yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Why is the Speaker second in succession? | US Government and Civics | Khan Academy


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

Why is the Speaker second in succession to the President after the Vice President? The idea of succession actually was a little muddied, and it didn't— it wasn't until the 25th Amendment that actually, uh, the relationship between the President and the Vice President was actually formalized. When William Henry Harrison died and John Tyler came in as his Vice President, there was a big debate about whether, uh, he was actually really the President.

So, even though the line of succession is, uh, is written down, there's a lot of debate about what enforces it and what doesn't. The Speaker of the House, though, has prominence in that line of succession because the Speaker of the House is closest to the people. The formation of the federal government—Article One defines the powers of Congress because the Framers wanted Congress really to be the powerful branch close to the people. They were worried about a monarchy, so they didn't want the President to have excessive power.

The Speaker of the House represents all of the— you know, is elected by all of the members, and so has a closer relationship, uh, to the people, and that's what gives them power in the question of succession. What's interesting, though, is that there's only been one Speaker of the House who's then gone on to be President: James K. Polk. So, while they are high up in the order of succession, behind the Vice President, that doesn't necessarily make the job a stepping stone to actual power of the Presidency through the electoral process.

More Articles

View All
Will We Ever Run Out of New Music?
Hey, Vsauce. Michael here. And the iTunes store contains 28 million different songs. Last.fm carries 45 million songs, and the Gracenote database of artists, titles, and labels contains 130 million different songs. That’s a lot. If you were to listen to …
Was Nero the Antichrist? | The Story of God
But why might early Christians have called Nero the Antichrist? Kim brings me to the very heart of the Vatican, St. Peter’s Square, to show me the answer. So, we know that the code 666 refers to the emperor Nero. Why? Emperor Nero was despised for many t…
Deadly Waters: Crocodiles and Adventure | Edge of the Unknown on Disney+
[MUSIC PLAYING] Most rivers, when you get to a calm section, you can rest a little bit. But on Murch, that calm, flat water is definitely more terrifying than any of the white water. MAN: Being a kayaker in Central Africa, inevitably, you’re going to hav…
Food Snatchers | Life Below Zero
Well, another beautiful morning. I’m always fat in the morning times. It’s time to get a lot of things done, and dogs and things I got to do every morning. Those get woke up by these damn squirrels, and they’re out there stealing my dog food. I see a squi…
A Tale of Two Credit Scores | Teacher Resources | Financial Literacy | Khan Academy
[Music] Con Academy proudly presents a tale of two credit scores. This is Jana. Hi! And this is Bob. Good morning! Narrator: Hi Bob! These two charming characters are co-workers, each with the same job and salary. They both need a vehicle, so they’ve tr…
A day in the life - my 10,000 subscriber celebration
I just hit 10,000 subscribers on YouTube! I just hit 10,000 subscribers! Nobody cares! I’m going to go to Ralphs, I’m going to buy a cake, we’re going to celebrate tonight! Oh my God, this is crazy! What’s up you guys, it’s Graham here. So I get asked all…