The 25th Amendment: Mending a Constitutional Flaw | AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

Learn how the 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, resolves ambiguities in the original Constitution and provides a more detailed framework for dealing with presidential succession and incapacitation in these clips adapted from The American Vice President | American Experience. The original Constitution did not clearly outline what happens if a president is unable to perform their duties, whether due to illness, death, or other reasons, nor did it specify the process by which a vacancy in the vice presidency is filled. As a result, prior to the passage of the 25th Amendment, the nation had been without a vice president for a cumulative total of about 37 years.