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US government and civics
Course: US government and civics > Unit 7
Lesson 1: Why it matters- Sal Khan & John Dickerson: introduction
- Why study US history, government, and civics?
- Why do midterm congressional elections matter?
- Why does your vote matter?
- How does voter turnout in midterms compare to presidential elections?
- Does the president's party usually gain or lose seats at the midterm elections?
- Who is the Speaker of the House?
- Why is the Speaker of the House second in succession to the President?
- What was the Articles of Confederation?
- What was the Gilded Age?
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Why is the Speaker of the House second in succession to the President?
The Speaker of the House is second in line to the presidency after the Vice President. This is because the Speaker is elected by all members of Congress, making them close to the people. The framers wanted Congress to be powerful, not wanting a monarchy. However, being Speaker doesn't necessarily lead to the presidency.
Want to join the conversation?
- After the House Speaker, which congressional officer is next in line to the President?(2 votes)
- Here is more than the answer to your question: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession(2 votes)
Video transcript
- [Narrator] Why is the
Speaker second in succession to the President after the Vice President? - The idea of succession actually it was a little muddied
and it wasn't until the 25th amendment that actually the relationship between the President and the Vice President
was actually formalized. When William Henry Harrison died and John Tyler came in, his Vice President as President there was a big debate about whether he was actually really the President. So, even though the line of
succession is written down there's a lot of debate about whether 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 and 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 and the
Speaker of the House represents all of the, is elected
by all of the members and so has a closer
relationship 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.