The Vice Presidents

John Nance Garner once colorfully described the office of vice president of the United States as not worth “a pitcher of warm piss,” and no doubt many of the 45 men elected to it would agree. Though it is the second highest elective office in the United States, there is but one constitutional duty: to preside over the Senate. Historically, vice presidents have often been relegated to attending state funerals and heading mostly ceremonial committees. Unless, of course, the president dies or resigns; they are then thrust into the presidency, often with little or no preparation.
From John Adams to Albert Gore, Jr., this reference work provides biographies of 45 vice presidents of the United States. Despite the fact that many think of the office as a stepping stone to the White House, only 14 have actually served as president. Outside the public spotlight, many vice presidents led fascinating lives and served their country with distinction, though little has been written about them. The biographies herein focus on their work as vice president, their relationship with the president under whom they served, and their role in the White house. Their lives after the end of their terms are also examined fully. A bibliography follows each biography.

Carole Chandler Waldrup is a retired social worker in Hickory, North Carolina. She is also the author of Presidents’ Wives (1989) and Colonial Women (1999).

Carole Chandler Waldrup
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 279
Bibliographic Info: 45 photos, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2006 [1996]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2611-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0524-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Preface      viii

1. John Adams      1

2. Thomas Jefferson      7

3. Aaron Burr      14

4. George Clinton      20

5. Elbridge Gerry      26

6. Daniel D. Tompkins      33

7. John Caldwell Calhoun      39

8. Martin Van Buren      45

9. Richard Mentor Johnson      51

10. John Tyler      57

11. George Mifflin Dallas      62

12. Millard Filmore      70

13. William Rufus Devane King      76

14. John Cabell Breckinridge      80

15. Hannibal Hamlin      87

16. Andrew Jackson Johnson      95

17. Schuyler Colfax      102

18. Henry Wilson      109

19. William Almon Wheeler      116

20. Chester Alan Arthur      120

21. Thomas Andrews Hendricks      125

22. Levi Parsons Morton      130

23. Adlai Ewing Stevenson      136

24. Garret Augustus Hobart      141

25. Theodore Roosevelt      145

26. Charles Warren Fairbanks      152

27. James Schoolcraft Sherman      156

28. Thomas Riley Marshall      160

29. Calvin Coolridge      166

30. Charles Gates Dawes      172

31. Charles Curtis      178

32. John Nance Garner      183

33. Henry Agard Wallace      189

34. Harry S Truman      195

35. Alben William Barkley      202

36. Richard Milhous Nixon      207

37. Lyndon Baines Johnson      214

38. Hubert Horatio Humphrey      220

39. Spiro Theodore Agnew      227

40. Gerald Rudolph Ford      232

41. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller      238

42. Walter Mondale      243

43. George Herbert Walker Bush      249

44. James Danforth Quayle      255

45. Albert Gore, Jr.      261

General Bibliography      267

Index      269

“a strong and basic fact-filled history…essential”—Midwest Book Review; “an attractive purchase…definitely needed”—Rettig on Reference; “excellent…a good ready reference work”—Reference & User Services Quarterly; “useful”—ARBA; “a wide range of material…engaging”—Booklist.