In the line of succession--American style Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The original US Constitution lays out the line of succession in only the most basic way. Should the president die, the vice president automatically becomes president. How was the more complete list of presidential successors established?

Answer: The Presidential Succession Act of 1947

Before the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 was signed by President Truman, the line of succession was played around with by Congress, starting in 1792. In its various forms, the line of succession after the Vice President first had the Speaker of the House, then replaced that with the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, then replaced that with Cabinet members. The 25th Amendment deals with filling the Office of the Vice President, should the vice president die in office. "Marbury vs. Madison" has nothing to do with the succession.

It established the right for the courts to declare legislative actions unconstitutional.

2. Beyond the Vice President, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the line of succession moves away from elected officials to those who have been nominated to their jobs by the President and confirmed by the Senate--members of the Cabinet. What determines the order of succession within the Cabinet?.

Answer: When their seats were established

Under the law governing presidential succession, there is one cabinet officer who is much higher up in the list than when his/her job was created: the Secretary of Defense. Until FDR became president, there was no Secretary of Defense and no Department of Defense. There was a Secretary (and Department) of War. Recognizing the importance of the Secretary of Defense's job, the law moved that Secretary right behind the Secretary of State in the order of succession.
Interestingly, there is no provision for anyone within the military to be in the line of succession.

3. Until 1967, there was no way to fill the job of Vice President, should the sitting vice president die or be incapacitated in office. Which constitutional amendment not only establishes the mechanism for filling the vice president's job, but also allows for the president to temporarily give his/her powers to the vice president?

Answer: 25th

It's almost impossible to believe that there was no mechanism to fill the Vice Presidency until 1967. That's why the eight men who replaced the eight presidents who died in office had no vice president of their own. And, it's probably a very good thing that the 25th Amendment became part of the Constitution under Lyndon Johnson because of what happened to his successor. Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced to resign after he was charged with and, in essence, convicted of bribery in 1973. Had Agnew's job not been filled by Gerald Ford, who would have become president when Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974?

4. When a US president dies in office, how much time does it take his (or her) successor to assume the presidential powers?

Answer: None. The next in line becomes president as soon as the dying president takes his last breath

There are several elements which make it legally unnecessary for the vice president to be sworn in as president should that vice president be succeeding a president who has died or become otherwise incapable of discharging the duties of the office. At an inauguration, both the president and vice president take exactly the same oaths of office.

There are also some very technical and complicated elements of the constitution that do not differentiate between the president and vice president, which also have the effect of putting the vice president directly into the job of the president should the president die in office.

5. Before the 25th Amendment was passed in 1967, all presidents who took the reins of power from their dead predecessors held their offices without a vice president at all. Which vice president who assumed the presidency when the president he served under died in office held the job for the longest time period without a vice president?

Answer: John Tyler

John Tyler became president only 31 days after President William Henry Harrison was inaugurated. Harrison, of course, died of pneumonia which most people blamed on the fact that he had an outdoor inauguration on an extremely cold day and didn't wear a coat. But, the other three men listed as possible answers to this question all served years without a vice president. Andrew Johnson succeeded Lincoln less than six weeks into Lincoln's second term. Harry Truman succeeded FDR only four months into his fourth term. And, Theodore Roosevelt succeeded William McKinley six months into his second term.

6. In the last half of the 20th century, two Secretaries of State did their own jobs quite well. But, they were never in the line of succession to the presidency. Both were naturalized American citizens, born in Europe of European parents. And, the Constitution prohibits anyone who is not born an American citizen from becoming president. Who are these two Secretaries of State?

Answer: Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright

Both Kissinger and Albright's families left Europe for the same reason: they were Jewish and were fleeing the Nazis. Kissinger's family, who escaped from Germany, were always known to be Jewish. Albright, however, claimed she did not know her family was Jewish until the "New York Times" did an article about her family's departure from Czechoslovakia.

7. The elected politicians who are in the line of succession to the presidency are--in order--the Vice President, the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. After them, the line of succession moves to the president's cabinet. Which member of the cabinet is first in line?

Answer: Secretary of State

The Secretary of State's job was the first Cabinet post that was created. And the line of succession for Cabinet Secretaries goes according to when their jobs were created. And that leaves some room for surprise about who outranks whom. The Secretary of Agriculture, amazingly, is the 6th in line in the cabinet. The Secretary of Homeland Security is dead last.

8. Whenever the President addresses a joint session of Congress, such as during the yearly State of the Union speeches, the entire political leadership of the United States, including the Vice President, Cabinet, the Supreme Court and military leaders, are together in the House chamber. There is always one member of the Cabinet who does not go to Capitol Hill on those occasions. What moniker does that lucky cabinet member get?

Answer: The Designated Survivor

Unbelievably, over the years, the title of "Designated Survivor" has evolved for the sole member of the government leadership who is kept away from the speech. According to the "Washington Post", it wasn't until 1963 that anyone questioned who would lead the country in the event of a disaster at the Capitol and it was revealed that one Cabinet member was kept away just in case. According to the "Post", the Cabinet position most frequently called upon to survive has been the Secretary of the Interior. President Obama did break with that tradition and actually made Attorney General Eric Holder the first Cabinet secretary of consequence to hold the "Designated Survivor's" brief title.

9. When President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Lyndon Johnson automatically became president as soon as Kennedy died. But, knowing it was of the utmost of symbolic importance, he insisted on being sworn in aboard Air Force One while it was still on the ground at Love Field. Who did Johnson also insist be present to show the country that the government was united?

Answer: Jacqueline Kennedy

Lyndon Johnson was an extremely shrewd politician. For all of his enormous flaws, he understood government and what the stakes were for the country should there be any suggestion that he had somehow stepped over JFK's dead body to grab power. He knew that having Jacqueline Kennedy by his side as he took the oath of office would show the country and the rest of the world that the U.S. was still functioning and that he was its legitimate leader.

10. When Lyndon Johnson became president on November 22, 1963, Speaker of the House John McCormack went to the top of the line of succession. McCormack, according to contemporary accounts, did not want to be president and was terrified by the prospect of it. It probably didn't help that from November 22, 1963 until January 20, 1965--when Hubert Humphrey was sworn in as Vice President--McCormack had the Secret Service detail normally assigned to the vice president. How old was McCormack on November 22, 1963?

Answer: 71

There's probably nothing more to say about McCormack's fear that he might become president. It also probably helped get the 25th Amendment, laying out a method of filling a vacancy in the job of Vice President, through Congress. Granted that it took until 1967 to do it--for Congress that seems about normal speed.

Source: Author goodreporter

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

When we hear about a "line of succession", it always seems to be about the obsession with the British monarchy. This, however, is about the U.S. Presidential line of succession. Some of the answers will likely surprise you. Enjoy.

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