Essay On The 25th Amendment

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Throughout the existence of the United States the issue of who would succeed the president in the event of his death remained largely unanswered in law relying instead on past precedents. (Amendment25) With the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 this issue of presidential succession was thrust into the public limelight accelerating the discussion around what eventually would become the 25th amendment.(NCC Staff 2013) This essay will look at the history of this amendment, what the amendment says, and its relevance today along with any potential complications that could arise from it.
The history of the 25th amendment stretches back to the early days of the United States with succession being mentioned in the 1787 at the constitutional convention.(Amendment25) However, for many years there was no basis for several issues such as who could declare a president incapacitated and the process filling a vacant vice-president seat as well as the vice-president succeeding the president. One incident that showed the need for a clearer basis of succession was John Tyler’s actions following the death of William Henry Harrison. After Harrison’s death, it was suggested that Tyler be named the “acting” president. Tyler denied the title and declared himself to be the President of the United States, establishing the Tyler precedent of vice-presidents succeeding a fallen president. (Amendment25) As time passed, however more issues related to succession and presidential disability continued to occur. (Amendment25) In an attempt to rectify these issues, the Keating-Kefauver proposal was created that would give congress the ability to create legislation to determine if a president is disabled.(Totally History) Due to the fear that the Keating-Kefyur proposal would give congress too much power and being spurred on by the recent Kennedy a second proposal was created known as the Bayh-Celler proposal which would later become the 25th amendment. (Totally History)(NCC Staff 2013) The proposal, finding favor in both the house and the senate, made its way through congress and on July 6th, 1995 was given to the states for ratification.(Amendment25) Finally, after receiving the necessary number of votes from the states the amendment was ratified on February 10, 1967.(Amendment25) The 25th amendment is primarily focused on the issues of presidential succession and presidential disability.(Totally History) The amendment itself is separated into four sections with
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The primary reason being the fact that as along as we have a president there will always be a chance that succession laws may need to be used. It insures that no matter what circumstances may occur such as attacks against the White House and the United States or a president facing serious illness there will always be someone to lead the country. (NCC Staff 2013) While still being relevant the 25th amendment could lead to some complications in the future. The primary complication arises from section 4 of the amendment. The wording of this section allows for the vice-president and the majority of either the executive department officers or congress can declare the president is unable to perform his duties.(U.S. Const. amend XXV Sections 4) There is a chance that this section could allow for the removal of an unfavorable president by these powers which would then allow the vice-president to assume the presidency though the chances of this happening are rare. Overall the 25th amendment will continue to stay relevant and almost complication

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