Vice Presidents of The United States Podcast

• We Cannot Surrender Our Institutions: Calhoun

  Defender of his view of Southern rights, Vice President John Calhoun was the only VP to serve under Two Presidents. Both of those Presidents would come to dislike him strongly, as would (we think it's fair to say) most people today. That's because he undermined both Presidents he served under, and because Calhoun's defense of slavery went beyond what a majority of Southern Congressmen and Senators in his time would support. And even in context, it deserves the anger it generates today.  If there's any silver linings for (some) modern ears, we discuss his position on tariffs (against them) and his position against federal power in local areas which could get a nod from those that hate him otherwise.  He also opposed the Mexican War for the same reasons as Lincoln. It was in his view a war started by a President. And in his mind at least he was always pro-Union - though contemporary political opponents contested this. We won't do much celebrating of this Vice President, but to know history we have to talk about him.

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• Theodore Roosevelt's Four Days

  That's all TR had as Vice President, technically.  His official duties were just four days in March.  From there he spoke, wrote letters and travelled and to at least one person, complained about the restrictions of the Vice Presidency. Until the change.  In this episode we'll actually get a bit into those four days in March 1901 and what happened. They did cover a bit of American history.  And we will look at his ride to become President.

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• Make It Big: Nelson Rockefeller

  Nelson Rockefeller was already a household name and a figure of some stature when Gerald Ford asked Congress to approve him as Vice President. True to form, he attempted to make the Vice Presidency a big office. 

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• Liberal, with No Apologies - Walter Mondale

  A one-term Vice President known for being liberal on issues and associated with Hubert Humphrey, Carter's Vice President Walter Mondale changed the office more than anyone else. He moved it from the Senate to the White House, where it has been since. He also ran for President twice, and ended up with a 49-state blowout.  Yet, he never doubted what he did was right.

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• Partisan-Statesman: Chester Arthur

  Those that know the full story of Chester Arthur know he became President and instituted controls on replacing workers in the civil service.  That's largely because a tragic shooting made him President and he, in a statesman-like way, implemented his sucessor's programs. But as Vice President, Arthur was all Stalwart. The Stalwarts, Half-Breeds and Independents fought each other as much as today's Republicans and Demcorats. He was opposed to Half-Breed Garfield's appointments and spent his vice-presidency fighting his own President and supporting his President's political enemy. But once Garfield was shot, VP Arthur signaled a change in his ways. By deliberately not coming to Washington. We tell the story.

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