Rise to Power: Vice Presidents that Became President

BY CHARLIE LUST

Joe Biden has just been elected the 46th President of the United States of America, with his Vice President, Kamala Harris. Biden, however, used to be a Vice President under Barack Obama for his two terms. Here’s a list of other Vice Presidents who became Presidents, and how they did it.

Photo by Ella Lateano

1. John Adams
The second President, Adams also served as Vice President for two terms under George Washington, the first President. He lost to Washington in the very first election, but back then the loser became Vice President. He defeated Thomas Jefferson in the next election and served one term.
2. Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson ran against John Adams to be the second President and lost. Because he was the loser, he was appointed Vice President, even though he and Adams were from separate parties. He then tied with Aaron Burr in the next election, but the House of Representatives took a vote and Jefferson won, so Burr became Vice President. Jefferson served two terms.
3. Martin Van Buren
Fast-forward four Presidents from Jefferson, and then you will see Andrew Jackson and his Vice President, Martin Van Buren. By then, the loser of the election did not become Vice President, and the presidential candidates would choose their own vice presidential candidates. Van Buren served as Vice President for two terms, then ran against William Harrison and won in the next election.
4. John Tyler
Tyler was the Vice President for exactly one month. His running mate, President Wiliam Harrison, died of typhoid or pneumonia after only 31 days in office, from March 4, 1841, to April 4, 1841. He became the acting President and served one term. Strangely enough, he never appointed a Vice President after he became President.
5. Millard Fillmore
Another sad story. Fillmore’s President, Zachary Taylor, died after only 16 months in office to cholera morbus, an infection of the small intestine. Fillmore served as Acting President and finished off Taylor’s term. Just like Tyler, he never appointed a Vice President.
6. Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the Vice President of Abraham Lincoln and became the President when Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Johnson served one term and again, just like Fillmore and Tyler, didn’t appoint a Vice President.
7. Chester Arthur
Another assassination. Arthur’s President, James Garfield, was shot and died afterward in the hospital. Arthur became President and yep, he didn’t choose a VP.
8. Theodore Roosevelt
If you guessed another assassination of a President, then you’re right. William McKinley was assassinated and the President’s duties fell to his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt had no Vice President during his first term, but he chose Charles Fairbanks to serve as his VP in his second term.
9. Calvin Coolidge
Coolidge’s President was Warren Harding, who died of a heart attack in 1923. Coolidge had no VP in his first term, but he chose Charles Dawes to be his VP for his second term.
10. Harry Truman
Truman was the Vice President under Franklin Roosevelt for FDR’s record fourth term. After FDR died in office, a maximum of 2 terms was set and Truman became the President. He served two terms and had no VP for his first one.
11. Lyndon Johnson
Johnson was John Kennedy’s VP until Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Johnson finished off Kennedy’s term and served one more. Johnson had no VP in his first term.
12. Richard Nixon
Poor Nixon. He was Dwight Eisenhower’s Vice President but then had to wait 8 years, through the terms of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, before he became President. His VP, Spiro Agnew, resigned because of a scandal and he chose Gerald Ford to replace him (see below). Nixon resigned after the process of trying to impeach him started.
 13. Gerald Ford
 Nixon’s VP at the time of his resignation, Ford finished off Nixon’s second term and chose Nelson Rockefeller to be his VP. Ford never served a term after that.
14. George H. W. Bush
Bush’s son, George W. Bush, served as President 8 years after the elder Bush left office. The elder Bush was Ronald Reagan’s VP for all of Reagan’s 2 terms. He then served for one term.
15. Joe Biden
This is the most recent one. Biden was Barack Obama’s Vice President for Obama’s two terms, and now he has beaten Donald Trump to become our nation’s 46th President, and the 15th Vice President to become President. Congratulations, Joe, and also to Kamala Harris, the first woman Vice President in American History!!!

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