Presidential Succession Article 2 Section 1 Clause 6 called for the Vice President to take control of the power and duties of the President if the President died or vacated the office. When President William Henry Harrison died in 1841, Vice President John Tyler took over as the new President. In 1947, The Succession Act set the order of succession after the Vice President. In 1967, the 25th Amendment affirmed that the Vice President shall assume the office of the President

The Succession Act of Vice President 2. Speaker of the House 3. President Pro Temp 4. Secretary of State 5. Secretary of Treasury 6. Attorney General 7. Secretary of Defense 8. Secretary of Interior 9. Secretary of Agriculture 10. Secretary of Commerce 11. Secretary of Labor 12. Secretary of Health 13. Secretary of Housing 14. Secretary of Transportation 15. Secretary of Energy 16. Secretary of Education 17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs 18. Secretary of Homeland Security

Vice Presidents Who Became President Vice PresidentReason for Succession to President John TylerDeath of William Henry Harrison April 4, 1841 Millard FillmoreDeath of Zachary Taylor July 9, 1850 Andrew JohnsonAssassination of Abraham Lincoln April 15, 1865 Chester A. ArthurAssassination of James A. Garfield September 19, 1881 Theodore RooseveltAssassination of William McKinley September 14, 1901 Calvin CoolidgeDeath of Warren G. Harding August 2, 1923 Harry S. TrumanDeath of Franklin D. Roosevelt April 12, 1945 Lyndon B. JohnsonAssassination of John F. Kennedy November 22, 1963 Gerald R. FordResignation of Richard M. Nixon August 9, 1974

The Office of the Vice President The Constitution gives two jobs to the Vice President 1. President of the Senate 2. To help determine the disability of the President Essentially the Vice President becomes a "President in Waiting". The Vice Presidency has been vacant a total of 18 times  9 times by succession to the Presidency  2 times by resignation (John C. Calhoun to become a Senator and Spiro T. Agnew who was a convicted felon)  7 times by death. George Clint 1812, Elbridge Gerry 1814, William King 1853, Henry Wilson 1875, Thomas Hendricks 1885, Garret Hobart 1899, and James Sherman 1912.

Vice Presidential Vacancy The 25th Amendment Section 2- "Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress".  In 1973, President Nixon nominated Gerald Ford to be Vice President after Spiro Agnew resigned.  In 1974 when President Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford succeeded to the Presidency he nominated Nelson Rockefeller to be the new Vice President.

United States Secret Service United States Secret service formed in 1865 by President Abraham Lincoln on the night of his assassination to investigate counterfeiting of United States Currency. In 1901, the Secret Service was put in charge of protecting the President of the United States as well as others. Since Secret Service Agents have been killed in the line of duty, 28 men and 1 woman.

Duties of the US Secret Service Investigate crimes involving the US Treasury Protect: The President, the Vice President, Secretary of State (or other individuals next in order of succession to the Presidency), the President-elect and Vice President-elect. The immediate families of the above individuals. Former Presidents and their spouses for their lifetimes except when the spouse remarries. In 1997, legislation became effective limiting Secret Service protection to former Presidents for a period of not more than 10 years from the date the former President leaves office. President Clinton is the last to receive protection for life. George Bush’s protection expires in 2019.

Protect: Children of former Presidents until age 16. Former Vice Presidents until six months after their term ends (the Secretary of Homeland Security can extend the protection time). Families of former Vice Presidents until six months after term ends. Visiting heads of states or governments and their spouses traveling with them, other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States, and official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad. Major presidential and vice presidential candidates and their spouses within 120 days of a general presidential election. Other individuals as designated per executive order of the President. National Special Security Events, when designated as such by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Attempted Assassinations 1. Andrew Jackson in Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 (after leaving office) 4. Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman John F. Kennedy Richard Nixon Gerald Ford 1975 (twice) and 1976 (all women assassins) 9. Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan 1981 (Seriously Wounded) 11. George H. W. Bush William Clinton 1994 (three attempts) 13. George W. Bush 2001 (2/01 & 9/11/01), 2005, & Barrack Obama (several threats but no attempts)

Presidential Assassinations There have been four Presidential Assassinations in the history of our country. Only one has been committed since the US Secret Service was put in charge of Presidential Security. 1. Abraham Lincoln: April 14, Died April 15, James Garfield: July 2, Died September 19, William McKinley: September 6, Died September 14, John F. Kennedy: November 22, 1963

Abraham Lincoln: The assassination of Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, at approximately 10:15 p.m. President Abraham Lincoln was shot by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth while attending a performance of “Our American Cousin” at Ford's Theatre with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and two guests. The president died the following morning April 15, 1865 at 7:22 a.m. Booth was shot and killed by soldiers hunting him down.

James A. Garfield: The assassination of James A. Garfield took place in Washington, D.C., at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 2, 1881, less than four months after Garfield took office. Charles Guiteau shot him with a.442 Webley British Bulldog revolver. Garfield died 11 weeks later, on Friday, September 19, 1881, at 10:35 p.m., due to infections. Guiteau was hung on June 30, 1882.

William McKinley: The assassination of William McKinley took place at 4:07 p.m. on Friday, September 6, 1901, at the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York. President William McKinley, attending the Pan- American Exposition, was shot twice by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. McKinley died eight days later, on September 14, 1901, at 2:15 a.m. The assassin was executed on October 29, 1901.

John F. Kennedy: The assassination of John F. Kennedy took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, at 12:30 p.m. John F. Kennedy was fatally wounded by a sniper's bullet while riding with his wife Jacqueline in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Although Kennedy was not formally declared dead until half an hour after the shooting, he effectively died instantaneously. The ten-month investigation of the Warren Commission of 1963–1964 concluded that Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee of the Texas School Book Depository in Dealey Plaza. The United States House Select Committee on Assassinations of 1976–1979 determined that Kennedy's murder was probably the result of a conspiracy that included Oswald, but more recent analysis of evidence has called the committee's findings into question. Oswald was killed by Dallas businessman Jack Rudy while Oswald was being led out of the Dallas Police Headquarters.

Ronald Reagan Attempted Assassination On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Reagan in Washington, DC. Hinckley wanted to impress Jodie Foster who was a 15 year old actress. Hinckley shot Reagan, the Press Secretary, and 2 Secret Service Agents before being arrested. All four men survived. Hinckley was sentenced to life in a mental hospital. Recently, he has been let out for extended periods of time.