Now that we are near the presidential election, maybe it’s time to take a look at ten of the most memorable backup plans, and see what we might want to avoid.
1. Chester Arthur Was Canadian
Garfield’s VP, Chester Arthur, took office under the thickest cloud of suspicion. As a lieutenant in Senator Roscoe Conkling’s political machine, Arthur held one of the most lucrative positions in government—collector for the port of New York. For seven years, Arthur raked in approximately $40,000 annually (about $700,000 today), running a corrupt spoils system for thousands of payroll employees. With so much money and power, Arthur developed an affinity for fancy clothes and earned the nickname “the Gentleman Boss.” But his luck didn’t last. President Rutherford Hayes eventually stepped in and fired him from the post.
Even with the kickback scandal and claims that he’d been born in Canada (which should have disqualified him for the vice presidency), Arthur still managed to get elected on James Garfield’s 1880 ticket. After Garfield passed away 199 days into his presidency, Arthur didn’t hesitate to sign the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. Much to the chagrin of Conkling, the Act revamped civil service by effectively killing the same patronage system that made Arthur very, very rich. In cleaning up civil service, Arthur also cleaned up his reputation, and he exited the White House a hero.
2. William Rufus de Vane King Was (Pretty Definitely) Gay
Franklin Pierce’s VP, William R. King, was sworn into office in Cuba, becoming the only executive officer to take the oath on foreign soil. King had gone to Cuba to recuperate from tuberculosis and severe alcoholism, but it didn’t work. He died in 1853 after being vice president for just twenty-five days.
That might not be the most memorable thing about King, though. It’s widely rumored that the former VP was homosexual. Further still, he’s suspected of being James Buchanan’s lover. Neither King nor Buchanan ever married, and they lived together in Washington for fifteen years before Buchanan became president. Of course, King’s predilection for wearing scarves and wigs only fanned the rumors. President Andrew Jackson used to call him “Miss Nancy,” and Aaron Brown, a fellow Southern Democrat, dubbed him “Aunt Fancy.”
3. Henry Wallace Diverted Funds to His Guru
FDR’s second VP, Henry Wallace, was a dedicated devotee of Eastern mysticism. While serving as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in the 1930s, he allegedly sent his guru to Mongolia under the pretense of collecting grasses that could withstand drought. In reality, Wallace was diverting funds to help his guru hunt for evidence that Christ had visited Asia.
But it wasn’t Wallace’s spiritual beliefs that landed him America’s No. 2 job. Wallace was a big Franklin Roosevelt fan and supported his entire platform, which is why Roosevelt handpicked him as his third-term running mate in 1940. Wallace wasn’t popular with the Democratic Party, but when Roosevelt made it clear he wouldn’t run without him, the party acquiesced.
As vice president, Wallace made many international goodwill trips. Most famously, he traveled to the Soviet Union, where he experienced a political transformation that resulted in him becoming an avowed Soviet apologist. His communist leanings did nothing for his image, especially once he became secretary of commerce under President Truman. In 1948, Wallace unsuccessfully ran for president on the Progressive Party ticket, espousing views that sounded shockingly Marxist. He even described corporations as “midget Hitlers” attempting to crush the labor class.
But nobody can say Wallace didn’t know how to own up to his mistakes. In 1952, he recanted his support of the Soviet Union in a magazine article called “Where I Was Wrong.” By then, however, his political career was over. Wallace spent the rest of his life conducting agricultural experiments on his farm in New York.
4. Richard M. Johnson’s Three Mistresses
Despite his credentials as a war hero and a Kentucky senator, Van Buren’s VP, Richard M. Johnson, was never accepted in Washington. Perhaps that’s because he dressed like a farmhand, cursed like a sailor, and made no secret of his three black mistresses, who were also his slaves. The first mistress bore him two daughters before she passed away; the second tried to run off with a Native American chief, but Johnson captured and resold her; and the third was the second one’s sister. Johnson attempted to introduce this third mistress into polite society, but the couple wasn’t well-received. With the support of Andrew Jackson, Johnson landed the vice presidency under Martin Van Buren in 1836. After four years of public relations disasters, Jackson withdrew his support. Nonetheless, Van Buren kept Johnson on his ticket, and the two lost their re-election bid in 1840.
