When the office of vice president of the United States of America was created at the constitutional convention in 1787, provisions were made for the vice president to take over in the event of death, disease, insanity, impeachment (with a conviction) or other circumstances that could prevent the president from carrying out the duties of that office. The language of original provisions, however, is confusing. Article II, Section I of the Constitution, reads as follows:
In Case of Removal of the President 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 President….
The questions surrounding this passage center on two words: "the Same." Did the framers of the Constitution intend for these words to refer only to the "Powers and Duties" of the presidency, or to "said Office" itself? In other words, under this article, could a vice president ever actually become the president, or could he only act as president?
When Vice President John Tyler took over following the 1841 death of President William Henry Harrison, he contended that he had in fact become president, and even took the presidential oath. Though many constitutional scholars protested that Tyler was wrong and that his only constitutional entitlement was to the office of acting president, Congress and the Cabinet allowed Tyler to assume the title of President. Thus, the precedent was set. The eight vice presidents to lay claim to the White House after the death of their presidents between 1841 and 1963 were all recognized as legitimate presidents by government officials and the American public alike.
There was, however, a catch. Though Tyler and other "accidental presidents" were successful in asserting claims to the presidency, later research established that the original intent of Article II, Section I, had in fact been to install the vice president only as acting president in the event of presidential disaster, including death. The founding fathers had been, at least in this instance, sloppy proofreaders, and the constitutional committee on style had unintentionally neglected to remove the vague language, which caused problems for future generations of Americans.
After Tyler set the precedent of assuming not just the responsibilities, but also the title of president, troublesome questions arose. What if Harrison had not died, but had remained too ill to fulfill his duties? If Tyler had claimed the office, and then Harrison recovered, there would have been no constitutional mechanism for placing Harrison back in office. With this scenario in mind, Chester A. Arthur assumed the title of acting president after James Garfield was shot. Garfield did die, and only then was Arthur recognized as President. Following the example of Arthur, Thomas Marshall likewise functioned as acting president while Woodrow Wilson was incapacitated for months. In that case, Wilson recovered and resumed his duties, again the undisputed president. Still, the questions of what to call the vice president under various circumstances continued to plague the administrations of other accidental presidents.
[For a complete listing of accidental presidents, along with how and when they became president, click here.]
The first and only constitutional revision to affect the terms of the succession of a vice president to the presidency was sparked by the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Approved by Congress and ratified in 1967, the 25th Amendment counteracts the vagueness of Article II, Section I, by clearly stating that if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the vice president shall become president. If the president is alive but disabled, the vice president becomes acting president. The president may declare himself unable to discharge the duties of office. Or, if the president either cannot or will not declare himself disabled, the vice president may, under certain circumstances and with the support of a majority of the heads of the executive departments or another specific governmental body determined by Congress, declare the president disabled. The president may then at any time declare himself once again fit to serve in office, upon which the president resumes all duties unless the vice president, again with a majority of department heads or other appointed leaders, declares within four days that the president is still unfit for service. In that case, Congress must meet within 21 days to decide. A two-thirds vote of Congress is then required to declare the president still unfit, in which case the vice president is still the acting president. If the president is still alive and has neither resigned or been successfully impeached, the vice president cannot put his nameplate on the Oval Office desk.
A further provision of the 25th Amendment provides for the replacement of vice presidents who are unable to continue in office for any of the same reasons that might affect a president. If there is a vacancy in the office of vice president, the successor is to be appointed by the president, who must gain majority approval of his choice from both the House and the Senate. In the history of the United States, 37 years have been spent with no vice president, due to a combination of deaths and resignations. This provision was necessary to ensure that there would always be a vice president waiting in the wings should a presidential successor be needed.
The 25th Amendment was activated twice within 12 months, during 1973-1974. First, Spiro T. Agnew resigned from the vice presidency. Nixon followed the amendment and appointed Gerald Ford to the post. Then Ford gained the presidency when Nixon resigned. Ford then appointed Nelson Rockefeller as vice president. Rockefeller's nomination cleared Congress only after an inquiry that lasted about four months. Many Americans were disturbed by the fact that neither the president nor the vice president had been elected by a vote of the people. Though only extreme conditions would ever necessitate such a double-activation of the 25th Amendment again, Americans must decide if the amendment is a sufficient answer to the intricate problems of presidential succession.
To learn more about "accidental presidents," click here.