In the United States government, the second-highest position in the Executive Branch is the vice
president.
How does one become Vice President?
What responsibilities does the vice president have?
When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they determined that the vice president would
be the individual who finished second in the presidential election.
However, this was changed by the passage of the 12th Amendment in 1804, which stated that
separate votes would be cast for president and vice president.
Since that point, vice presidential candidates have been chosen by presidential candidates
as “running mates”.
A presidential candidate might choose a running mate for several different reasons.
In some cases, a running mate is chosen based on geography.
For example, a presidential candidate from the North might choose a vice presidential
running mate from the South.
Or perhaps a presidential candidate from a rural area would choose a vice president from
a highly populated city.
A running mate could be chosen for political reasons as well.
A presidential candidate who was viewed as too moderate, might choose a running mate
who appealed to the more partisan members of his or her political party.
The selection of a vice presidential running mate is an important step for any presidential
candidate, because in the event of the president’s death, the vice president will assume the
office of the presidency.
This was stated in Article II, Section 1, but was also clarified by the 25th Amendment,
which fully established the line of presidential succession.
Since the vice president is “one heartbeat away” from the presidency, the qualifications
to be vice president are the same as those to be president.
This means that the vice president must be at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen
of the United States, and have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.
The primary responsibility of the vice president is to preside over the senate.
However, in this role, the vice president is not allowed to participate in debates,
and is only allowed to cast a vote in the event of a tie.
Other than this, the only duty that the Constitution gives the vice president is to oversee the
counting of electoral votes after each presidential election.
The role of the vice president has changed over the years.
Early in its history, the vice presidency was seen as a fairly useless position.
However, some vice presidents have worked to become integral parts of their president’s
administration.
Garrett Hobart, vice president to William McKinley, became an important adviser to the
president.
Woodrow Wilson’s vice president, Thomas R. Marshall, oversaw cabinet meetings while
the president was out of the country.
As Dwight Eisenhower’s vice president, Richard Nixon visited many different nations and became
an incredibly visible figure across the nation.
Some of those who have held the office of vice president have not had a high opinion
of its significance.
While he was vice president, John Adams proclaimed that “my country has in its wisdom contrived
for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his
imagination conceived.”
John Garner Nance, vice president to Franklin Roosevelt, stated that the vice presidency
“wasn’t worth a warm pitcher of spit.”
The vice presidency is often thought of as a stepping stone to the presidency.
While many vice presidents have earned their party’s nomination and ran for president,
only five vice presidents have actually gone on to win the presidency (this excludes vice
presidents who assumed the presidency after a president had died).
Several vice presidents have gone on to serve in other roles after being vice president.
John C. Calhoun, Hannibal Hamlin, Andrews Johnson, Alben Barkley, and Hubert H. Humphrey
were all elected to the senate after being vice president.
Benjamin Harrison’s vice president, Levi P. Morton, became the governor of New York
after his time as vice president.
The vice president can be impeached and removed from office, just as the president can.
This has never been done to a vice president.
However, there have been two vice presidents resign the office.
John C. Calhoun resigned as vice president during Andrew Jackson’s presidency, and
Spiro Agnew also resigned as Richard Nixon’s vice president.
Today, the vice presidency is a highly sought after position.
The vice president lives at Number One Observatory Circle, on the grounds of the United States
Naval Observatory in Washington DC.
The individual who holds the office earns a salary of $230,700.
The vice president can be a highly visible position, traveling to ceremonial engagements
and other functions that the president may not be able to attend.