Vice President
Gerry was chosen by the Democratic-Republican party congress to be James Madison's vice presidential running mate in the 1812 election. Madison easily won reelection, and Gerry took office in March 1813. At that time the office of vice president was largely a sinecure; however, Gerry's duties included advancing the administration's agenda in Congress, and the securing of loans for the government to assist in funding the nation's prosecution of the War of 1812. He died in office of heart failure in Washington, D.C. and is buried there in the Congressional Cemetery.
Read more about this topic: Elbridge Gerry
Famous quotes containing the words vice president, vice and/or president:
“The President has only 190 million bosses. The Vice President has 190 million and one.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)
“I prefer a pleasant vice to an annoying virtue.”
—Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin] (1622–1673)
“On the whole, yes, I would rather be the Chief Justice of the United States, and a quieter life than that which becomes at the White House is more in keeping with the temperament, but when taken into consideration that I go into history as President, and my children and my children’s children are the better placed on account of that fact, I am inclined to think that to be President well compensates one for all the trials and criticisms he has to bear and undergo.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)