Vice Presidents of The United States Podcast

Hog caller and stump speaker Alben Barkley defied all expectations. The son of a tobacco farmer with little money to spare became Vice President and sometimes, a contender for President. Senator and Majority Leader he prospered from his ability to speak. It even almost got him in trouble with the President he served, Harry Truman. The Original "Veep," the term first used with Barkley, he modernized the Vice Presidency but managed to keep a 19th-century style at the same time. He died the way he lived, on the stump.

Dick Cheney is known as one of the most powerful Vice Presidents. In this podcast, we look at the years before he became Veep, and how he almost threw his career away.

Nobody would have expected local pol and newbie governor Cal Coolidge to become Vice President two years before the election of 1920. Then a calamity happened, that made him the symbol of normalcy.

Rich, popular and diplomatic, Levi Parsons Morton was a banker-turned politician who had a knack for making connections and a penchant for raising money. He helped bankroll two Presidential campaigns before he found himself on a ticket, winning and serving under Benjamin Harrison. He would get along with the former General, but he would disappoint him on one important vote.

He would also be one of the few vice presidents to be more successul after holding the office. And as our guest Tim Pearson, the author of Second Fiddle, tells us he had a big role in the construction of The Statue of Liberty.

George H.W. Bush's Vice Presidency was not spectacular; but arguably its most decisive event happened in its first months. We discuss the day President Reagan was shot on this podcast.

Wilson's Vice President prospered through his folksy Indiana charm and humor and his status as a governor of a swing state. But did his humor prevent him from a most serious role?

When a great national battle was on, Hamlin made his voice clear, taking on slavery, the slave power and Jefferson Davis himself. So much so, he attracted the attention of a young congressman who would become his Commander in Chief.

When his name was added to the ticket in 1860, Hannibal Hamlin's Lincoln's first vice-president was pleased to see a supportive sign that combined the two names of the candidates and read "AbraHamlinColn." The campaign sign however, would not reflect the relationship between Hamlin and the nation's most revered President that he served under. Hamlin was not often consulted by Lincoln. Nor would it reflect the accomplishment of a long-serving Senator who was a key fighter against slavery in the United States.

Born to be best, he was never a great President. But he did make history. And the Theodore Roosevelts and Lyndon Johnsons of history owed him a thank you. We talk about the man on the ticket with William Henry Harrison who became President upon his death. His history, and his love of parties and dancing.

Banker, Comptroller, Campaign Manager and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Charles G. Dawes came to the Vice Presidency with many achievements already in hand. A master of systems of supply and organization, he had served in the Army under Pershing and developed the Allies supply system, then re-engineered the reparations payments Germany owed and the resulting financial entanglements for world governments after the war. He cast a shadow over his President, Calvin Coolidge, and confronted the Senate. That didn't endear him to either. Music by Lee Rosevere and guest is Chris Novembrino of Dont Worry About the Government.

A look at Garret Hobart, William McKinley's first Vice President who would be so influential and charming that he would sometimes be called the Assistant Vice President. Convincing the President to go to war, taking care of Cabinet squabbles and entertaining important administration allies were among the services he performed. Until his health caught up with him. Interviews with Tim Pearson and Robert Merry. Music by Chris Novembrino and Lee Rosevere.