Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg Today, the Speaker of the House gets a bad rep. As leader of the House of Representatives, the Speaker is responsible for all the House does. Both the good and the bad. But Frederick Muhlenberg, the first and third Speaker was not nearly as controversial as his modern day counterparts. A member of the now-defunct Pro-Administration Party, and later the Anti-Administration Party and its successor the Democratic-Republican Party, Muhlenberg codified many of the traditions the Speaker still does and was loved by allies and rivals alike! Early Life Continental ..read more

Politicians today get a bad rep. Instead of serving their constituents, most politicians only serve themselves. Yet William A. Wheeler, the 19th Vice President under Rutherford B. Hayes stands apart from the rest. Whilst there is – and always has been – debate on whether politicians should dictate their own salaries, William A. Wheeler was one of the few politicians to actively campaign against it. He believed in this so much that he even refused a salary increase in 1873 after Congress pushed through highly controversial legislation some have called the “Salary Grab Act”. Early Life Politics ..read more

A lifelong Democrat, Thomas A. Hendricks was the definition of a party man, voting the party line time and time, even if modern Democrats would be appalled at his voting record. Indeed, his rise to power during the Reconstruction Era saw this Southern Democrat oppose all attempts to heal the rift created by slavery, including supporting Andrew Johnson after his impeachment and voting against the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth Amendments. And this didn’t with his election as Vice President, if anything, it only strengthened his resolve and gave him more power to execute his agenda. Early ..read more

The first Vice-President under Abraham Lincoln, Hannibal Hamlin only narrowly missed out on being President, having been replaced as Vice President by Andrew Johnson only a month prior to Lincoln’s assassination. A Republican like Lincoln unlike Johnson, Hannibal Hamlin was relatively unpopular with both the people and Lincoln, the latter of whom dropped him from his 1860 re-election ticket in favor of the Southerner Johnson. Yet even after he finished his term as VP, Hannibal Hamlin went on to have a rather interesting career as a senator, Collector of the Port of Boston and foreign ambassad ..read more

For much of the early 20th century, the US isolated itself from European and international affairs at large. Thomas R. Marshall, the 28th Vice President of the United States, on the other hand, believed the US should’ve taken a more direct role in international politics. Particularly concerned with the rise of fascism, Marshall believed the US should’ve gotten involved in European politics to prevent the rise of Hitler and the atrocities that ensued. And best of all? He predicted this years before Hitler took power in 1933. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Marshall was not a particularly popular VP, e ..read more

The fourth Governor of New York who also served as the Sixth vice president under James Monroe, Daniel D. Tompkins was an extremely wealthy man during his early lifetime. But by the time he died in June 1825, he was near-penniless owing to his immense spending during his time as Governor of New York. No, it wasn’t on big houses, but funding the state militia during the War of 1812 when the state legislature refused. Indeed, he spent so much funding the militia that by the time he became vice president, he was nearly penniless and never recovered financially… Early Life A Start in Politics Gov ..read more

Perhaps the most influential vice president in history behind Teddy Roosevelt and Martin van Buren, Garret Hobart was not your typical vice president. A lawyer and businessman by trade, Hobart maintained a strong relationship with the businesses he owned during his time in office, allowing William McKinley, the man he served as VP under, to always have a positive relationship with America’s burgeoning industries. Early Life Legal Career A Start in Politics Failed Presidential Campaign Vice President Illness & Death Legacy ..read more

Though his name has been forgotten to history, George M. Dallas was one of the savviest political operators of his time, rising from being just another lawyer to an important player in Pennsylvania state politics, to vice president! A member of the Democratic Party, Dallas led the so-called “Family Faction” of the party’s Pennsylvania chapter, developing a fierce rivalry with future President James Buchanan, as both vied for control of the party. Early Life Legal Career Political Career Pennsylvania State Politics Diplomatic Career Vice President Tariffs Death & Legacy ..read more

The grandfather and namesake of Adlai Stevenson II, the former Governor of Illinois and two-time failed Democratic candidate for President, Adlai Stevenson I had his own storied career in politics. Rising from the position of a lowly Congressman, Adlai became a close confidant of Grover Cleveland during his presidential campaign and central figure in the Post Office during his presidency. When Grover Cleveland ran for his second term in 1892, Adlai ran on the same ticket as him and became the 23rd Vice President when they won the election. Early Life A Start in Politics US Post Office Vice Pr ..read more

The 13th Vice President, serving under Franklin Pierce, William R. King had an unusually close relationship with future president James Buchanan, with both men living together and being referred to as the other’s “better half”. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many modern historians believe that the two men – both lifelong bachelors – were in fact lovers. And it’s not just modern historians that thought that… so did many contemporary political rivals. Early Life A Start in Politics National Politics Vice President Death & Legacy A Gay Vice President ..read more