Vice president of the United States is only a heartbeat away from the most powerful elective office in the world. The vice president must be ready to become president or acting president at a moment’s notice if the president dies, resigns, is removed from office, or becomes unable to perform the duties of office.
Fifteen vice presidents have become president, eight because of the death of a president. These eight so-called “accidental presidents” were John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson. The other vice presidents who became president were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, George H. W. Bush, and Joe Biden. Of these seven, all but Nixon and Biden became president immediately after serving as vice president. Ford was the only vice president to take office because of a president’s resignation.
The United States Constitution also provides that the vice president shall become acting president if the president is disabled. In 1967, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. It spelled out procedures in case of presidential disability and provided for vice presidential succession (see Constitution of the United States (Amendment 25)). Presidents James A. Garfield, Woodrow Wilson, and Dwight D. Eisenhower all had serious illnesses. But their vice presidents carefully avoided assuming the duties of the president. In 1985, George H. W. Bush became the first vice president to serve as acting president. He held the office for about eight hours. President Ronald Reagan had designated Bush as acting president when Reagan had surgery.
The vice president serves as the presiding officer of the United States Senate and has the title of president of the Senate. The Constitution gives the vice president no other official duty. For more than 100 years, the job’s lack of political importance caused it to be treated as somewhat of a joke. Some people had humorously suggested that the vice president be addressed as “Your Superfluous Excellency.”
Yet the Founding Fathers had high hopes for the office of the vice presidency. James Iredell of North Carolina, who later served on the Supreme Court of the United States, explained that there would be “two men … in office at the same time; the president, who will possess, in the highest degree, the confidence of the country, and the vice president, who is thought to be the next person in the Union most fit to perform this trust.”
The prestige of the vice presidency has gradually increased since the early 1920’s. Beginning in 1933 with the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, vice presidents have regularly attended meetings of the president’s Cabinet. Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy did more than any other presidents to establish the importance of the office of vice president. Eisenhower’s vice president, Richard M. Nixon, and Kennedy’s vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, had important duties and responsibilities. When Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, many experts believed that Johnson was the best-prepared “accidental president.”
The vice president has offices in the Capitol, the Richard B. Russell Office Building of the U.S. Senate, and the Executive Office Building. All these offices are in Washington, D.C. In 1974, Congress established a 33-room mansion on the grounds of Washington’s Naval Observatory as the vice president’s official residence. Secret Service agents guard the vice president.
Choosing a vice president
Nomination
of the vice presidential candidate occurs at the party’s national convention. The convention delegates usually nominate the person preferred by the presidential nominee. A contest develops only if the presidential nominee makes no choice. The vice presidential candidate is often called the presidential nominee’s running mate.
Many factors may influence the selection of a vice presidential nominee. After a bitter campaign for the presidential nomination, the nominee may want a running mate who can help restore party harmony. The choice for vice president may be one of the losing candidates for the presidential nomination, or a supporter of one of the losers. In 1844, the Democrats nominated Senator Silas Wright of New York for vice president. They did this to appease former President Martin Van Buren, who had failed to win the Democratic presidential nomination. But Wright, a close friend of Van Buren, refused. In 1972, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Senator Thomas F. Eagleton, became the only person ever to withdraw after having accepted a party’s nomination at a national convention. He did so following the disclosure that he had received psychiatric treatment. See Eagleton, Thomas F.
Often the vice president comes from one of the states considered to be especially important in the election. This may be a state in which the election outcome is expected to be very close, or it may simply be a state with a large electoral vote. By appealing to local loyalties, the vice presidential candidate may strengthen the party’s vote in this “home” state.
Sometimes the vice presidential candidate is chosen because the person is thought to appeal to a large bloc of voters. In 1984, the Democrats nominated Representative Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York for vice president. She was the first woman and the first person of Italian descent ever chosen as the vice presidential candidate by a major American political party.
The vice presidential choice often is made to balance the ticket. If an older candidate is nominated for president, a younger person may be chosen for vice president. A presidential nominee from the East may be balanced with a vice presidential nominee from the West. If the presidential nominee is known as a conservative, the vice presidential nominee may be a liberal. By balancing the ticket, party leaders hope to win the support of the largest possible number of voters.
The system of selecting a vice president helps the party win the election. It does not necessarily produce the person best qualified to serve as vice president. The custom of balancing the ticket with people of conflicting political beliefs has often been criticized. Theodore Roosevelt said early in his political career: “It is an unhealthy thing to have a vice president and president represented by principles so far apart that the succession of one to the place of the other means a change as radical as any party overturn.” This occurred when John Tyler succeeded William Henry Harrison and when Roosevelt later succeeded William McKinley.
The campaign.
The vice presidential candidate plays an active role in the election campaign. The vice presidential and presidential candidates usually map out separate campaign routes for maximum coverage of the country. They may later change places to cover all strategic areas with repeated campaigning.
Election.
Voters select the same electors for the vice president when they choose presidential electors. They cannot split the ticket. That is, a person cannot vote for electors of the presidential candidate of the Republican Party and for electors of the vice presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. Citizens must vote for a slate of electors pledged to one party’s candidates.
The Electoral College elects the president and vice president on separate ballots (see Electoral College). If the Electoral College fails to choose the vice president by a majority vote, the Senate elects one of the two leading candidates. At least two-thirds of the Senate must be present at the voting, and the winner must receive a majority vote of the entire membership.
The Senate has elected a vice president only once. In 1837, the Senate elected Richard M. Johnson, a Democrat, by a vote of 33 to 16 over Francis Granger, a Whig. Johnson had fallen one vote short in the Electoral College. He became so controversial that the Democrats refused to renominate him in 1840. In fact, they failed to nominate any vice presidential candidate—the only time any convention has done so.
Inauguration.
Until 1933, the vice president took the oath of office in the Senate. Today, both president and vice president are inaugurated in the same ceremony in January after their election. The vice president is sworn into office immediately before the president is inaugurated. The vice president’s oath may be administered by the retiring vice president, by a member of Congress, or by some other government official, such as a justice of the Supreme Court. In the early days, the vice president made an inaugural address. This custom has disappeared with the adoption of the combined ceremony in which the president gives the inaugural address.
The 25th Amendment
spells out procedures for filling a vacancy in the vice presidency. The office becomes vacant if the vice president dies, resigns, or is unable to carry out the duties of office. Then the president appoints a new vice president. The appointment is subject to the approval of a majority of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. In 1973, House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford became the first vice president chosen under the terms of the 25th Amendment. Ford succeeded Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, who resigned. Before the 25th Amendment came into force, vacancies in the vice presidency remained unfilled until the next election. See Ford, Gerald R.
Roles of the vice president
The vice president can be only as important as the president chooses. The vice president has almost no political power, unless the president asks for advice about party policy and political appointments. Even the vice president’s role as a Cabinet member depends on the wishes of the president. But with the active support of the president, the vice president can exert a tremendous amount of influence. The vice president’s attendance at conferences between the president and congressional leaders strengthens the vice president’s power with the legislative branch. If the president gives the vice president important diplomatic missions, the vice president can help shape United States foreign policy.
A typical day
for the vice president might begin with a breakfast conference called by the president. A legislative meeting might follow. The two officials confer with their party’s congressional leaders about legislation being debated by the Senate and the House of Representatives. The vice president may then work at an office in the White House, the Executive Office Building, or the Senate wing of the Capitol. The vice president reads and answers mail and sees callers who have appointments. Tourists or unexpected visitors on emergency matters also may arrive. If the Senate is meeting that day, the vice president enters about noon to preside at the opening of the session. The vice president may remain at the session, depending on the nature of the day’s business and the vice president’s own schedule. If the vice president leaves, the president pro tempore or another senator takes over.
The vice president spends many evenings away from home. The vice president must make various kinds of public appearances, many of which require speeches. The vice president may go to the airport to greet dignitaries from other nations. Ceremonial duties may require the vice president to dedicate a public-works project, open an athletic tournament, or present an award to the winner of a contest.
President of the Senate.
When presiding over the Senate, the vice president performs the duties of chairperson and cannot take part in any Senate debates. Nor can the vice president vote, except in the rare case of a tie. John Adams cast a deciding vote 29 times, more than did any other vice president.
The vice president enforces the rules established by the Senate for its own guidance. Senators can speak only after being recognized by the vice president or the president pro tempore. By using this power of recognition, the vice president can either aid or hold back legislation by permitting only certain senators to speak. The vice president also has the power to make rulings in disputes over procedure by interpreting the rules of the Senate. But the Senate can reject such rulings by a majority vote. In 1919, Vice President Thomas R. Marshall ruled three times in one day on a certain point. He was fighting to save the controversial Versailles Treaty and U.S. membership in the League of Nations. The Senate overruled Marshall three times and defeated the treaty.
The president of the Senate also directs the counting of electoral votes for president and vice president. Early vice presidents could decide whether to count or disallow disputed votes. Congress has since assumed this power, leaving the vice president only formally in charge of counting electoral votes.
Administration and policymaking.
The vice president attends meetings of the president’s Cabinet and is a member of the National Security Council (NSC). The NSC is the highest advisory body to the president on matters of foreign and defense policies. The vice president also is a member of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
The president may assign the vice president general counseling and liaison activities. Such duties may involve trips abroad to spread good will, exchange information, and learn about the attitudes of various nations toward the United States. The vice president may also act as an intermediary between the president and their political party. The vice president attempts to build party support for the president’s program.
Social duties.
One of the oldest functions of the vice president is to serve as ceremonial assistant to the president. For example, the vice president attends many receptions and other social events at which the president cannot be present. The vice president often plays host to dignitaries from other countries.
Some vice presidents have enjoyed their ceremonial and social duties, but others have not. Calvin Coolidge took a characteristically philosophic approach. When his hostess at a dinner once remarked to him how annoying it must be to have to dine out so often, Coolidge replied: “Have to eat somewhere.” John Nance Garner drew the line on social life. He went to bed early and refused to receive calls from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., saying these hours “are my own.”
History of the vice presidency
Early days.
Most historians believe that Alexander Hamilton first proposed the office of vice president. Not all the delegates to the Constitutional Convention supported the idea. But on Sept. 6, 1787, the convention approved his proposal. The Founding Fathers originally provided that the person who received the second highest electoral vote for president should become vice president. Electors had two votes, which they cast for the two people they considered best qualified for the presidency. Under this system, John Adams became the first vice president and Thomas Jefferson the second.
Adams and Jefferson developed different views of the vice presidency. Adams wrote his wife: “My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.” Jefferson declared that “the second office in the government is honorable and easy; the first is but a splendid misery.”
The rise of political parties caused the breakdown of this election system. In 1796, the Electoral College gave the greatest number of votes to Adams, a Federalist. Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, received the next largest number of votes, and became vice president. The conflicting party loyalties of the two men created discord in the administration.
In 1800, Jefferson and Aaron Burr both ran as Democratic-Republicans. They tied with 73 electoral votes each, and the election was given to the House of Representatives, where each state has one vote in a presidential election. Burr hoped for Federalist support, and tried to be elected president instead of vice president. But he failed. After 36 ballots, Jefferson won a majority of the votes, and Burr became vice president. The system’s weakness became apparent during this election. In 1804, Congress adopted Amendment 12 to the Constitution, which provided for separate ballots for president and vice president. This solved the immediate problem, but it also lessened the prestige of the vice presidency. The vice president was no longer elected as the second choice for the presidency.
In 1832, John C. Calhoun became the first vice president to resign. He resigned after being elected to fill a U.S. Senate seat from South Carolina.
Tyler takes over.
The Constitution provides that in case of the death or disability of the president, “the powers and duties” of the office shall transfer to the vice president. How this would work remained uncertain until 1841, when William Henry Harrison died in office, the first president to do so. His vice president was John Tyler. Former President John Quincy Adams and other leaders believed Tyler should be called acting president, not president. They opposed Tyler’s receiving the full presidential salary and even his occupying the White House. Tyler ignored them. He took the oath and title of president, occupied the White House, and asserted full presidential powers. His action was not challenged legally, and he thereby established the right of the vice president to full succession.
Vice presidents have responded in many ways when a president has become disabled. Vice President Chester A. Arthur did not see James A. Garfield from the day Garfield was shot until he died 80 days later. Arthur got reports of Garfield’s condition from Secretary of State James G. Blaine. He refused to assume Garfield’s duties for fear he would be doing wrong. Vice President Thomas R. Marshall also declined to take up the president’s duties during Woodrow Wilson’s six-month illness. During Dwight D. Eisenhower’s illnesses in 1955 and 1956, Vice President Richard M. Nixon presided at Cabinet and National Security Council meetings. He kept in close touch with the president. These experiences, and the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, led to the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment, ratified in 1967, sets procedures for presidential and vice presidential succession.
Growth of the vice presidency.
In 1791, Vice President John Adams attended a Cabinet meeting. No other vice president did so until 1918. That year, President Wilson asked Vice President Marshall to preside over the Cabinet while Wilson attended the Paris Peace Conference that followed World War I. After Wilson returned home, Marshall was again excluded.
President Warren G. Harding invited Vice President Calvin Coolidge to attend all Cabinet meetings. Coolidge did so until he became president after Harding’s death. Vice President Charles G. Dawes declared that he would not attend Cabinet sessions, because if he did so “the precedent might prove injurious to the country.” Therefore, Coolidge did not ask him to participate. Nor did President Herbert Hoover invite Vice President Charles Curtis to take part in Cabinet meetings.
Since the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, all vice presidents have regularly attended Cabinet meetings. President Eisenhower strengthened the vice presidency further by directing that Vice President Nixon should preside at Cabinet meetings in the president’s absence. Previously, the secretary of state had presided at such times. Congress made the vice president a member of the National Security Council in 1949. Eisenhower directed in 1954 that the vice president should preside over council meetings when the president was absent.
President John F. Kennedy further extended the duties of his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson was chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council and headed the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. After he became president, Johnson continued to upgrade the vice presidency. Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey helped unify the Johnson administration’s antipoverty and civil rights programs.
President Richard M. Nixon also gave important duties to his vice president, Spiro T. Agnew. Agnew promoted the administration’s domestic programs among state and local officials. His outspoken defense of Nixon’s policies against criticism by liberals and the news media made Agnew a controversial figure.
In 1973, Agnew became the second vice president to resign. He left office when a federal grand jury began to investigate charges that he had participated in widespread graft as an officeholder in Maryland. Nixon nominated House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford to succeed Agnew. Ford became the first vice president chosen under terms of the 25th Amendment. In 1974, Nixon resigned. Ford then became the first vice president to succeed to the presidency because of a president’s resignation. Former New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller became vice president. For the first time, three vice presidents and two presidents had held office during one four-year term. Also for the first time, neither the president nor the vice president had been elected.
President Jimmy Carter continued the trend of giving the vice president important assignments. His vice president, Walter F. Mondale, helped develop U.S. policy on southern Africa and helped draft a plan to reorganize U.S. intelligence agencies. He was one of Carter’s most influential advisers.
Vice President George H. W. Bush headed a group of advisers that provided President Ronald Reagan with recommendations on how to respond to foreign crises. Bush became the first vice president to serve as acting president. He held the position for only about eight hours on July 13, 1985, when Reagan had cancer surgery.
During George H. W. Bush’s term as president, Vice President Dan Quayle traveled throughout the United States and to other countries to promote the policies of the Bush administration. Quayle also headed the National Space Council and a council to evaluate the effect of government regulations on the economic competitiveness of the United States.
Vice President Al Gore exercised considerable influence in the administration of President Bill Clinton. Gore played a leading role in foreign affairs, environmental protection, and efforts to improve U.S. communications technology. In 1993, he headed a federal panel called the National Performance Review, which recommended ways to increase the federal government’s efficiency and reduce its costs.
During the presidency of George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney had a substantial influence on many of the administration’s major policy decisions. He served as a chief adviser to the president and was actively involved in decisions relating to national security, energy policy, and foreign affairs.
Vice President Joe Biden helped oversee a number of major projects during the presidency of President Barack Obama. He served as an adviser on such international issues as nuclear arms reduction and bringing an end to the Iraq War (2003-2011). He also oversaw the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a $787-billion economic stimulus bill meant to shore up a struggling economy.
Mike Pence served as vice president under President Donald J. Trump. Pence promoted the creation of the U.S. Space Force and helped lead adminstration efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joe Biden succeeded Trump as president. His running mate, Kamala Harris, became the first woman to serve as vice president.
