How U.S. vice presidents went from irrelevant to influential

THEY’RE THE NATION’S most important understudy. At any moment, the vice president of the United States could become the world’s most influential leader.

This month, former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joseph Biden is expected to announce his running mate—and he has promised to run with a woman. Though women have been nominated, no woman has ever been elected vice president.

The role of vice presidents has evolved dramatically through the years, from irrelevant throughout much of history to a potential instrument of power today. Here’s what you need to know about the position.

From opponent to running mate

The role of vice president was a governmental afterthought—it was created only at the very end of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, which relegated it to a committee that handled unfinished business. The founders had planned to let the Senate leader—elected by the body itself—assume the presidency if the president were incapacitated.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/07/united-states-vice-presidents-irrelevant-to-influential/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=History_20200727&rid=FB26C926963C5C9490D08EC70E179424