The Saturday Seven: Vice Presidents Worth Remembering

For some reason I've been curious to learn more about the role of a US Vice President. I am a bit of a Presidential historian, and have read many books on past Presidents. Recently I decided to start doing some research on a few of the past Vice Presidents of the United States. Often times VPs get forgotten or lost in the shadow of the President. I started digging around the web and found some interesting reading. It was there that I found inspiration for this week's post. I should disclose up front that all content here on out is directly from our friends at Wikipedia, which I selectively borrowed. According to Wikipedia: "The Vice President of the United States (sometimes referred to as VP, Veep, or VPOTUS, is the first person in the presidential line of succession, becoming the new President of the United States upon the death, resignation, or removal of the president. As designated by the Constitution of the United States, the vice president also serves as the President of the Senate, and may break tie votes in that chamber. He or she may be assigned additional duties by the president but, as the Constitution assigns no executive powers whatever to the vice president, in performing such duties he or she acts only as an agent of the president." This brings me to another scintillating edition of: The Saturday Seven: Vice Presidents Worth Remembering

#1 Thomas Jefferson- The 3rd Vice President from 1797-1801 who went on to become the 3rd President. He was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and one of the most influential Founding Fathers. He was a literary genius and overall intelligent person.

#2 Nelson Rockefeller- He was the 41st Vice President, and the 49th governor of New York. He was known as a generous philanthropist, and a very successful businessman. He launched many construction and modernization projects in NY and contributed to many advancements in the state. He was, of course a descendant of one of the world's richest and best known families in the US.

#3 John Adams: was an author of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as VP from 1789–1797 and went on to become President.

#4 John Tyler- A long-time Democrat-Republican, he was elected Vice President on the Whig ticket . His term as Vice President began on March 4, 1841 and one month later, on April 4, incumbent President William Henry Harrison died of what is today believed to have been viral pneumonia. His most famous achievement was the annexation of the Republic of Texas in 1845. Tyler was the first president born after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

#5 Hubert Humphrey-In 1968, Humphrey was the nominee of the Democratic Party but narrowly lost to Richard Nixon. A popular elected official from Minnesota, he famously gave a speech at his party's convention with this memorable line: "The time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights," and won support for a pro-civil-rights plank in the Party's platform.He served from 1965-1969.

#6 Lyndon B Johnson- often referred to as LBJ, he became the 36th President two hours and 8 minutes after after John F Kennedy was assassinated. He was the first President sworn in by a woman Federal Judge. He is also the only President to have been sworn in on Texas soil. Johnson was not sworn on a Bible, as none could be found aboard Air Force One; a Roman Catholic missal was discovered in Kennedy's desk, and this book was used during the swearing-in ceremony. His office as Vice President was 1963 to 1965.

#7: Millard Fillmore: He was the second Vice President to assume the Presidency upon the death of a sitting President, succeeding Zachary Taylor who died of heat stroke. Fillmore was never elected President; after serving out Taylor's term, he failed to gain the nomination for the Presidency of the Whigs in the 1852 and 1856. He was known for not favoring slavery but was not in a position to eliminate it at the time.

Do you have a favorite VP? Go ahead, leave a comment. Thanks for stopping by!

-Rick Rockhill