I read/skimmed two books in which the vice presidency became quite relevant.
The first is Gail Collins' entry in the mini-bio series of American presidents, which is perhaps appropriately briefer than appears to be normal, just like its subject's term of office: William Henry Harrison. The only ones left being Reagan (a bit curiously), Clinton (a bit less so) and Obama (obviously). Bush43 has a volume already, according to the list in the book, so not sure about the first two. Anyway, it is an enjoyable brisk read of someone who didn't promise to be much of a President even if he survived.The most notable aspect is really his campaign, which was the first full-fledged party affair with rallies, songs and silly slogans.
The Whig Party had a standard model in its brief existence: bland military leaders of the ticket who can paper over the splits among its constituency. The party promoted the idea of a limited executive (in answer to "King" Andrew Jackson) while supporting a somewhat modern looking national program of road building, education and a national bank. One possibility in fact is that if Harrison survived, the bank issue would have came to a head, perhaps even in the Supreme Court, with Taney going the other way than John Marshall. The problem for them (and a similar problem for its successor a few years later) is that the person they put to balance the ticket (John Tyler and then Andrew Johnson) didn't really share many of the party's core beliefs, which unexpectedly became an issue.
The second book is He Almost Changed the World: The Life And Times Of Thomas Riley Marshall, the title a bit more promising than the book itself. It seems okay, but doesn't have much bite and spends much of the time providing background material (such as pages on the people that pop up along the way) and what comes off as filler. In the introduction, we are told he isn't a big man in a historical sense in many ways, and we basically find out why. It is an open question that he would have "changed the world" either, that left to conjecture on finding a way to get through the League of Nations, even though his major skill seemed to be that he was a pleasant enough guy and a decent governor. The Wikipeida article linked is rather detailed and seems to includes a few more details than the book.
The book provides something of a window of the times, including local state politics, while using a easy to read tone throughout. The reason why we care about him is because of President Wilson's stroke. His condition was kept secret, so Marshall rejected some calls (including from inside the Cabinet) to take over his duties. The Constitution gave him that power when the President was incapacitated but the issue was never pressed in the past. The 25th Amendment actually only clarified the matter somewhat. The situation where the President is not dead or personally makes clear they are unable to carry out his/her duties notes:
Like dealing with various national disaster scenarios hopefully best left to fiction, the best path is a debated matter to this day.
The first is Gail Collins' entry in the mini-bio series of American presidents, which is perhaps appropriately briefer than appears to be normal, just like its subject's term of office: William Henry Harrison. The only ones left being Reagan (a bit curiously), Clinton (a bit less so) and Obama (obviously). Bush43 has a volume already, according to the list in the book, so not sure about the first two. Anyway, it is an enjoyable brisk read of someone who didn't promise to be much of a President even if he survived.The most notable aspect is really his campaign, which was the first full-fledged party affair with rallies, songs and silly slogans.
The Whig Party had a standard model in its brief existence: bland military leaders of the ticket who can paper over the splits among its constituency. The party promoted the idea of a limited executive (in answer to "King" Andrew Jackson) while supporting a somewhat modern looking national program of road building, education and a national bank. One possibility in fact is that if Harrison survived, the bank issue would have came to a head, perhaps even in the Supreme Court, with Taney going the other way than John Marshall. The problem for them (and a similar problem for its successor a few years later) is that the person they put to balance the ticket (John Tyler and then Andrew Johnson) didn't really share many of the party's core beliefs, which unexpectedly became an issue.
The second book is He Almost Changed the World: The Life And Times Of Thomas Riley Marshall, the title a bit more promising than the book itself. It seems okay, but doesn't have much bite and spends much of the time providing background material (such as pages on the people that pop up along the way) and what comes off as filler. In the introduction, we are told he isn't a big man in a historical sense in many ways, and we basically find out why. It is an open question that he would have "changed the world" either, that left to conjecture on finding a way to get through the League of Nations, even though his major skill seemed to be that he was a pleasant enough guy and a decent governor. The Wikipeida article linked is rather detailed and seems to includes a few more details than the book.
The book provides something of a window of the times, including local state politics, while using a easy to read tone throughout. The reason why we care about him is because of President Wilson's stroke. His condition was kept secret, so Marshall rejected some calls (including from inside the Cabinet) to take over his duties. The Constitution gave him that power when the President was incapacitated but the issue was never pressed in the past. The 25th Amendment actually only clarified the matter somewhat. The situation where the President is not dead or personally makes clear they are unable to carry out his/her duties notes:
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.This is followed by a long and somewhat convoluted paragraph that is probably one of the more obscure parts of the Constitution. Even if he had the ability, Marshall very well might not have wished to provide such a written declaration, wary of tragic results of what might be seen as a coup d'etat. He was wary even of accepting that he had presidential powers when Wilson left the country to negotiate peace terms after WWI. Raising controversy with a probably split Cabinet, challenging the First Lady (who thought he was basically some uncouth boob), presidential physician and a lead adviser too.
Like dealing with various national disaster scenarios hopefully best left to fiction, the best path is a debated matter to this day.