Student Question
Why didn't Chester Arthur have a vice president?
Quick answer:
Chester Arthur did not have a vice president because, at the time, there was no mechanism to fill the vice-presidential vacancy when he assumed the presidency after President James Garfield's assassination in 1881. The issue was addressed in 1967 with the Twenty-fifth Amendment, which established a process for filling such vacancies. Before this amendment, vice-presidential vacancies remained unfilled until the next election.
Chester Arthur ran with James Garfield as his running mate on the Republican ticket for president in 1880. When Garfield won, Arthur became the vice-president of the United States. Not long after Garfield took office in 1881, he was assassinated, and Arthur became president.
At this time, there was no established mechanism for appointing a vice president if a president died in office, so the vice-presidential position was never filled. It was not until the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 that the US Constitution was amended to correct this oversight. In 1967, the Twenty-fifth Amendment was enacted, outlining a clear path for the government to fill the vice presidential position should a president die in office or become incapacitated in some way.
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