Question

Why did the office of Vice President become more important, with more responsibilities; as the twentieth century progressed? Use details you learned from the textbook to support your answer

Answer 1

As the scope of responsibilities of the President of the United States increased during the 20th century, the Vice-President came to be relied upon to handle greater responsibilities also.

A 21st century Vice-President, Joe Biden, said it well:  “The way the world has changed, the breadth and the scope of the responsibility an American president has virtually requires a vice president to handle serious assignments, just because the president’s plate is so very full."  Biden was quoted in the book, The American Vice Presidency: From Irrelevance to Power, published by Smithsonian Books in 2014.  

Another point might be made about 20th century Vice-Presidents -- especially in the latter half of the century.  A number of Vice-Presidents became President because of things that happened to the President.  .  President Franklin Roosevelt died while in office, and  was succeeded by his Vice-President, Harry Truman (in 1945).  Vice-President Lyndon Johnson became President when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.  Gerald Ford rose from Vice-President to President when Richard Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment. 

In the current situation of American politics, with partisan politics strongly dividing Congress, Vice-President Mike Pence has functioned a number of times as the tie-breaking vote in the Senate on important matters -- another way the Vice-Presidency has taken on greater responsibility lately.

Answer 2

Well if the president dies the Vice president will move up front and the vice president will have to do more work