DBWI 1787 back-up President written into Constitution

What if the 1787 US Constitutional Convention had provided for a sort of back-up to the President, a designated person who would take over on the death or disability of the President?
 
What if the 1787 US Constitutional Convention had provided for a sort of back-up to the President, a designated person who would take over on the death or disability of the President?
Succession crisis of 1825 wouldn't have occurred for one thing. That created a year's gap before we set up two things: Elections come when president dies, and head of the Senate becomes temporary chief executive until the new election.
 
Well, if some sort of backup president was provided for, I suspect we would see as lot of dead presidents. Rememer, many early presidents were from the south, where dueling was popular--what's to stop a backup president from seeking out an excuse to challenge the sitting president and blow his brains out?
 
Well, if some sort of backup president was provided for, I suspect we would see as lot of dead presidents. Rememer, many early presidents were from the south, where dueling was popular--what's to stop a backup president from seeking out an excuse to challenge the sitting president and blow his brains out?

Wasn't there some laws avoid such situation like not allowed challenge president to dueling?
 
Here's the top choice for the title of back-up President:
1. Vice-President
2. Lieutenant President
3. Deputy President
 
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Isn't that the function of the VP? To be a backup president in case of death or illness of the current president and also be the tie-breaking. Vote in the senate
 
Isn't that the function of the VP? To be a backup president in case of death or illness of the current president and also be the tie-breaking. Vote in the senate

This is a double blind what-if..supposing that there WAS no back up president, what might people think the results of having one would be.
 
Yeah, I imagine plots to kill the President to put the back-up in the White House would be a problem. Having the sitting President choose the back-up might go some way to address this, but they would have to be careful who they selected.
 

ben0628

Banned
Maybe set up a top secret presidential will where the lawyer of the deceased president announces the chosen successor (who doesn't know until the announcement).
 
Maybe set up a top secret presidential will where the lawyer of the deceased president announces the chosen successor (who doesn't know until the announcement).
I can't see that being considered. A Vice President would've made sense; could've been dangerous for stable democracy, but made sense. This comes off as a bit too monarchistic, and what's to stop congress from shouting down that will?What then? 12th Amendment at least makes sense in that the President Pro Tempore is only president for at most a year before the new elections kick in.
 
Maybe set up a top secret presidential will where the lawyer of the deceased president announces the chosen successor (who doesn't know until the announcement).

Wasn't that the order of succession that brought Eugène de Beauharnais to power, after the French Consul Bonaparte was killed by a royalist in 1802?
 
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