The Vice Presidency: Evolution of the Modern Office, 1933-2001

Publication Date: February 2001

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

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Abstract:

Something of an afterthought, the vice presidential office came to the attention of the delegates to the constitutional convention in the closing days of their deliberations in 1787. The Vice President's constitutional mandate vested him with two responsibilities: presiding over the deliberations of the Senate and standing by to succeed to the presidency in the event of the incumbent's death. For the next 140 years, those holding the vice presidential office served only these functions. Indeed, the Vice President soon came to be regarded as a legislative branch official. However, for six incumbents during this period, their service was particularly important to the nation when they succeeded to the presidency.

Although some Vice Presidents informally provided advice to the Presidents with whom they served, the inclusion of the Vice President in Cabinet deliberations did not occur until the second decade of the 20th century. Consequently, Cabinet members usually were more and better informed about the policies and practices of an administration than the man who might be required to lead that administration in the event of the President's death. Woodrow Wilson fractured the precedent in 1919 when he requested his Vice President to preside over a few Cabinet meetings while he was in France negotiating the treaty of peace concluding World War I. Thereafter, President Warren Harding regularly included his Vice President in Cabinet sessions, and with the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the practice became tradition. Moreover, President Roosevelt began to make other uses of the Vice President as an arm of the presidency, launching the modern version of this office.

This report reviews the evolution of the modern vice presidency--the historical events and developments that have contributed to the expansion of the office beyond its largely legislative branch character to include diverse and important executive branch duties. It will be updated as changing conditions and circumstances recommend.