Vice-President of the United States

In the early days of the United States, the candidate for president who got the second-most votes became the vice-president, but it didn’t take long for people to realize that this system didn’t work very well – political rivals usually don’t make good coworkers. In the 1800 election, there was a tie in the Electoral College, and the vote for president went to the House of Representatives. After that, the 12th Amendment was passed, which allowed the president and VP to be elected separately.

Now, presidential and vice-presidential candidates run for office together on a ticket, so the president and VP always belong to the same political party, and voters don’t have a direct say in who the VP is. Each party’s nominee for president is chosen via primary elections (this is the part that voters can participate in), and then the presidential candidate selects a running mate who will be the candidate for VP, usually in consultation with party leaders and their closest advisors. Politics is usually a big consideration, and presidential candidates think about who will help them win key states or key voters. Sometimes presidential candidates also consider potential governing challenges they might have if they win the election and take office, and choose someone who might help them address those challenges – for example, a VP who served in Congress for a long time might have valuable relationships with lawmakers, or a VP with expertise in certain policy areas may be helpful if that policy area is one the presidential candidate wants to focus on. There is also usually a thorough vetting process for anyone who is being considered for the role.

Source: the Brookings Institution 

For most Americans, Lyndon B. Johnson is best known for the actions he took as president: assuming the office in 1963 after the assassination of JFK, he championed foundational civil rights laws such as the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act; led the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs, which millions of Americans rely on; and escalated U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Less well known, but just as influential for U.S. and global history, is his influence on the American space program. 

When Johnson became vice-president in 1961, he had been pushing for the federal government to dedicate more resources to space exploration for years. The Soviet Union had launched the world’s first artificial satellite in 1957, and Johnson strongly believed that a U.S. space program was essential for national security, defense, and gaining a political advantage in the Cold War. As Senate Majority Leader, he held hearings, launched an inquiry, led committees, and championed the legislation that eventually created NASA, all while pushing the White House and Congress for more funding. As vice-president, he saw an even bigger opportunity to strengthen the space program. In April of 1961, after just three months in office, he formally recommended that President Kennedy make the space program a national priority. In a famous speech the very next month, President Kennedy called for the U.S. to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade; to oversee this goal, he appointed Vice-President Johnson as chair of the National Space Council. From this position, Johnson was able to use both the power of the White House and his extensive connections in Congress to push for more funding. By 1962, the U.S. had put the first American into orbit with the launch of the Mercury-Atlas 6 spaceflight.

After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, now-President Johnson continued to prioritize the space program, and continued Kennedy’s tradition of inviting astronauts to visit the White House, keeping the program in the public eye throughout his time in office. In 1969, the U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. Since its founding, NASA’s research and technological innovations have had an impact in aviation, education, and many areas of science. For his consistent dedication to the issue throughout his career, some historians call Johnson the “forgotten champion” of the space race.

Sources: the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library; the University of Virginia’s Miller Center; the National Air and Space Museum; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on the Mercury-Atlas 6 spaceflight and the impact of the agency’s work; VP Johnson’s 1961 memorandum on the space program; the White House Historical Association