Vice President

• Author: Jeffrey Lehman, Shirelle Phelps

Page 217

The vice president of the United States occupies a high position in government, yet is given little responsibility under the U.S. Constitution. A person elected vice president presides over the Senate, but apart from that duty, he or she must rely upon the president to assign additional responsibilities. The Constitution requires that a vice president of the United States must be a native-born citizen, 35 years of age or older, who has resided in the United States for at least 14 years. The ELECTORAL COLLEGE chooses the vice president, who holds office for a term of four years.

Until 1804, under Article II, Section 2, Clause 3, of the Constitution, each member of the electoral college was permitted to vote for two persons. The person receiving the highest total became president, and the person receiving the second highest total became vice president. The ratification of the TWELFTH AMENDMENT to the Constitution, in 1804, changed this procedure by requiring each elector to vote for president and vice president on separate ballots instead of voting for two persons on a single ballot.

During the early years of the Republic, the vice president was limited to the only function set forth in the Constitution, that of president of the Senate. (As such, he or she occupies a largely ceremonial role, having no vote unless the senators are equally divided on a particular issue.) In 1841, however, JOHN TYLER became the first vice president to take over the presidency because of the death of the chief executive, in this case President WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. Article II of the Constitution was silent on the matter of succession, so some political leaders suggested that Tyler serve as acting president. Tyler rejected this idea, and announced that he would assume the full powers and duties of the office, setting a precedent that would be followed by other vice presidents.

Presidential succession was clarified by the Twentieth and Twenty-fifth Amendments to the Constitution. Under the TWENTIETH AMENDMENT, if a president-elect dies before assuming office, the vice president elect becomes president. Under the TWENTY-FIFTH AMENDMENT, if the president is removed from office, dies, or resigns during his or her term of office, the vice president becomes president of the United States. Eight U.S. presidents have died in office, with the result that the vice president assumed the presidency. In 1974, Vice President GERALD R. FORD...