John Adams once called the vice presidency "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived." He was the first guy to hold the job. Honestly, he wasn't entirely wrong at the time, but looking at the list of vice presidents in order tells a much more chaotic story than Adams probably anticipated. It’s a list defined by sudden tragedies, weird legal loopholes, and people who were basically ignored until the second the President stopped breathing.
We usually focus on the Oval Office. That makes sense. But the "Number Twos" have arguably shaped American history just as much by simply being there—or by being completely different from the person they served.
The Early Mess of Picking Vice Presidents in Order
In the beginning, the system was a total disaster. You didn't run as a "ticket" like you do now. Basically, whoever got the most votes became President, and the runner-up became Vice President. Imagine if, in 2016, Donald Trump had to work with Hillary Clinton as his deputy. Or if Joe Biden had to keep Donald Trump in the office next door. That’s exactly how it started.
John Adams (1) and Thomas Jefferson (2) were the first two vice presidents in order, and they basically hated each other’s political guts. Jefferson spent a good chunk of his time as VP actively undermining Adams’ administration. This led to the 12th Amendment because, frankly, the Founding Fathers realized they’d made a huge mistake. By the time we got to Aaron Burr (3), things were so tense that the Vice President ended up killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Not exactly a smooth start for the office.
The order matters because it reflects how the country was trying to balance itself. For a long time, the VP was just a regional olive branch. If the President was a Northerner, you grabbed a Southerner for the second slot to keep the party from imploding.
The Men Who Became President by Accident
When you look at vice presidents in order, the most significant names are often the ones who weren't supposed to be there for long. John Tyler (10) was the first "accidental" president. When William Henry Harrison died just a month into his term, nobody actually knew if Tyler was the President or just the "Acting President." He just moved into the White House, returned mail addressed to the Vice President unopened, and stared everyone down until they accepted it.
This happened way more than you’d think.
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- Millard Fillmore (12) took over for Zachary Taylor.
- Andrew Johnson (16) stepped in after Lincoln’s assassination.
- Chester A. Arthur (20) followed James Garfield.
Arthur is a fascinating case. People thought he was a total corrupt hack from the New York political machine. When he became VP, everyone groaned. But after Garfield was shot, Arthur actually cleaned up his act and pushed for civil service reform. It’s one of those rare moments where the office actually changed the man.
The Modern Shift: When the Job Actually Started to Matter
For over a century, the VP was mostly a "do nothing" role. Some of them didn't even show up to Cabinet meetings. Thomas R. Marshall (28), who served under Woodrow Wilson, famously told a joke about two brothers: one ran away to sea, the other was elected Vice President, and neither was ever heard of again.
That changed with Harry S. Truman (34).
When FDR died, Truman was pulled aside and told about the atomic bomb. He had been Vice President for months and had no idea the Manhattan Project even existed. That terrifying gap in knowledge changed everything. After Truman, the vice presidents in order began to look more like partners.
Richard Nixon (36) was incredibly active under Eisenhower. Lyndon B. Johnson (37) was a powerhouse who felt stifled by the Kennedys but knew exactly how to use the office when he took over. Then you get to the era of the "Super VP." Walter Mondale (42) really pioneered the idea of the Vice President as a general advisor with an office in the West Wing.
Power Players and Gatekeepers
You can't talk about the list without mentioning Dick Cheney (46). Whether you liked his policies or not, he shifted the power dynamic of the vice presidency into something almost unrecognizable. He wasn't just a backup; he was a central architect of foreign policy.
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Then came Joe Biden (47), who brought a "last person in the room" mentorship style to the Obama years, and Mike Pence (48), who acted as a bridge to evangelical voters. Kamala Harris (49) broke the ultimate glass ceiling as the first woman, first African American, and first South Asian American to hold the spot.
Looking at the vice presidents in order is like looking at a map of American social progress and political anxiety.
Every Vice President in Order: The Quick Reference
If you're trying to keep the names straight, here is the factual progression of the officeholders from the founding to the present day.
- John Adams
- Thomas Jefferson
- Aaron Burr
- George Clinton (He actually served under two different Presidents, Jefferson and Madison)
- Elbridge Gerry
- Daniel D. Tompkins
- John C. Calhoun
- Martin Van Buren
- Richard Mentor Johnson
- John Tyler
- George M. Dallas
- Millard Fillmore
- William R. King (He died after only 45 days in office)
- John C. Breckinridge
- Hannibal Hamlin
- Andrew Johnson
- Schuyler Colfax
- Henry Wilson
- William A. Wheeler
- Chester A. Arthur
- Thomas A. Hendricks
- Levi P. Morton
- Adlai Stevenson I
- Garret Hobart
- Theodore Roosevelt (Became a legend after McKinley’s death)
- Charles W. Fairbanks
- James S. Sherman
- Thomas R. Marshall
- Calvin Coolidge
- Charles G. Dawes
- Charles Curtis
- John Nance Garner (Famously said the job wasn't worth a "bucket of warm spit")
- Henry A. Wallace
- Harry S. Truman
- Alben W. Barkley
- Richard Nixon
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Hubert Humphrey
- Spiro Agnew (Resigned in scandal)
- Gerald Ford (The only person to serve as both VP and President without being elected to either)
- Nelson Rockefeller
- Walter Mondale
- George H.W. Bush
- Dan Quayle
- Al Gore
- Dick Cheney
- Joe Biden
- Mike Pence
- Kamala Harris
Common Misconceptions About the List
People often think the Vice President has a lot of constitutional power. They don't. Technically, their only real jobs are to preside over the Senate (casting tie-breaking votes) and to wait for the President to be unable to serve.
There’s also a weird myth that the Vice President is always the "heir apparent." History says otherwise. Only about a third of our Vice Presidents have ever become President. Some did it by election (like Bush Sr. or Nixon), but many only got there because of a funeral.
Also, the "Order" has gaps. We've had several periods where the country had no Vice President at all. Before the 25th Amendment was ratified in 1967, if a VP died or moved up to the presidency, the office just sat empty until the next election. This happened when LBJ took over for JFK—there was no Vice President for over a year.
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Why Keeping Track of the Order Matters Today
In our current political climate, the Vice President is often a "successor-in-waiting" who is vetted more heavily than ever before. We look at the vice presidents in order to see patterns of how parties try to win over specific demographics or regions.
If you're studying this for a history exam or just to win a bar trivia night, focus on the "pivotal" ones. The ones who changed the rules.
- John Tyler for proving the VP actually becomes the President.
- Teddy Roosevelt for proving a VP can be more popular than the guy at the top.
- Gerald Ford for showing how the 25th Amendment works in a crisis.
- Walter Mondale for creating the modern "West Wing" version of the job.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs and Students
To truly master the history of the vice presidency, don't just memorize the names. Look at the "vacancies." Research why the office was empty during certain presidencies.
If you want to understand the current political landscape, look at the tie-breaking votes cast by the modern holders of the office. Kamala Harris, for instance, has broken more ties than almost anyone in history, which shows just how much the "insignificant" role has moved into the center of legislative power.
Check out the National Constitution Center’s breakdown of Article II and the 25th Amendment to see the legal bones of the office. Understanding the vice presidents in order isn't just a memory exercise; it’s a way to see how the American executive branch survives its own worst moments.
For a deeper dive, read First in Line by Jonathan Karl or The American Vice Presidency by Jules Witcover. These books move past the list and into the actual personalities that inhabited the most awkward job in Washington. Focusing on the transition points—where one VP ends and another begins—is where the real history happens.