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Now Who Supports the Vice President? Overview It is often assumed that the candidates a political party
nominates for election to the White House hold the same views. We know however, that the second man—the candidate for vice president—was probably chosen to balance the ticket precisely because he was different from the first.
This innocent deception—both candidates think alike—works as long as the man elected president remains alive. But when the president dies in office, the new president's own party must deal with the fact that the man now in
office may have very different ideas from their own. "Who did we elect?" becomes a real question for the president's party and the nation. This lesson plan focuses on five vice presidents (John Tyler, Millard Fillmore,
Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur and Harry Truman) who "devolved" to president and how the nation and their own political parties dealt with these "happenstance" presidents. Objectives Students will:
Time Required This lesson will require four to five class periods or time at home. Materials
Initial Motivation Ask the students: When the president dies in office what happens? How do you know that is what should happen? Provide the following explanation:
Would it surprise you to know that when President William Harrison died in office no one knew for sure what role the vice president was supposed to play? George Washington established many precedents for the office of
president—how we should address the president, how many terms a president should serve—but it wasn't until our tenth president, John Tyler, that a precedent was established that would dictate what would happen if a president
died in office. Tyler's presidency was characterized by a lack of support by the party that elected him to office. This was also the case for many of the men who ascended to the office as a result of the death of
the president.
Procedures I. Introduction and Video Viewing
1. Begin with a pre-viewing introduction:
We will look at five presidents who never thought they would be president because they did not run for the office. It is clear that in most cases, their party's support was explicitly for the president alone
because the presidential candidate represented the ideas of the party. As vice presidential candidates, the five men added balance to the ticket and were selected to attract more voters. However, in some ways,
because they often did not enjoy their party's support after they assumed the office, their allegiance was to the American people. They preferred to do what they considered to be the right thing rather than stay loyal
to the party. Many of these men were despised for this and suffered through presidencies without the support of their party or the public. To collect data on the video that we will use in later assignments, we
will work in groups. Each member of the group will be responsible for one or more cells in the data chart.
2. Make group assignments, distribute the data charts, and view the videotape. 3. Instruct students to complete the data chart while watching the video.
II. The Tyler Precedent
1. Have students use their data charts and what they remember to review the videotape segment on John Tyler. (If a weekend has intervened, you may consider re-viewing the Tyler segment.) Pose the following
questions: Who was John Tyler? How did he become president? What problem did he face his first day in office? What did he decide to do? 2. Explain that Tyler's problem revolved around the
lack of clarity in the Constitution. It states that "in case of the removal of the President from office or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties...the same shall devolve on the Vice
President." What the words "the same" referred to and what they meant was the subject of serious debate and controversy. Did it mean the office of president or just the duties? The 12th Amendment (1804) reads, "…the
Vice President shall act as president...in the case of death." The question everyone debated revolved around the phrase "act as president." It did not say shall
become president. Tyler believed himself to be president, not acting president. When Tyler took the oath of office after the death of President Harrison, he established the precedent that following his swearing in, the vice president becomes president. The 25
th Amendment (1967) put the Tyler precedent into the Constitution. 3. Move students into groups. Each group should:
a. Discuss Tyler's decision to become the president.
4. Use an overhead or the chalkboard to compile a class list of positives and negatives.
5. Assign the following homework for the next day: Use completed class and individual charts to evaluate John Tyler's decision to establish the precedent that on the death of the president the vice
president becomes president. All ideas should be fully explained in two paragraphs total.
III. What Did They Bring to the Ticket?
1. Divide the class into five groups. Assign each group a vice president. To complete the assignment, each group should have access to textbooks and electronic and/or print resources. A
good place to start research is the presidential biography section of a. What did the vice president add to the original ticket? To which voters was he meant to appeal? 2. Each group should report to the entire class on their findings. Complete a classroom chart to gather the information from all the groups.
IV. What Should a Good Vice President Look Like?
1. Have each student brainstorm a list of characteristics they believe a political party should consider when selecting the running mate for a presidential candidate. Before sharing their list with
the class, each student should (1) rank order their list and (2) highlight the top three requirements they believe political parties should emphasize.
2. Lead a classroom discussion on what students believe those characteristics to be. Encourage students to use information they have learned to argue for their positions.
3. Ask students to apply their criteria to the current presidential campaigns by selecting a vice presidential running mate for a major candidate. To defend their selections, students should use
historical and electoral (e.g., state populations and electoral vote distribution) information.
Assessment Student performance should be based upon:
Additional Resources The Federal Register's electoral college vote chart by state: Strong links exist with geography since many decisions were and still are based on regional affiliation of
the candidates. Additional links can be made to government classes. Karen R. Todorov is the social studies education consultant for the Michigan Department of Education. Data Chart
Tyler Fillmore A. Johnson Arthur Truman Took over from which president Home state Political position held prior to being elected vice president Personal background and family circumstances Delivered an inaugural address? yes/no Impeachment attempted? yes/no Relationship with the party that elected him Issues faced during term as president |
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