Forum Selecting Senior Citizens for the American Vice Presidency

Abstract

ABSTRACTOne of the most significant trends in twentieth century America is the constant expansion of the senior citizen population (age 65 and over) – in both absolute and relative terms. While social scientists have developed a huge literature on America's older population, they have largely ignored its vast political implications. This topic is particularly timely inasmuch as senior citizen George Bush has replaced senior citizen Ronald Reagan in the Presidency, two-thirds of the Supreme Court justices are past age 65, and as usual many of the most powerful members of Congress are senior citizens. This article turns attention to the nation's eight senior citizen Vice Presidents, focusing primarily on explanations for their nomination. It also examines trends in the incidence of senior citizen Vice Presidents. Although the nation has had such Vice Presidents during each third of its history (the first one inaugurated in 1805, the most recent one in 1974), they have served with relatively greater frequency since the 1920s. Probable factors underlying this trend include continually increasing life expectancy, the growth in the senior citizen segment of the nation's population and its political mobilisation, and some decline in ageism.