The Vice Presidents Who Became Commander-in-Chief

In an interesting political twist, President Joe Biden, who served as Vice President under former President Barack Obama and was elected to the top position in 2020, ended his re-election bid this past July, opening the doors for his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to potentially assume the role. Should Harris win, she will go down in history as not only the first woman president of the United States but also as a former vice president who became commander-in-chief.

To date, 15 VPs have made the transition and landed the ultimate leadership role of president of the United States. Some, like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, ran for office and won during the early years of our country. Other presidents, like John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, and Chester A. Arthur, automatically rose to the position after the president either died or was assassinated while in office. Then there's Gerald Ford, who landed the job after Richard Nixon resigned.

To determine the vice presidents who become commander-in-chief 24/7 Tempo reviewed many historical sources, including history.com, senate.gov, and whitehouse.gov to find the men who would become VPs. We cross-referenced the information to ensure its accuracy, and we think you'll be amazed by what you learn. (To learn more about U.S. presidents, check out this list of American presidents who served in the Armed Forces.)

• Vice President for: George Washington
• Term of Presidency: 1797-1801
• President Number: 2

The first of the vice presidents who became president was John Adams. Back when the U.S. government was first created, it was the rule that the person who came in second became the vice president. In other words, whoever got the second-most electoral votes. In this case, it was Adams.

After serving as vice president, he ran for the office of president in 1797, won the election, and became the second-ever president of the United States. Adams was a legislator, federalist, and diplomat from the state of Massachusetts who only lasted for one term in the nation's highest office.

• Vice President for: John Adams
• Term of Presidency: 1801-1809
• President Number: 3

It's hard to imagine forefather Thomas Jefferson not being in charge, but he was the vice president to John Adams for four years. Then, when the next election came up, Jefferson went up against his former boss and won the election. Jefferson was president for eight years. It was a tough election and Adams was so bitter about the loss that he didn't show up to Jefferson's inauguration.

By all accounts, Jefferson was a great president who made our country what it is today. Among his most important accomplishments was helping with the creation of the Declaration of Independence.

• Vice President for: Andrew Jackson
• Term of Presidency: 1837-1841
• President Number: 8

Van Buren was first appointed to be secretary of state by Andrew Jackson during his first term in office. He did such a great job that Jackson asked Van Buren to be his vice president during his second term. Later, he became president in 1837. At just 5 feet 6 inches, Van Buren was short and had the nickname "Little Magician."

However, his magic could only do so much. The economy took a major hit while he was president, and the people weren't satisfied with his plans to fix things, so he only lasted one term.

• Vice President for: William Henry Harrison
• Term of Presidency: 1841-1845
• President Number: 10

Tyler, a former senator from Virginia, made history by becoming the first VP to assume the role due to the death of the existing president. William Henry Harrison died from a bad case of pneumonia just 32 days after he took office. Tyler did a decent job as president, including annexing Texas into the U.S., but most of his cabinet members resigned because he wouldn't start the Bank of the United States. He did not seek reelection.

• Vice President for: Zachary Tyler
• Term of Presidency: 1850-1853
• President Number: 13

Slavery was still a big issue when former slave owner Zachary Tyler became president. The Whig party tried to make him easier to swallow by putting northerner Fillmore as vice president. Tyler and Fillmore were such strangers that they didn't even meet until after their inauguration.

They didn't get along once they met either. However, Tyler also died in office after getting cholera so Fillmore became president quickly. He didn't perform well and lost his reelection bid.

• Vice President for: Abraham Lincoln
• Term of Presidency: 1865-1869
• President Number: 17

Johnson was vice president to Abraham Lincoln, so he had some very big shoes to fill when Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. Johnson was not loved by the people or his fellow politicians. While he did try to create a homestead bill that would provide free farms to poor farmers, his presidency was mostly negative.

As a Democrat, he continuously vetoed Republican bills that would protect the rights of freed slaves. Because of these actions, the House of Representatives voted to impeach him. The Senate acquitted him, but the mark was on his reputation forever.

• Vice President for: James Garfield
• Term of Presidency: 1881-1885
• President Number: 21

Arthur, a lawyer and school principal, had very little experience when he was selected by Garfield to be his vice president. Still, he was selected so he could appeal to other parts of the country. When Garfield was assassinated just six months into his presidency, Arthur became president.

A year before he took office, Arthur's wife died so his sister served as first lady. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned Chinese immigration and was part of the reason why he did not win his reelection bid.

• Vice President for: William McKinley
• Term of Presidency: 1901-1909
• President Number: 26

Theodore Roosevelt is considered to be one of the best presidents of all time. However, he started as VP under William McKinley. When McKinley was assassinated, Roosevelt became president in 1901. At 42, he was the youngest president the nation ever had. Roosevelt had many successes and was very ambitious.

One of his big deals was the "Square Deal," which aimed to preserve 200 million acres of wilderness, promote programs for the poor, and regulate industry. After his term ended, he tried to run again as a third-party candidate but lost to William Howard Taft.

• Vice President for: Warren G. Harding
• Term of Presidency: 1923-1929
• President Number: 30

Coolidge, former governor of Massachusetts, became president after Warren G. Harding died of a heart attack in 1923. When 1924 came along, Coolidge ran for reelection and won. He focused a lot on economics, getting Congress to cut taxes on the rich, but it was not enough to avoid the major stock market crash in 1929. However, he was not president when the crash took place. He decided not to run for reelection in 1928.

• Vice President for: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Term of Presidency: 1945-1953
• President Number: 33

When President Franklin Roosevelt died in office from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1945, Vice President Truman took over. Truman was a veteran who served as a senator before becoming VP. His presidency was marred by war and he approved the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan during World War II. He was also president during the onset of the Korean War and at the beginning of the Cold War. He decided not to run for reelection in 1952.

• Vice President for: John F. Kennedy
• Term of Presidency: 1963-1969
• President Number: 36

Johnson became president after the assassination of Kennedy and hit the ground running. He had a major part in starting Medicare, the Voting Rights Act, Head Start, and the Civil Rights Act. He was also responsible for putting more money into education, improving interstate commerce, and he was instrumental in getting more money to rebuild the cities.

However, even after all of that, he's mostly remembered for his actions that escalated the Vietnam War, and due to his unpopularity, he chose not to run again.

• Vice President for: Dwight Eisenhower
• Term of Presidency: 1969-1974
• President Number: 37

Nixon was a career politician who served as a member of the House and the Senate before moving on to become vice president for Eisenhower for many years. He ran for president in 1960 and lost, but won in 1968. Despite being the only president to resign due to the Watergate scandal, Nixon did many good things in office.

He officially ended the military draft, founded the Environmental Protection Agency, and was instrumental in very productive diplomatic relations with China. He also appointed four Supreme Court justices and spent $100 million on the war against cancer.

• Vice President for: Richard Nixon
• Term of Presidency: 1974-1977
• President Number: 38

Ford was the VP when Nixon resigned from the presidency. One of Ford's major moves as president was to give a full pardon to Nixon for his crimes. That was a very unpopular decision, and it overshadowed almost everything else he did. It didn't help that much of the Nixon presidency was marred with controversy.

Nixon's initial VP, Spiro Agnew, was forced to resign due to allegations of corruption, which is when Ford assumed the office. Some accomplishments of the Ford presidency include cutting inflation, lowering unemployment, reducing crime, and helping farmers to succeed.

• Vice President for: Ronald Reagan
• Term of Presidency: 1989-1993
• President Number: 41

Bush was vice president for Reagan for eight years before running for election and taking the big job himself. However, his single term should not diminish his career. He was a World War II pilot, former U.N. ambassador, and director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He also had two stints in Congress.

As president, Bush helped avoid war in the Middle East and was instrumental in the end of the Cold War. An economic downturn was partially responsible for the end of his presidency with a loss to Bill Clinton.

• Vice President for: Barack Obama
• Term of Presidency: 2021-Present
• President Number: 46

Biden, who was vice president under Obama for eight years, had run for president twice but never became the nominee. However, he had many years of political service, with decades in Congress. Only time will tell if his vice president, Kamala Harris, will also become the president. (Learn more about Harris and other up-and-coming politicians on this list of the most popular Democrats among Americans.)