US Vice President
The Vice President of the United States I the first person in the line of succession for the presidency.1 This person also serves as the President of the Senate, but can only break tie votes in the chamber.1 Recently, the Vice President has been assigned additional duties to those in the constitution, but only performs them as an agent of and at the discretion of the President.1
The Current US Vice President is Joe Biden, Democrat, who was elected along with President Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.1 The former US vice president1 was Richard Cheney, Republican, when President George W. Bush was in office.1 The First US Vice President was John Adams.1
To be the Vice President, you must cohere to all of the requirements of being President: must be a natural-born citizen, be no younger than 35 years old, and have lived in the US for 14 years.1 The Vice President becomes the President of the United States upon the death, resignation, or removal of the president.1 There have been nine Vice Presidents to Succeed the Presidency:
*1 John Tyler became President when William Henry Harrison died.1
*1 Millard Fillmore became President when Zachary Taylor died.1
*1 Andrew Jackson became President when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.1
*1 Chester A. Arthur became President when James Garfield was assassinated.1
*1 When William McKinley was assassinated Theodore Roosevelt became President.1
*1 When Warren Harding died Calvin Coolidge became President.1
*1 Harry S. Truman when Franklin D. Roosevelt died.
*1 Lyndon B. Johnson became president when John F. Kennedy was assassinated.1
*1 Gerald Ford became president when Richard Nixon resigned.1
The salary of the Vice President is the same as the Chief Justice of the United States and the Speak of the House of Representatives.1 In 2008, this salary was set at $221k.1 To qualify for pension, the Vice President must serve a minimum of five years.
There are five former vice presidents that are still living: Walter Mondale, George H. W. Bush, Dan Quayle, Al Gore, and Dick Cheney.1 The youngest to serve was John C. Breckinridge, at the age of 36 in 1857.1 The Oldest to serve was Alben W. Barkley, at the age of 75 in 1953.1 Seven Vice Presidents died in office and they were George Clinton in 1812, Eldbridge Gerry in 1814, William R. King in 1853, Henry Wilson in 1875, Thomas Hendricks in 1875, Garret Hobart in 1899, and James Sherman in 1912.1 John C. Calhoun and Spiro Agnew were the only ones to resign.1 Andrew Johnson, Thomas R. Marshall, and Dick Cheney were all three targets of unsuccessful assassination attempts.