FrontPage:
NNIGN
Homework: OL 10.1 for Friday
Chapter 8, Section 1
THE VICE PRESIDENT AND THE
ORDER OF SUCCESSION
Role of the Vice President
 What are the Constitutional duties of the
VP?
•Have VP’s had
much of a role
throughout history?
•How has the office
of the VP changed
in recent years?
“Balancing the Ticket”
What does it mean for a VP to “Balance the ticket”?
 Geographically
 Politically
 Personality /Personal characteristics –
 VPs also may be chosen to fill a perceived weakness
with presidential candidate.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcya3fFHZ_8
“Balancing the Ticket”
 Can you figure out how these VP candidates
“balanced” their “tickets”?
 Geographically?
 Politically?
 Personality/Personal Characteristics?
A Heartbeat
Away…
 So the VP is next in line, and one of his major
functions is just to be ready in case the President
can’t be President.
 But what happens if both the President and the VP are
unable to serve at the same time?
 We have a plan for who would take over if that
should happen…
 What is this plan called?
The Order of Succession to the
Presidency
 What does “Order of Succession” mean?
 How was the order determined?
 Article II of the Constitution
 Acts of Congress
 The 25th amendment.
 Constitution- Article II, Section 1
 What does this part of the Constitution say about what will
happen if the president cannot serve for any reason?
 What is the problem with this part of the Constitution?
Presidential Succession Act (1947)
 Why is the time period significant for the passage of
this act?
 What did this act of Congress do?
 What is the current order of succession?
1. Vice President
2. Speaker of the House
3. President pro tempore of the
Senate
4. Secretary of State
5. Secretary of the Treasury
6. Secretary of Defense
7. Attorney General
- 11 other Cabinet departments follow,
last is dept. of homeland security
Line of Presidential Succession
1. Vice President – Joe Biden
2. Speaker of the House- John Boehner
3. President pro tem of Senate – Daniel Inouye
4. Secretary of State-Hillary Clinton
5. Secretary of the Treasury- Timothy Geithner
6. Secretary of Defense- Robert Gates
7. Attorney General- Eric Holder
8. …
…
25th Amendment (1967)
 How did the 25th amendment “fill out”
the remaining issues with the order of
succession?
Fun Game:
 What are the original 3 “formal” Constitutional
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requirements for the President?
List 4 common characteristics of past presidents.
Name 1 government position that many presidents
have held just prior to becoming president.
What is the salary, and how long is the term of office of
the president?
What are the only 2 constitutional duties of the Vice
President?
After the VP, list the next 3 positions in the OoS.
Describe what happens if the VP position becomes
vacant.
**Bonus Question:…