The Presidency and the Constitution

1. The Presidency and the Constitution

2. The President is a Leader • Throughout history groups have selected leaders. If we move into prehistory there is evidence that families, clans, and tribes had leaders, and sometimes legislative entities like councils, and judges as well. • Why did men and women select leaders? How did they select them in the earliest of times? What purposes did leaders serve in the earliest of times? What was the form of leadership in the earliest of times? Was religion related to leadership selection? Strength, cunning, age, personality attributes.

3. Some of the oldest detailed records on early governments were those surrounding the Greek city states. Here the forms of government were diverse, ranging from despotical dictatorships, to benevolent dictatorships, to monarchys, to democratically elected leaders. Interestingly, Aristotle in the first recorded study of governmental forms declared that “democracy is the worst form of government”, while a benevolent dictatorship is the best. • The method of selecting leaders has also varied through the years. Early on physical/mental power, cunning and skill may have been determinants of whether one leads or not. There is also much evidence that age played a part, with an elder of the tribe being selected a leader. Leadership may also have been passed down from generation to generation, with father passing the wand of leadership down to son or other children. Religion and spiritualism may also have been important.

4. In Britain, from which the U.S. traces its governmental origins, monarchy, sometimes benevolent, sometimes malevolent was the form of government and leadership. • British monarchs and other kings, queens, princes, etc. claim a “divine right” to rule. In other words, GOD anointed me with absolute power. • There is no need to recount the grievances which U.S. colonists had against King George III. (Of course it was actually the British Parliament that committed most of the wrongs.) However, the distaste for monarchy was extreme in the early origins of the U.S. Down with the King! No taxation without representation! Give me liberty or give me death! (At least, this is one interpretation.) • Hence, there was great suspicion about the form of executive power, and indeed there were accusations in the early republic that Federalists wanted to establish an American monarchy.

5. The States and the Articles of Confederation • After the Revolution, the states quickly went about the task of establishing their own independent and sovereign governments. • The first U.S. Constitution was the Articles of Confederation adopted in 1781. However, it was not a federal government of the people, but a federal government relative to the respective states. • This document established a loose confederation among the American states, which retained the strong sovereignty of each state, while also establishing a mutual defense pact. • A nice discussion of the background prior to the Convention is at http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/intro/

6. Features of the Articles of Confederation • Only one branch of government, a Congress containing a single representative from each of the 13 states. • A super-majority of 9 (roughly 3/4) was required to pass legislation. Unanimity was required to amend the articles. • Power to declare war, make treaties, enter alliances, raise a military, regulate and borrow money, set up a post office, and adjudicate disputes between the states. • There was no executive, although a congressional committee consisting of one delegate from each state managed affairs when Congress was not assembled. • There was no judiciary, although Congress could act as a court to resolve disputes among the states.

7. No power to mint money; no common currency • Not responsible for public debts. Couldn’t pay them even if were. • Little power to raise money. Could levy tariffs, but no power to levy or collect taxes • No standing national military; each state had its own militia. • A subordinate role for the central government and the dependence of Congress on the states for legislating, funds, a military, and for execution of its decrees.

8. Problems Under the Articles of Confederation • Biggest problem: Debt from the American Revolution. Since the national government had little ability to raise money, it was unable to meet its obligations. Foreign creditors (primarily French and Dutch) threatened to halt issuing new credit, as well as the suspension of trade. • Much was also owed to the domestic propertied class. About 40 of the 55 delegates to the constitutional convention were holders of public debt. That debt was worthless under the Articles. • The inability of Congress to provide back pay for soldiers of the American Revolution also meant civil unrest over money owed to patriots. Soldiers had been paid in worthless script which they often sold for less than face value (often 10 percent) to wealthy speculators. • Others, including farmers, also incurred large debts due to the poor economy during the war.

9. In several states, debtor farmers took over the legislature and legislated “easy money” policies. Some states were printing their own paper money, sometimes without adequate backing for the currency. This made it easy for farmers to pay off their debts, but at the expense to creditors whose money was then worth nothing. • Internal civil unrest. Unlike farmers in some states, those in Massachussetts were initially unable to take control of the legislature. The Massachussetts legislature passed laws favorable to creditors who began foreclosing on farmers. This led to armed revolt by farmers against creditors. Shays rebellion. There were fears of rebellion against creditors in all states. • Trade wars erupted among the states as they levied tariffs against one another. • External threats. The British were stirring up trouble along American frontiers. They had not abandoned their fortifications as promised in the peace treaty. They were inciting their allies, the Indians to attack western settlers. There was fear of another war, but little ability to defend the borders.

10. The Thrust for Change • Because of these inherent weaknesses, the national government under the Articles of Confederation commanded little respect domestically or abroad. • No popular decision was made to call a constitutional convention! • Rather, the convention was the work of those who would benefit from moving power away from state governments, namely the propertied class and creditors suffering under the too-democratic state legislatures. Delegates to the convention were selected by state legislatures. These had various property requirements for serving (except Pennsylvania). • The delegates to the constitutional convention wanted a more centralized federal system that served their economic interests. • Of course, there was also popular suspicion of a strong central government, as had existed under the British. Their experience with a king made some delegates more cautious about the degree of centralization and executive power.

11. After surveying the documentary evidence of the time, historian Charles Beard (An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, 1913), reached the following conclusions about why the Constitutional Convention was called. He said: • “Large and important groups of economic interests were adversely affected by the system of government under the Articles of Confederation, namely those of public securities [holders of public debt], shipping and manufacturing, money at interest [creditors]; in short, capital as opposed to land.…The representatives of these important interests attempted through the regular legal channels to secure amendments to the Articles of Confederation which could safeguard their rights in the future, particularly those of public creditors. … Having failed to realize their great purposes through the regular means, the leaders in the movement set to work to secure by a circuitous route the assemblying of a Convention to “revise” the Articles of Confederation with the hope of obtaining, outside of the existing legal framework, the adoption of a revolutionary programme.”

12. Of the fifty-five delegates participating, nearly two-thirds were descended from old colonial families. Most were of British descent with demographics similar to the British ducal class. They were well educated, and economically and politically advantaged. • Sixty-two percent were merchant-bankers and/or lawyers (mostly from New England and Middle Atlantic states), while another twelve percent were planter-farmers (mostly from Middle Atlantic and Southern states). Those from New England largely reflected the merchant-banker class, and those from the South reflected the plantation slave owner class. • According to Beard, 1913, 149-150, the overwhelming majority of delegates were “immediately, directly, or personally” economic beneficiaries of their labors at the convention. Forty of the fifty-five delegates later appeared in the Records of the Treasury Department as holders of public debt; fourteen members were land speculators; twenty-four were creditors; eleven members were involved in mercantile, manufacturing, or shipping; fifteen members held slaves.

13. Not a single delegate at the convention represented the small farming or mechanic classes! • Deep suspicion of democracy, due to the experiences of property owners in states under the Articles. State governments diluted debts and devalued their property through state promoted inflation. Protection of private property was paramount to the delegates. • The resulting government was designed for inaction (Separation of Powers; Checks and Balances), rather than action, making it difficult for the masses to take what was held by the propertied class through taxation or issuing worthless paper money. • Only one institution represented the people, the House. No popular representation by the Senate until the 17th Amendment, 1913. • Only the national government could coin money; states were prohibited from making anything other than gold or silver legal tender for payment of debts. The Federal government was empowered to pay its debts. • Direct taxation of individuals (i.e., income, wealth) was illegal until the 16th Amendment, 1913. Founders wanted to tax consumers.

14. The Constitutional Convention • The deliberations of the convention were kept secret. Nevertheless, we do have a historical record. Much of what we know about the deliberations of the founders comes from James Madison’s day-by-day notes taken during the Constitutional Convention. • A nice resource on the Constitutional Convention can be found at the following link. http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/ Here you will find Madison’s Notes, as well as a plethora of other materials, including correspondence between participants, summaries of activities, etc. • Note that 73 delegates were appointed by state legislatures to the Convention. However, only 55 attended. Of that 55, the final document was signed by only 39 of the participants.

15. Most of the Delegates HATED the Idea of Democracy! • At the constitutional convention there was a notable absence of leading figures that would surely have favored greater popular democracy. In particular, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry were missing. Jefferson was serving as ambassador to France; Paine had returned to Europe after the Revolution; and Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry declined invitations believing the purpose of the convention was to trample Americans’ rights. • However, there were a few dissenting voices in the constitutional debates. Benjamin Franklin said, (Madison’s notes August 7); “It is of great consequence that we should not depress the virtue and public spirit of our common people; of which they displayed a great deal during the war, and which contributed principally to the favorable issue of it.” Franklin did not think the delegates had a right “to narrow the privileges” of the electorate.

16. George Mason also spoke in favor of the lower classes, saying “We ought to attend to the rights of every class of the people.” He recognized that the largest chamber of the legislature should come from the people, but also sought to limit its authority (May 31). • However, by far the largest representation at the convention was those identifying themselves as Federalists who intensely disliked the idea of popular democracy. • Edmund Randolph, May 31; The nation’s worst problems were caused by “the turbulence and follies of democracy.” • Roger Sherman, May 31;“The people should have as little to do as may be about the Government.” • Eldbridge Gerry, September 17; Elbridge Gerry commented that democracy is “the worst of all political evils.”

17. John Dickinson, August 7; John Dickinson, one of the wealthiest men in the nation, considered freeholders (i.e., property owners) “as the best guardians of liberty; and the restriction of the right [of office holding and voting] to them as a necessary defence against the dangerous influence of those multitudes without property and without principle with which our Country like all others, will in time abound.” • Governeur Morris, August 7; Governeur Morris expressed great disdain for the laboring class, commenting that a national freehold requirement is required to prevent their corruption. “Give the votes to people who have no property and they will sell them to the rich. … The time is not distant when the country will abound with mechanics and [fabricators], who will receive their bread from their employers. Will such men be secure and faithful guardians of liberty?”

18. Alexander Hamilton, June 19; “I believe the British government forms the best model the world ever produced … This government has for its object public strength and individual security. … All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and well born, the other the mass of the people. … The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the first class a distinct, permanent share in the government. They will check the unsteadiness of the second, and as they cannot receive any advantage by a change, they therefore will ever maintain good government.”

19. Discussing the mode of selection of the president (July 25), Eldbridge Gerry objected to direct election of the president by the people. He said “A popular election in this case is radically vicious. The ignorance of the people would put it in the power of some one set of men dispersed through the Union & acting in Concert to delude them into any appointment. He observed that such a Society of men existed in the Order of the Cincinnati. They are respectable, United, and influencial. They will in fact elect the chief Magistrate in every instance, if the election be referred to the people. His respect for the characters composing this Society could not blind him to the danger & impropriety of throwing such a power into their hands.” Colonel Mason concurred in his arguments the next day. • Note that the Order of the Cincinnati was a group of former officers of the American revolutionary army that was dispersed throughout the states. The order still exists today.

20. James Madison, August 7; argued “the freeholders of the country would be the safest repositories of republican liberty.” • Later in Federalist 10, Madison wrote “Democracy is the most vile form of government ... democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.”

21. The Virginia Plan • The Virginia Plan (May 29, 1787) formed the basis for initial discussions of how the new government should be designed at the Constitutional Convention. It is worthwhile to look at its features, and to think about how the initial and current forms of American government differ from what the initial proposals were.

22. The New Jersey Plan • The New Jersey Plan (June 15, 1787) proposed a radically different form of government from the Virginia Plan. The New Jersey plan basically provided for a weak federal government and a weak executive. It was an effort to keep primacy with the states. • Under the New Jersey Plan there would be a unicameral legislature, with equal representation across states (regardless of population). • The president was to be elected by the legislature to a single term of undetermined length, and could at any time be removed by a majority vote, upon recommendation of the governors of the states. The president could consist of a single person or be plural. This was left undecided.

23. Hamilton’s Plan • Yet another proposal was Hamilton’s Plan, made by Alexander Hamilton on June 18, 1787. • Hamilton’s plan called for a strong executive, elected by electors, with an absolute veto, discretion on whether to execute the law, with all of the powers vested under the current constitution.

24. Connecticut Compromise • Unable to agree on either the Virginia Plan (providing popular representation in both chambers) or the New Jersey Plan (providing equal representation across states in a single chamber), the delegates assigned a committee under the leadership of Eldbridge Gerry to find a resolution. • Gerry’s committee came up with a compromise, called the Connecticut Compromise, which gave the lower house popular representation, with the upper house representing the states equally. • The Connecticut Compromise, reported June 29, resolved issues of legislative representation, firmly establishing the principle that states should be represented apart from the people. While not pertaining to the presidency directly, the creation of a Senate, independent of popular representation, with power to approve nominations, treaties, etc. had implications for presidential representation.

25. Ratification • There was NO public referendum on the final document! Ratification conventions were held in each state, with delegates elected by those holding the franchise (i.e., propertied class). • Beard estimates that about 3/4 of the adult white male population did not participate in selecting delegates to ratification conventions. He also estimates that no more than about 1/6 of the adult white male population actually participated in ratification. • Beard also notes that leaders at the ratification conventions generally represented the same economic groups as the members of the Philadelphia Convention. And in a large number of instances they were also directly and personally interested in the outcome of their efforts. • Thus, the Constitution was not created by “We the people.”

26. A very public ratification debate did occur over about two years. The last state ratified the Constitution in May of 1790, Rhode Island. This was about a year after the first presidential election. • Newspapers, pamphlets, public discussions, public debates. See http://teachingamericanhistory.org/ratification/timeline/ for many primary documents from this era. • As expressed by Beard (1913, 292), “No one can pore for weeks over the letters, newspapers, and pamphlets of the years 1787-1789 without coming to the conclusion that there was deep-seated conflict between a popular party based on paper money and agrarian interests, and a conservative party centred in the towns and resting on financial, mercantile, and personal property interests, generally.” Thus, although there were no formal political parties at this time, partisan polarization had emerged in the early American republic.

27. Day-By-Day Discussion of Presidency at the Constitutional Convention: Madison’s Notes 1787 • Executive Features Were Discussed on the Following Dates. You are encouraged to read Madison’s Notes for these dates. • June 1; June 2; June 4; June 8; July 16; July 17; July 18; July 19; July 21; July 26; August 9; August 15; August 24; August 25; August 27; September 4; September 5; September 6; September 7; September 8; September 12; September 15 • Reading the notes shows that there were two factions at the convention, those favoring a strong executive versus a weak executive. Following is a table that summarizes the decisions that were made, and where each faction stood.

28. Models and Decisions about the Chief Executive at the Constitutional Convention of 1787

32. General Outline: Constitutional Duties and Powers of the President • Chief Executive-Enforces and administers the enforcement of federal laws, treaties, and federal court rulings. Nominations. Request opinion in writing. Recess appointments • Commander in Chief-appoints the nation’s highest military officers and is at the top of the chain of command for the military. • Chief foreign policy administrator and diplomat. Appoints ambassadors, negotates treaties, receives foreign diplomats. • Legislative participant-Delivers state of the union address to Congess, recommend measures, call special sessions, adjourn when there is disagreement, can veto bills passed by Congress.

33. Formal Sources of Presidential Power • Article II, Section 1, “The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” • Article II, Section 2, “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”(On pardons see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_pardoned_by_a_United_States_president )

34. Article II, Section 2, “He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such Inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.” see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_treaties ; On nominations see http://thomas.loc.gov/home/PN/pnhelp.htm • Article II, Section 2, “The President shall have the Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.” see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recess_appointment and http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid='0DP%2BP%5CW%3B%20P%20%20%0A

35. Article II, Section 3, “He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either or them, and in the Case of Disagreement between them, with respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.”(on the State of the Union see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Union_address ; an interesting link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/01/28/when-the-state-of-the-union-was-controversial/?hpid=z2on convening Congress see http://38.105.88.193/questions/weekly67.asp ) • Article II, Section 3, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” On impeachment see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_States

36. Article I, Section 7, “Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

37. Choosing the President • Article 1, Section 2, “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. … The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President.

38. Why an electoral college and not a popular vote? A popular vote was considered. However, as noted earlier, the framers were very skeptical of democracy and of the trustworthiness of the people in choosing a president. The people were likely to choose someone who was threatening to the propertied class. • There was also the issue of the slave holding states. Slaves were a considerable part of the population in Southern states. However, slaves could not vote, rendering the choice by popular election likely to be dominated by the North. The electoral college obviated this problem. See Madison’s discussion on July 19. • Article 2, Section 1, Qualifications: “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”

39. It was understood at the constitutional convention and across the nation that George Washington would be the first president. He did not seek the office, but reluctantly agreed to serve. His personal prestige was great and he evoked much trust from his fellow citizens. Otherwise, the powers allocated to the first president would have been more limited. • There were no political parties at the time of the constitutional convention and for several years thereafter. It was merely expected that men of good faith and qualifications would be put forward to fill the role of chief executive. The person with the most electoral votes would be president and the person with the second most electoral votes would be vice president. • While there were no political parties, there was the origin of faction at the time of the constitutional convention and ratification. One faction (the Federalists) favored a strong federal government. This faction basically reflected the business and commercial interests of the northern states. Another faction (which later was called the Democratic-Republican party) favored a more restricted role for the federal government. This faction basically reflected the interests of southern states who wanted to maintain slavery and states rights.

40. Ratification of the new constitution was not assured until amendments were drafted that limited the powers of the central government. The first ten amendments, called the Bill of Rights, limited Congress and the presidency relative to states and citizens. For the president see especially, Amendments 3 (quartering of soldiers), 4 (search and seizure), and 5 (military law; due process; compensation for property seizure). See http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rights1.asp . • Various later constitutional amendments also constrained presidential power. These include the 14th amendment, as well as term limits imposed by the 22nd amendment.See http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/amend1.asp . • The dates for the president’s term in office has changed through time. Originally started March 4; now January 20. This is now established formally by the 20th Amendment. See http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/amend1.asp • Presidential power has expanded consistently over time, perhaps enabled by the generality of the executive article.

41. Method of selecting the president and replacing a president who can no longer serve has also changed through time. • As noted earlier, Article II, Section 1 says “Each state shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in Congress” The constitution then goes on to state the method by which the electors would select the president. Originally, Article II, Section 1, clause 3 stated that the Electors voted for two Persons for President, rather than one vote for president and another vote for vice-president. • This procedure resulted in problems. In 1796 John Adams (a Federalist) was selected as president and Thomas Jefferson (a Democratic- Republican) was selected as vice president. Then in 1800 the vote for president and vice president was tied, with Jefferson and Aaron Burr both being Democratic Republicans. The party’s intent was that Jefferson be president and Burr be vice-president. However, Burr tried to convince the House of Representatives to make him president. There was a scandal surrounding the final selection of Jefferson as president and Burr as vice-president.

42. This problem was superceded by the passage of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804 which separated the two votes. From that point to present each elector has cast one vote for president and another for vice president. Since this time, all presidential elections have been partisan in nature. • This was NOT what the Founders wanted, but came about through the development of political parties starting in the second Washington administration. • Since 1804 we have had a “winner-take-all” electoral college system, which implies that many are not represented and their votes are wasted in presidential elections. • For example, in 1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000 the electoral college system resulted in the election of a president who did not receive a plurality of the popular vote. In other words, the popular will was perverted by the electoral college system.

43. The method of presidential succession has also changed through time. • This is important, because 8 of our 44 presidents left office due to death, or roughly about 1 in 5. • Four U.S. presidents were assassinated while in office: Lincoln (1865), Garfield (1881), McKinley (1901), and Kennedy (1963). • However, there have been many, many other attempts to assassinate presidents, including documented attempts on Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon twice, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidential_assassination_attempts for discussion. • Four presidents died of natural causes while in office. These were William Henry Harrison (1841), Zachary Taylor (1850), Warren G. Harding (1923), and Franklin Roosevelt (1945). However, rumors persist that Taylor and Harding may actually have been victims of foul play, though the rumors are not confirmed by the evidence.

44. Prior to the 25th Amendment, there were many times when there was no vice president, including after a presidential assassination, or after a vice president died or resigned. See http://www.presidentsusa.net/novicepresident.html for a list. • The order of succession is mentioned in three places in the Constitution. Article 1, Section 1, clause 6, the 20th Amendment, and the 25th Amendment. The 25th Amendment prescribes the current order of presidential succession in case of presidential or vice presidential disability. Vice president succeeds the president. The vice presidential slot is filled by nomination and senate ratification. Ford was the first to become vice president under this procedure. He later became president. The only time this Amendment has been needed is with Nixon. • Under Article 2, section 1, clause 6, the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 gives the order of succession if there are multiple disabilities. President, vice president, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore of Senate, Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Defense, then through the entire cabinet.