American Experience

The American Vice President (36x6)

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What happens when the president is unable to serve? The American Vice Presidentexplores the little-known story of the second-highest office in the land, tracing its evolution from a constitutional afterthought to a position of political consequence. Focusing on the fraught period between 1963 and 1974, when a grief-stricken and then scandal-plagued America was forced to define the role of the vice president, the film examines the passage and first uses of the 25th Amendment and offers a fresh and surprising perspective on the process of succession in the executive branch.