Essay On The 25th Amendment

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 …show more content…
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