List of vice presidents of the United States

Number of vice presidents by party affiliation
Republican	20
Democratic	18
Democratic-Republican	6
Whig	2
Federalist	1

There have been 47 vice presidents of the United States, from John Adams to Joe Biden. Originally, the Vice President 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.

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. The vice presidency was described by former VP John Nance Garner in 1960 as "not worth a bucket of warm piss".

Prior to passage of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, a vacancy in the office of the Vice President could not be filled until the next election. 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 State in 1974. 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.

The vice presidents have been elected 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.

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Living former vice presidents

As of January 2013, there are five living former vice presidents of the United States. The most recent death of a former vice president was that of Gerald Ford (1973–1974), on December 26, 2006.

Vice President	Term of office	Date of birth
Walter Mondale	1977–1981	(1928-01-05) January 5, 1928
George H. W. Bush	1981–1989	(1924-06-12) June 12, 1924
Dan Quayle	1989–1993	(1947-02-04) February 4, 1947
Al Gore	1993–2001	(1948-03-31) March 31, 1948
Dick Cheney	2001–2009	(1941-01-30) January 30, 1941

Vice presidents who became presidents

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

• John Adams, elected president in 1796.
• Thomas Jefferson, elected president in 1800.
• Martin Van Buren, elected President in 1836.
• John Tyler, became president when William Henry Harrison died in office.
• Millard Fillmore, became president when Zachary Taylor died in office.
• Andrew Johnson, became president when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in office.
• Chester A. Arthur, became president when James A. Garfield was assassinated in office.
• Theodore Roosevelt, became president when William McKinley was assassinated in office.
• Calvin Coolidge, became president when Warren G. Harding died in office.
• Harry S Truman, became president when Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office.
• Lyndon B. Johnson, became president when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in office.
• Richard Nixon, elected president in 1968. He is the only person on this list who was not serving as vice president when he became president.
• Gerald Ford, became president in 1974 when Richard Nixon resigned.
• George H. W. Bush, elected President in 1988.

Vice presidents who served in other offices after being VP

• John C. Calhoun, US Senator and Secretary of State
• Richard M. Johnson, Kentucky House of Representatives
• John Tyler, the provisional Confederate Congress
• George M. Dallas, Ambassador to Great Britain
• John C. Breckenridge, US Senator and Confederate Secretary of War
• Hannibal Hamlin, US Senator
• Andrew Johnson, US Senator
• Levi P. Morton, Governor of New York
• Thomas R. Marshall, the Federal Coal Commission
• Charles G. Dawes, Ambassador to Great Britain, Chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
• Henry Wallace, Secretary of Commerce
• Alben W. Barkley, US Senator
• Hubert H. Humphrey, US Senator
• Walter F. Mondale, Ambassador to Japan.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous information about age difference between vice-presidents and their presidents:

1. Almost half of vice presidents (22 out of 46) were older than their presidents. Of those older VPs who later became president, none began their presidency by election, and of them only Lyndon B. Johnson was later elected.
2. Incumbent (47th) vice president Joe Biden is also older than president Barack Obama, and he is the oldest vice-president compared to his president (18 years, 8 months, 15 days).
3. The biggest age difference between a president and a vice president was between president James Buchanan , and VP John C. Breckinridge (Breckinridge is younger by 29 years, 8 months, 29 days). This also makes Breckinridge the youngest VP compared to his president.
4. The least age difference between a president and a vice president was between president Abraham Lincoln , and VP Andrew Johnson (Johnson is older by 45 days).

Miscellaneous information about election and tenure of office.

1. Al Gore (1993–2001) and Dick Cheney (2001–2009), are the first consecutive vice presidents to serve two full terms.
2. Gore (1992, 1996), Cheney (2000, 2004) and Joe Biden (2008, 2012) are the first three consecutive vice presidents to be elected to two terms.

See also

• List of Presidents of the United States
• Alexander H. Stephens, the only Vice President of the Confederate States of America

External links

• Official White House website for the Vice President
• Vice Presidents.com
• A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825
• Amendment25.com
• AboutGovernmentStates.com