The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Its Complete History and Applications - Paperback

by John D. Feerick (Author)

This book focuses on the Twenty-Fifth Amendment - its meaning, legislative history, and applications. The Amendment has been criticized for being vague and undemocratic. It has been praised for making possible swift and orderly successions to the presidency and vice presidency upon the occurrence of some of the most extraordinary events in American history. Its vice presidential selection feature has been recommended as the best method for selecting all Vice Presidents. The repeal of that feature and the abolition of the vice presidency have also been suggested. Moreover, throughout the Watergate crisis the Amendment was alluded to as affording a means by which a President could transfer Presidential power during an impeachment proceeding, and it was suggested as authorizing a Vice President and Cabinet to suspend, so to speak, a President during the period of impeachment trial before the Senate. Judging by all the attention the Amendment has received and by the number of presidential and vice presidential vacancies and illnesses which have occurred in our history, one can expect that the Twenty-Fifth Amendment will receive frequent application in the future of our country.

Back Jacket

In 1973 and 1974 the resignations of the elected Vice President and President of the United States challenged the continuance of democratic government of this country. For the first time the succession mechanisms of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment were employed to select two Vice Presidents, one of whom succeeded to the presidency. The Amendment played a decisive role in assuring continuity of government and restoring the public's confidence in its political system.

Author Biography

John D. Feerick is Dean of the School of Law, Fordham University. In 1963 he was a member of the American Bar Association Conference on Presidential Inability and Vice Presidenial Vacancy, the recommendations which resulted in the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. John D. Feerick recently (1987-1990) served as Chairman of the New York State Commission on Government Integrity, the collected reports of which were published by Fordham University Press (1991) title Government Ethics Reform in the 1990's.