest, I'd say that they were both wrong in one way or another. The real model seems to be the Achaean league (see Federalist 18) but the idea of checks and balances comes from the Spartan and Roman constitutions, along with Aristotle's analysis of them. (Interstingly enough Sparta had two kings and Rome had two Consuls, and that was the origin of this thread- let's just ignore Federalist 70).

However the Founders weren't very excited about following Rome or Sparta exactly since "Sparta was little better than a wellregulated camp; and Rome was never sated of carnage and conquest." (Federalist 6)

And as for Athens, it was too Democratic for it's own good, which is why we don't really have more thant a ghost of Athenian institutions in our Consititution. "What bitter anguish would not the people of Athens have often escaped if their government had contained so provident a safeguard against the tyranny of their own passions?" (Federalist 63)
 
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