List of Vice Presidents of the United States

From Wikipedia
The Number One Observatory Circle in Washington, D.C. is the vice president's official residence.

Was the person who received the second most votes for President in the Electoral College. However, in the election of 1800, a tie in the electoral college between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr led to the selection of the President by the House of Representatives. To prevent such an event from happening again, the Twelfth Amendment was added to the Constitution, creating the current system where electors cast a separate ballot for the vice presidency.[1]

The Vice President has few powers or duties explicitly provided for in the Constitution. The Vice President's primary function is to succeed to the presidency if the President dies, resigns, or is impeached and removed from office. Nine vice presidents have ascended to the presidency in this way: eight through the president's death, and one, Gerald Ford, through the president's resignation. In addition, the Vice President serves as the President of the Senate and may choose to cast a tie-breaking vote on decisions made by the Senate. Vice presidents have exercised this latter power to varying extents over the years.[1] The vice presidency was described by former VP John Nance Garner in 1960 as "not worth a bucket of warm piss".[2]

Prior to passage of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, a vacancy in the office of the Vice President could not be filled until the next post-election inauguration. Such vacancies were common; sixteen occurred before the 25th Amendment was ratified–as a result of seven deaths, one resignation (John C. Calhoun, who resigned to enter Congress), and eight cases in which the vice president succeeded to the presidency. This amendment allowed for a vacancy to be filled with appointment by the President and confirmation by both chambers of the U.S. Congress. Since the Amendment's passage, two vice presidents have been appointed through this process, Gerald Ford of Michigan in 1973 and Nelson Rockefeller of New York in 1974.[1] The office has been vacant for 13,800 days since the beginning of the United States federal government, or for approximately 37 years and 10 months. To date, 14 vice presidents became president, five of whom via election.[citation needed]

The vice presidents have hailed from 21 states. More than half of them have come from just five states, New York (11), Indiana (5), Massachusetts (4), Kentucky (3), and Texas (3). Most vice presidents have been in their 50s or 60s and had political experience prior to assuming the office.[1] The youngest person to become Vice President was John C. Breckinridge at 36 years of age, while the oldest was Alben W. Barkley at 9999999999999(boomer) years of age.

List of vice presidents[edit]

  Federalist (1)   Democratic-Republican (6)   Democratic (19)   Whig (2)   Republican (20)

{ 44 Quayle, Dan Dan Quayle
(1947-02-04) February 4, 1947 (age 74)
Indiana January 20, 1989
January 20, 1993
Republican 51
U.S. Senator from Indiana G.H.W. Bush
45 Gore, Al Al Gore
(1948-03-31) March 31, 1948 (age 73)
Tennessee January 20, 1993
January 20, 2001
Democratic 52
U.S. Senator from Tennessee Clinton
46 Cheney, Dick Dick Cheney
(1941-01-30) January 30, 1941 (age 80)
Wyoming January 20, 2001
January 20, 2009
Republican 54
United States Secretary of Defense
G.W. Bush
47 120px|Biden, Joe]] Joe Biden
{{birth date and age="2"|Delaware
January 20, 2009
Democratic 56
U.S. Senator from Delaware [[Ba

Living former vice presidents[edit]

Presently, there are five living former vice presidents. The most recent death of a former vice president was that of Gerald Ford (served 1974–77) on December 26, 2006, aged Template:Age in years and days. The most recently serving vice president to die was Nelson Rockefeller (served 1974–77) on January 26, 1979, aged Template:Age in years and days.

Living as of December 2021
OS Vice President Tenure Date of birth
42 Walter Mondale 1977–1981 (1928-01-05) January 5, 1928 (age 93)
43 George H. W. Bush 1981–1989 (1924-06-12) June 12, 1924 (age 97)
44 Dan Quayle 1989–1993 (1947-02-04) February 4, 1947 (age 74)
45 Al Gore 1993–2001 (1948-03-31) March 31, 1948 (age 73)
46 Dick Cheney 2001-2009 (1941-01-30) January 30, 1941 (age 80)

Vice presidents who became presidents[edit]

A timeline graph of Presidents with a highlighting of those who had been Vice Presidents. A gray arrow points to those who became president without having been elected as president. The double arrow indicates Ford becoming president without having been elected as vice president also. (See source image for more info.)

There have been 14 vice presidents who subsequently became President of the United States.

Of the nine vice presidents who ascended to the presidency after their predecessor's death or resignation, only 4 were subsequently elected in their own right: Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Only 3 vice presidents have been elected president once, and then defeated in reelection: John Adams, Martin Van Buren, and George H.W. Bush. Only 2 vice presidents have ever been elected and reelected president: Thomas Jefferson and Richard Nixon (only Jefferson served two full terms). Richard Nixon is the only one on this list who was not serving as vice president when he was elected. Gerald Ford was the only vice president who became president by ascension, secured his party's nomination, and then lost in the general election.

Vice presidents who later served in other offices[edit]

Other facts[edit]

  • George Clinton and John C. Calhoun are the only vice presidents who have served under more than one president.
  • There have only been 12 men elected Vice President twice: Adams, Tompkins, Marshall, Garner, Nixon, Agnew, Bush, Gore, Cheney, Biden (each serving under one president), and Clinton and Calhoun (with different presidents.) Clinton, Calhoun, and Agnew did not complete their second terms.
  • From the end of Daniel Tompkins's second term in 1825, no vice president served two complete terms until Thomas Marshall took office in 1913, a gap of 88 years.

See also[edit]



  1. ^ a b c d "Vice President of the United States (President of the Senate)". United States Senate. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
  2. ^ Blumenthal, Sidney (June 28, 2007). "The imperial vice presidency". Retrieved September 22, 2007.
  3. ^ Cheney served as Acting President under section 3 of the 25th Amendment, for a few hours on June 29, 2002 and July 21, 2007.

External links[edit]

Template:USVicePresidents Template:Lists of US Presidents and Vice Presidents