1. Aim: How does the Constitution determine Presidential Succession?
HVS11 Lesson 29
Aim: How does the Constitution determine Presidential Succession?
Mr. Oberhaus

2. 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

3. The Succession Act of 1947 Vice President Secretary of Labor
Speaker of the House
Secretary of Health
President Pro Temp
Secretary of Housing
Secretary of State
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Treasury
Secretary of Energy
Attorney General
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Homeland Security
Secretary of Commerce

4. Vice Presidents Who Became President
Reason for Succession to President
John Tyler
Death of William Henry Harrison April 4, 1841
Millard Fillmore
Death of Zachary Taylor July 9, 1850
Andrew Johnson
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln April 15, 1865
Chester A. Arthur
Assassination of James A. Garfield September 19, 1881
Theodore Roosevelt
Assassination of William McKinley September 14, 1901
Calvin Coolidge
Death of Warren G. Harding August 2, 1923
Harry S. Truman
Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt April 12, 1945
Lyndon B. Johnson
Assassination of John F. Kennedy November 22, 1963
Gerald R. Ford
Resignation of Richard M. Nixon August 9, 1974

5. The Office of the Vice President
The Constitution gives two jobs to the Vice President
President of the Senate
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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. Attempted Assassinations
Andrew Jackson in 1835
Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and 1865
Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 (after leaving office)
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933
Harry S. Truman 1950
John F. Kennedy 1960
Richard Nixon 1974
Gerald Ford 1975 (twice) and 1976 (all women assassins)
Jimmy Carter 1979
Ronald Reagan 1981 (Seriously Wounded)
George H. W. Bush 1993
William Clinton 1994 (three attempts)
George W. Bush 2001 (2/01 & 9/11/01), 2005, & 2008
Barrack Obama (several threats but no attempts)

13. 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.
Abraham Lincoln: April 14, Died April 15, 1865
James Garfield: July 2, Died September 19, 1881
William McKinley: September 6, Died September 14, 1901
John F. Kennedy: November 22, 1963

14. 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.

17. James A. Garfield: The assassination of James A
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.

20. 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.

23. John F. Kennedy: The assassination of John F
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.

29. 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.