The U.S. Vice-Presidents Trivia Quiz

Answer: John Calhoun

Calhoun resigned as Andrew Jackson's Vice-President in December of 1832, in order to assume a South Carolina Senate seat and advocate against high tariffs. Calhoun supported nullification, which refers to the right of a state to ignore federal laws which the state deems unconstitutional.

The second VP to resign was Richard Nixon's first VP, Spiro Agnew, who resigned in 1973 as part of a deal for leniency in criminal charges he was facing stemming from his time as governor of Maryland.

Answer: George Clinton

Clinton served as VP in Thomas Jefferson's second term (1805-1809), and then again during James Madison's first term (1809-1812). He became the first VP to die in office when he died of a heart attack in April of 1812.

Answer: William R. King

William R. King was Franklin Pierce's vice-president. When it came time to take his oath of office in March of 1853, he was in Havana, Cuba, for health reasons, and was allowed to take the oath there. He died of tuberculosis in April of 1853, having never carried out any of his VP duties.

Answer: Joe Biden

Joe Biden was the 47th U.S. vice-president, but, surprisingly, was the first Catholic VP.

Answer: Charles Curtis

Charles Curtis served as Herbert Hoover's vice-president (1929-1933). He was born in the Kansas Territory in 1860, of Kaw and Osage ancestry.

Answer: Aaron Burr

Burr was Thomas Jefferson't first VP (1801-1805). When it became obvious that Jefferson was going to pick a different running mate for his second term, Burr ran for governor of New York. The famous duel with Alexander Hamilton arose out of statements against Burr which Hamilton allegedly made during the course of that gubernatorial campaign.

The infamous duel took place on July 11, 1804, in New Jersey; both men fired, but only Hamilton was struck. Burr faced murder charges in both New Jersey and New York, where Hamilton died the day after the duel, but these charges were ultimately dropped.

Answer: John Tyler

Tyler assumed the presidency when William Henry Harrison died on April 4, 1841, a mere one month into his presidency. At the time the pertinent constitutional provision said that, upon the death of a president, the VP would assume "the powers and duties" of the president.

However, Tyler insisted on being sworn in as president, not as acting president, and that precedent has been followed ever since.

Answer: Schuyler Colfax

Mike Pence became the sixth vice-president from Indiana when he took office with Donald Trump in 2017, making Indiana second for most VPs next to New York's ten. Schuyler Colfax was Ulysses S. Grant's first VP, but he was dumped from the ticket when Grant ran for re-election in 1872.

Answer: Richard M. Johnson

Johnson ran with Martin Van Buren on the 1836 Democratic ticket. Although Van Buren received 170 electoral votes, for a clear majority of the 294 total, the controversial Johnson received only 147 votes. Since this was not a majority, the Senate had to vote him in, which it did by a 33-16 vote. Johnson was controversial due to his slave mistress and their daughters, and for his dubious claim that he had killed the Shawnee chief Tecumseh during the War of 1812.

Answer: Gerald R. Ford

The 25th Amendment was adopted in 1967 to provide a procedure for filling the office of VP whenever it becomes vacant. Under the amendment's provisions. the president nominates a replacement, who then takes office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both houses of congress.

Ford was nominated by President Nixon in 1973 to replace Spiro Agnew, who had resigned in disgrace. Ford was quite popular in congress, having served honorably there for 25 years, and was overwhelmingly confirmed by a 92-3 Senate vote, and a 387-35 House vote.

After Ford became president in 1974 upon Nixon's resignation, the 25th amendment was again used to select Nelson Rockefeller to be Ford's replacement as VP.