vice presidents

For 38 Years of American History, There Has Been No Vice President

by Cary Heinz

The frequency with which the vice presidency has been vacant shows the historical insignificance of the office. 

Is Kamala Harris Really the Least Popular VP in a Half-Century?

The right has seized on the argument, which is based on shoddy interpretation of polls and ignores the fact that net favorability ratings for current officials are much more affected by partisan polarization than for their predecessors decades ago. 

Fritz Mondale and Decency

by Kai Bird

Jimmy Carter thought the vice presidency was "a wasted national asset." He gave Walter Mondale the charge and the freedom to redefine the role. 

Walter Mondale Remade the Vice Presidency

by Stuart E. Eizenstat

"Walter Mondale created the modern vice presidency out of a position that was an afterthought at the Constitutional Convention. Mondale was a great public servant and a decent man, and his death comes at a time when his progressive politics have gotten a second breath in the Democratic Party."

Walter F. Mondale and the Creation of the New Vice Presidency

by Joel K. Goldstein

Walter Mondale worked with Jimmy Carter to redefine the vice presidency from a stepping stone to a key public servant, and infused this new role with compassion. 

Vice Presidential Loyalty and Independence

by Ron Faucheux

As the Trump era comes to an end, Vice President Pence is paddling his own boat. Where he goes is now up to him––and him alone.

Why is Charles Curtis's Legacy So Complicated?

by Kiara M. Vigil

VP Charles Curtis advocated for policies toward Native American nations that today seem steeped in paternalist and assimilationist values, but in the context of the 1920s his legacy should be seen as part of debate among Native leaders about the tension between preservation and incorporation of modern American society.

Kamala Harris Will Play Major Role As Vice President, Historian Says

Historian Julian Zelizer suggests Kamala Harris will make history not just because of her ethnic identity but because of her likely considerable involvement in White House policymaking. 

Can Biden Beat Van Buren's Curse?

by Robert Schmuhl

In 1840, Democrat Martin Van Buren ran for re-election without a running mate, having never embraced the eccentric Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky, the man chosen by Senate Democrats to serve as his Vice President. Beginning with Johnson's failed bid for the presidency in 1840, only two of sixteen Democratic Vice Presidents became President, and none came to office by election. 

The Woman Who Paved the Way

Here, compiled from sources including Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro’s memoir, contemporary news clippings and interviews with players who were part of this history, is a look back at Ferraro’s exhilarating, much-scrutinized path to becoming a political standard-bearer.

The Measures of a Successful Vice-Presidential Pick

by Michael Beschloss

Now that Joe Biden has announced Senator Kamala Harris will be his running mate, readers can decide how well the pick meets Michael Beschloss's criteria for a beneficial choice. 

History’s Lessons For Joe Biden

The anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the circumstances of Roosevelt's failing health should be reminders of the significance of Joe Biden's choice, even beyond the campaign.

5 Vice Presidential Candidates Who Made History

Historian Elizabeth Varon rates Andrew Johnson's selection as Vice President disastrous because of his ascenscion to the presidency. 

Biden Must Pick Warren: She’d Balance the Ticket and Invigorate the Party as No Other Veep Could

by Jonathan Zimmerman

Tapping Warren for vice-president might be just the ticket to unite Democrats and unseat President Trump in November.

The Two Vice Presidents Who Got Along Best with Their Presidents

by Ronald L. Feinman

Walter Mondale and Joe Biden

Joan Mondale, political wife and culture maven, dies at 83

Mondale was recognized as one of the most prominent political spouses of her era.

Doug Brinkley makes cover of Rolling Stone for Joe Biden interview

Douglas Brinkley, the prolific Rice University historian who has already twice graced the cover of Rolling Stone (first for his interview of Bob Dylan in 2009, then for his interview of Barack Obama in 2012) has done it again.Brinkley's interview with Vice President Joe Biden made the cover of the most recent issue of Rolling Stone.A taste:There is a keen Kennedy-like vigor to Joe Biden that overwhelms any room. As was once said of Theodore Roosevelt, he, too, wants to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral. Unlike President Obama, who speaks in interviews with Hemingway-esque sparseness, Biden rambles like Thomas Wolfe, painting a robust picture of an ever-changing America where coal miners will soon be working in clean-tech jobs, gun-safety laws will be tougher and China will be reined in by the White House from poisoning the planet with megatons of choking pollutants....