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A Heartbeat Away from the Presidency: Presidential Succession and the Constitution Overview The president is dead! Who's in charge? Article II, section 1 of the U.S. Constitution says, "In case of the 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." Yet, does that mean the vice president will be president or does it mean the vice president
will be acting president until a special election can be held? Is the vice president really a heartbeat away from the presidency or not? Is it different if the president had a stroke or is lingering in a coma, unable to
perform his office, but still alive? Do we need a replacement vice president? It's hard enough dealing with the shock of a president's demise; we don't need a constitutional crisis as well. It's time to amend the
Constitution! This lesson presents students with an actual constitutional issue, asks them to investigate historic precedents, and assigns them the task of rewriting the constitutional passage on presidential
succession. Designed to work in conjunction with The American President
video segment titled, "Happenstance," this lesson is appropriate for high school U.S. history or government classes but can be adapted for middle school. Background Between 1787 and 1967, the
ambiguities in the Constitution cast doubts on presidential succession. Actions by "accidental presidents" beginning with John Tyler, established a tradition of orderly transfer of power, but it was without basis in
constitutional law. It was not until the ratification of the 20th Amendment in 1933 and, more significantly, the 25th
Amendment in 1967, that most of the elements of presidential succession were clarified and incorporated into the Constitution. When Gerald Ford succeeded Spiro T. Agnew as vice president in 1973, then Richard Nixon as president in 1974 (naming and securing confirmation of Nelson Rockefeller as his own successor as vice president in that same year), the importance of these constitutional changes became evident. On July 13, 1985, during President Reagan's cancer surgery, the disability clause of the 25
th
Amendment was invoked for the first time as Vice President George Bush was designated acting president of the United States during the duration of the anesthesia. This orderly transfer back and forth contrasted strongly with the chaos following the shooting of President Reagan in 1981, when Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig, Jr., attempting to calm the nation's fears, declared that he was in charge. In fact, Vice President Bush, the Speaker of the House, and the president pro tempore of the Senate all preceded the secretary of state in order of presidential succession.
Objectives Students will:
Materials
Time Required One to two days of class time will be required for this activity, with more time if students are allowed additional time for further research. It can be abbreviated to suit the individual teacher's
needs. Initial Motivation Tell students that around the time of the Watergate scandal, many non-Americans assumed that either Senator Edward Kennedy or Governor Nelson Rockefeller would succeed Richard Nixon as president
of the United States. Not being familiar with the Constitution, they assumed the next president would be appointed from a wealthy, important family. When Gerald Ford succeeded, many thought he had become president
because he was heir to the automobile fortune, not because he was vice president! This confusion underlines how unique among world governments the United States' tradition of an orderly transfer of power really is. Ask
students if they know the name of the person who is a "heartbeat away from the presidency" today. Do they know the vice president's background? Just exactly how does a vice president assume the presidency,
anyway? What does the Constitution have to say about it? Procedures
1. Ask students to read Article II, section 1, paragraph 6 of the United States Constitution. 2. Ask students if the passage is clear about whether the vice president shall assume the office of
president or serve as acting president until a special election can be held. Discuss whether issues such as taking the oath of office (inauguration), inaugural festivities, inaugural speeches, temporary disability, and
replacement of the vice president are addressed. 3. Explain to students that they will be watching a video about five vice presidents who became president under the auspices of this passage of the
Constitution. As they watch the video they should complete the video worksheet. 4. After watching the video, divide the class into teams of two to three students each and ask them to revise Article II,
section 1, paragraph 6 of the Constitution to incorporate the precedents made by the five vice presidents in the video. 5. Once students have completed their rewrites, ask them to read the 25th
Amendment to the Constitution, explaining that it was adopted in 1967, after completion of the terms of office of all the subjects of the video. Provide each group with a Venn diagram and ask each group to compare its revision of the Constitution with the 25
th Amendment. Students should identify (1) the areas both they and Congress treated, (2) areas that only the students revised, and (3) areas that are addressed by the 25th
Amendment. Ask students to read the 20th Amendment as well to learn what it contributes to the issue of presidential succession.
Assessment Divide the class into five teams, one for each of the "accidental presidents." Ask each team to prepare a 5-minute presentation (oral or computer presentation using a program such as PowerPoint) about
how their vice president's succession to the presidency contributed to the nation's precedence for an orderly transfer of power. Presentations may be graded on a 10-point scale:
10 – 9 Presentation is well organized and effective, includes pertinent historical events, and illustrates the transfer of power issues 8 Presentation is well organized and effective, but is incomplete in covering
historical events and in making the connection between the events and constitutional issues 7 Presentation is well organized and effective, addresses historical events and recognizes constitutional issues, but doesn't
tie them together 6 Presentation is not well organized or effective, addresses historical events and recognizes constitutional issues, but doesn't tie them together 5 – 0 Presentation is disorganized, is
historically incomplete and ignores the constitutional implications of the event
- OR - Divide the class into two teams for a class debate on whether the U.S. Constitution needs to be amended further to clarify the orderly transfer of power in the event that a president dies or must be
replaced. Students arguing for further amendment may want to focus on issues such as whether a naturalized or underage individual who is elected vice president (or Speaker of the House, or secretary of state) may serve as
president. Students arguing against further amendment should use the historical experiences of Presidents Tyler, Fillmore, Johnson, Arthur, and Truman as illustrations (as well as others, if necessary) to prove that the
precedent for orderly transfer of power, along with the existing 20th and 25th Amendments, is adequate. Debate participants can be graded on a 10-point scale. For debate guidelines, see Jeff Harris's "
10 – 9 Participates in debate, makes points clearly, arguments are well reasoned 8 Occasionally participates in debate, makes points clearly, arguments are moderately well reasoned
7 Occasionally participates in debate, makes points clearly, arguments are poorly reasoned 6 Occasionally participates in debate, points are somewhat unclear and arguments poorly reasoned
5 - 0 Does not participate, or points are unclear, unrelated and arguments poorly reasoned
Note: The American President website biographies will help students with facts on the presidents they are researching. Additional Resources
Internet Resources Presidential biographies and links to other sites: Presidential biographies with inaugural information and links to websites: http://library.thinkquest.org Obituaries for Fillmore, Johnson and Arthur: http://www.starship.skyport.net/crew/manus/PresidentsHall of Forgotten Presidents highlights Tyler and Arthur: http://www.clark.net/silhan/hallpres.htm C-Span site has presidential biographies and other related information: http://www.americanpresidents.org Dept. of Education site contains information on Truman's life and policies: http://www.whistlestop.org National Archives Truman Presidential Library: http://www.trumanlibrary.org Website for John Tyler's Virginia home: http://www.sherwoodforest.org
Print Resources Barre, W. L. The Life and Public Services of Millard Fillmore. B. Franklin, 1971.
Miller, Merle. Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman. Greenwich House, 1985. Peterson, Norma L. The Presidencies of William Henry Harrison and John Tyler.
University Press of Kansas, 1989. Poole, S. D. Chester A. Arthur: The President Who Reformed. M. Bloomfield, 1977. Trefousse, H. L. Andrew Johnson: A Biography
. Norton, 1989. Truman, Margaret. Where the Buck Stops: The Personal & Private Writings of Harry S. Truman. Morrow, 1990.
Interdisciplinary Connections In addition to use in U.S. history or government classes, this lesson is suitable for use in a class such as language arts/writing or public speaking/communications. Jean West is
an education consultant in Volusia County, Florida who also serves as social studies enrichment coordinator at R.J. Longstreet Elementary School.
A Heartbeat Away from the Presidency: Presidential Succession and the Constitution Video Worksheet Directions: Watch the "Happenstance" video, taking notes to complete this worksheet.
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