-
President Harrison was the first President to die in office. With his death came confusion of who should be the president and if the Vice President should be acting president. Article II, Section 1, Clause 6, which talked about presidential succession, was unclear as to how to handle this situation.
-
Sentors were reminded of the need for an amendment when Eisenhower had a heart attack in 1955. Birch Bayh and Estes Kefauver were two Senators who took this seriously. Each came up with a plan for a presidential succesion amendment.
-
Keating's proposed amendment would allow for Congress to create laws regarding presidential succesion. This amendment did not pass because some people thought the legislative branch would abuse this power or refuse to use it at all. Estes Kefauver was in favor of this amendment.
-
JFK assasination was an event that made clear the need for an amendment that was clear on presidential succesion. The Vice President had already had heart attacks and the next two people in line were in their 70's and 80's.
-
Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana and Representative Emanuel Celler of New York wanted to make clear who was to succeed the president in case of death or the President resigning. The Bayr-Cellar proposals were the beginning of the creation of the 25th Amendment.
-
The 25h Amendment was ratified on the 23rd of February 1967. This amendment gave a clear procedure as to who should become President if the President dies or is unable to fulfill his duty. It also gives directions on how to fill a Vice President vacany under the same circumstances.
-
The resignation of Vice President Agnew created a vacancy that needed to be filled. President Nixon nominated House Minority Leader Gerald Ford as the next Vice President. This was the first time the 25th amendment was used to nominate a Vice President.
-
After a 92-3 vote by the Senate and a 387-35 vote by the House of Representatives approvind Ford as Vice President, Gerald Ford was sworn in as Vice President of the United States. The process from nomination to confirmation took a month. It involved numerous witnesses, an essay from Ford, and confirmation hearings. Ford was the first Vice President sworn in by the 25th Amendment.
-
President Nixon resigned and Vice President Ford ascended to the role of President . He then nominated Nelson A. Rockefeller. This is one example of the 25th amendment being used.
-
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment was almost used by Bush when Raegan was in surgery after the attempted assasination. The Section was not used but Bayh, one of the leaders behind the 25th Amendment, said that this section should have been used. Bush should have been acting president because Raegan was unable to fulfill his presidential duties while in surgery.
