How Well Do You Know the Vice Presidents?

In 1857, John Breckinridge became the youngest Vice President in U.S. history. While in office, he was praised for his fairness during a turbulent time in the country. However, in 1861, shortly after his term as VP was over, Breckenridge was accused of treason when he joined the Confederate army after his home state of Kentucky joined the Union. When the Civil War was over, Breckinridge fled the country to avoid prosecution. He eventually returned to the U.S. after President Andrew Johnson issued an amnesty proclamation for the Confederates on December 25, 1868.

In 1881, James Garfield began his term as the 20th President of the United States. However, he served for only 200 days before being assassinated. His Vice President, Chester A. Arthur, immediately took on the role but decided not to fill the vacancy of VP. It wasn’t until the ratification of the 25th Amendment in 1967 that Presidents were required to fill the Vice President position.

During a presidential election, the sitting Vice President passes the Electoral College votes to four tellers who open and read them aloud. At the end of the count, the Vice President announces the name of the next President. This tradition dates back to the mid-20th century, and in instances where the current VP is running for President, the VP still announces the President, even if they turn out to be the winner.

Whig Party member Millard Fillmore was both the last Vice President and the last President who was not part of the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. In March 1849, Fillmore entered office as Zachary Taylor’s VP. When Taylor passed away in July 1850, Fillmore became the President until 1853. One year later, the Whig Party was absorbed into the Republican Party.

John Nance Garner's nickname stems from his time in the Texas legislature when they were looking to adopt a state flower. Garner was a proponent of the prickly pear cactus, hence the name "Cactus Jack." Despite Texas ultimately selecting the bluebonnet, Garner was referred to by the nickname throughout his life and while serving as FDR's VP from 1933 to 1941.

The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution concerns vacancies in the office of President and Vice President. It establishes that the VP should assume the role of President if the President dies or resigns, and also lays out the process for the replacement of the Vice President should there be a vacancy.

As President James Buchnan's VP from 1857 to 1861, John C. Breckinridge became the youngest individual to ever hold the office, at just 36 years old. During the 1860 presidential election, Breckinridge ran against Abraham Lincoln, though was soundly defeated. Then, in 1861, Breckinridge then became a senator in Kentucky but resigned later that year.

Gerrymandering is the act of drawing district lines in favor of a specific party. The term originated with Elbridge Gerry, James Madison's future VP. While governor of Massachusetts in 1812, Gerry signed a bill creating a misshapen district that favored Democratic-Republicans and sliced up a Federalist voting stronghold. The word "gerrymander" was coined at a Federalist dinner shortly thereafter.

The 12th Amendment made the Senate responsible for choosing the VP in the event of any deadlocked contests, which has only happened once. On February 8, 1837, Martin Van Buren's running mate, Richard M. Johnson, fell one electoral vote shy of a majority among the four VP candidates. The Senate voted 33 to 16 to elect Johnson as Vice President.

Charles Curtis was a member of the Kaw Nation and served as Herbert Hoover's Vice President from 1929 to 1933. Curtis’ father was white and his mother was one-quarter Kaw, and growing up, Curtis spent time living with his grandparents on the Kaw reservation. Despite this groundbreaking achievement, Curtis' stance on many Native issues clouds his legacy.

George Clinton was the fourth Vice President of the U.S. and served under Thomas Jefferson from 1805 to 1809, and James Madison from 1809 until Clinton's death in 1812. The only other man to accomplish this feat was John C. Calhoun, who served under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson beginning in 1825 until Calhoun's resignation in 1832.

Though she wasn’t the first woman to run for VP, Geraldine Ferraro was the first to be nominated under a major party. Ferraro was chosen as the running mate of Walter Mondale, the Democratic presidential candidate. Ferraro had built her career advocating for women’s rights in Congress, and though the pair lost the 1984 election to Ronald Reagan and George Bush, she remained an important figure in American politics.

After navigating strong ideological differences with President Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun became the first Vice President to resign from office on December 28, 1832. After his resignation, Calhoun took a seat in the Senate where he continued to have a contentious relationship with President Jackson and his supporters. The only other Vice President to resign was Spiro Agnew, in 1973.

Eight Vice Presidents were born in New York — George Clinton, Daniel D. Tompkins, Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Schuyler Colfax, William A. Wheeler, Theodore Roosevelt, and James Sherman — but none have served in office since 1912. Though not born there, four additional VPs claimed residence in New York; Aaron Burr, Chester A. Arthur, Levi P. Morton, and Nelson Rockefeller.

"Hail, Columbia" was written by Philadelphia lawyer Joseph Hopkinson in 1798, and was considered the unofficial national anthem for several years. It was first associated with the Vice President beginning in the 1830s and later became the office's official song. Unlike many other anthems in the late 1700s, both the lyrics and music to "Hail, Columbia" were composed on American soil.

Built in 1893 and located at Number One Observatory Circle, this official government residence has housed every Vice President and their family since Walter Mondale, who became VP in 1977. It was refurbished in 1974 while Gerald Ford was Vice President, though he ascended to the presidency before occupying the home. His successor, Nelson Rockefeller, only used it for entertaining guests.

Three U.S. Vice Presidents have received a Nobel Prize. In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt won for negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese war; Calvin Coolidge's VP Charles Dawes received the award in 1925 for the Dawes Plan (a reparations payment plan for Germany after World War I); in 2007 Al Gore won for raising awareness about climate change.

When George Washington became the first U.S. President, the office of Vice President fell to the runner-up in the election. This system didn’t last long, however, and the choice fell instead to the political parties, who would nominate candidates at their convention. That all changed in 1940 with Franklin D. Roosevelt, who convinced the convention to allow him to select his own running mate, as Presidents still do today.

John Tyler became the first Vice President to assume the presidency when William Henry Harrison died after a month in office. Some opposed his assumption of the office by arguing that the Constitution only gave him the duties and powers of the President, not the presidency itself. Tyler moved forward, however, and went about enacting his agenda and finishing Harrison's term as President.

Harry S. Truman's Vice President, Alben W. Barkley, was the first man ever referred to as "veep." The term came about because Barkley's grandson had trouble pronouncing "Vice President" in its entirety. At the time of his election, Barkley also became the oldest individual to hold the office, as he was 71 upon assuming the vice presidency. He served with Truman from 1949 to 1953.

On October 10, 1973, Spiro Agnew resigned from the vice presidency after admitting to tax evasion. Agnew pleaded no contest for failing to report $29,500 in income that he received as governor of Maryland in the late ’60s. He was sentenced to three years’ probation and a $10,000 fine.

Of the United States' 46 Presidents, 15 were former Vice Presidents. Of these 15 VPs, eight took on the leading role following the President's death, and only one, Gerald Ford, became President due to resignation. The remaining six were elected to the office, including most recently, President Joe Biden, who served as Vice President under Barack Obama.

When William McKinley was elected President in March 1897, Garret Hobart was his Vice President. However, Hobart passed away in November 1899. The Vice President position remained vacant until March 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt became McKinley’s VP. Just six months into his new position, Roosevelt was elevated to President when McKinley was assassinated. He was elected to a full term in 1904 and served in the role until 1909.

If anything were to happen to the leader of the United States, the government has a backup plan. The presidential line of succession begins with the Vice President, who is followed by the speaker of the House, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and finally, the secretary of state. After that, the presidential backups wind through the President’s Cabinet, eventually ending at the secretary of homeland security.

September 26, 1960, marked the first televised presidential debate in U.S. history, pitting candidate John F. Kennedy against then-Vice President Richard Nixon. Kennedy was deemed the winner, as Nixon appeared visibly nervous and declined to wear makeup, which in turn contributed to the telegenic Kennedy's victory in the general election.

In his record-breaking four terms in office, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had three Vice Presidents. John Nance Garner was his first, then Henry Agard Wallace, and finally Harry S. Truman, who succeeded Roosevelt after the President passed away suddenly while in office. After Roosevelt’s death, the 22nd Amendment was passed limiting Presidents to two elected terms.

On July 11, 1804, then-Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shot Alexander Hamilton in Weehawken, New Jersey. Burr was from a prestigious New Jersey family and a veteran of the American Revolution, and he once served as the senator from New York. Hamilton regarded Burr as a dangerous opportunist and said, “I feel it is my religious duty to oppose his career.”

While visiting a New Jersey school in 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle asked a 12-year-old boy to add an “e” to the word "potato" on the blackboard. This misspelling was branded on Quayle’s reputation and he was relentlessly mocked for his error. Quayle later wrote in his memoir: "It was a ‘defining moment’ of the worst imaginable kind. I can’t overstate how discouraging and exasperating the whole event was.”

As the first Vice President under George Washington, John Adams took his job seriously from the start, particularly his role as President of the Senate. He issued many tie-breaking votes, including siding against war with England and deciding the nation’s capital. Adams would go on to become the second President of the United States, serving a single term after Washington departed office.