Some Vice Presidents have been forgettable, others terrible and then you have those VP’s that are actually great in their role as second-in-command.

A while back I published an article talking about the Worst VP’s in American History, well now it’s time to look at the opposite side of the coin…For today will be going over the Ten Best Vice Presidents in U.S. History.

For this list, I will be ranking these VPs for their accomplishments while in office, how they managed to aide the president during their tenure and who they managed to redefine the role of Vice President for future generations.

I won’t be including VP’s that are still in office or recently got out of office, so JD Vance and Kamala Harris wouldn’t be on here.

#10. Martin Van Buren (Vice President: 1833-1837)

Outside of establishing the Democratic Party with Andrew Jackson, Van Buren’s contributions to early American politics tends to be forgotten. That said, he arguably played the role of VP for Jackson long before Van Buren even officially held the title.

Following Old Hickory’s ascent to the White House in 1829, Van Buren would resign from his post as Governor of New York to become Secretary of State (which at the time almost guaranteed you’d become the next president); In addition to dealing with foreign policy, Van Buren helped in advising Jackson on vetoing bills to maintain a limited government and played the role of mediator within the administration when problems arose.

After the Petticoat Affair led to bad feelings between members of the administration and their respective wives, Jackson fired his cabinet and replace them all with loyalists with Van Buren being brought back in the fold.

By May of 1832, the Democrats would nominate Van Buren to be Jackson’s running mate and later Vice President following a decisive electoral victory. As VP, Van Buren continued to advise Jackson on policy decisions with the two most notable being the Nullification Crisis and the ensuing Bank War between Jackson and members of Congress.

While he had little involvement in solving the former, the latter issue saw Van Buren supporting Jackson’s efforts on withdrawing federal funds from the bank and this would come back to bite Van Buren when he ran for re-election in 1840.

While his time as VP wasn’t too memorable, he did continue the tradition of Vice Presidents advising the President with policy matters.

#9. Henry Wilson (Vice President: 1873-1875)

When President Ulysses Grant ran for re-election in 1872, his Vice President Schuyler Colfax got himself into trouble for a multiple reasons and thus was replaced on the ticket by Henry Wilson, a Senator from Massachusetts who actually ran for the VP spot during the previous election.

Wilson was a major anti-slavery politician as evident by the fact he was a member of the Free Soil Party who were vehemently against slavery expansion into the Western territories. After that party cease to exist, he joined the Republican Party where he became a senator and served for nearly two decades before he was chosen to be Grant’s new running mate and soon after, his second Vice President.

Aside from casting a tie breaking vote in favor of passing the Civil Rights Act of 1875, Wilson’s time as Vice President was lacking in any other achievements as he died on November 22nd 1875 from a stroke, being the one of several VP’s to pass away in the 1870’s.

While a Supreme Court decision would water down the effectiveness of the Act, Wilson’s tireless work in supporting civil rights for African Americans both before and during his time as VP was truly amazing.

#8. John Adams (Vice President: 1789-1797)

While he wasn’t the driving political force behind the Washington Administration, John Adams managed to take what he called a “Insignificant Office” and gave it into some of value.

During his time as the presiding Senate President, Adams managed to cast 29 tie breaking votes which currently stands as the third most of any US Vice President. He also made efforts to maintain the power of the executive branch as seen with Adams voting against a bill that would’ve allowed the firing of cabinet members that were previously approved of by the Senate.

Even though Washington didn’t consult with Adams on policy matters until his second term, the fact he did when it came to preventing a war with Great Britain further added a level of importance to the Vice Presidency.

On top of that, Adams became the first VP to successfully move on the presidency after winning an election…Setting yet another precedent that others would follow.

#7. Henry Wallace (Vice President: 1941-1945)

After working as a farmer and journalist in his early life, Henry Wallace soon got involved in politics where he soon became Frankline Roosevelt’s Secretary of Agriculture and became renowned for his efforts in making sure supplies were provided to not only to the United Kingdom but also Americans who were greatly affected by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s.

After supporting Roosevelt for a third term as President, FDR rewarded Wallace by making him his new running mate before the pair went on to win the 1940 election, making Wallace the 33rd Vice President. As one of FDR’s acolytes turned Vice President, Wallace traveled overseas on behalf of the president and he chaired various organizations which helped in mobilizing America going into the second world war.

He famously gave a speech called “Century of the Common Man” where he describes the global landscape as “a fight between a slave world and a free world.” while also calling for an end to imperialism and advocating for equality and human rights

Naturally, he was disliked by many conservative Democrats due to this support and going into the 1944 election, many of these Democrats were able to get Wallace off the ticket and replaced with Missouri Senator, Harry Truman.

After Roosevelt’s death and Truman’s promotion to the presidency in 1945, Wallace soon became the Secretary of Commerce but soon resigned over disagreements with Truman and then ran for president in the election of 1948 but did poorly. Wallace would fade into obscurity not long afterward before passing away at age 77 on November 18th 1965.

#6. Lyndon B. Johnson (Vice President: 1961-1963)

His Presidency might be polarizing at best, but it can’t be argued that Lyndon Johnson’s work as Vice President would set the stage for many of his future successes.

Since the Kennedy’s limited his role in the administration, LBJ was chosen to lead several committees that centered around employment opportunities for African Americans and manage to bulid up good will with various minority groups and legislators

Johnson also worked on a committee with the explicit goal of getting American’s to the moon, which was pivotal as the U.S. was falling behind the Soviet Union when it came to space exploration.

LBJ also handled diplomatic trips for the President which paved the way for JFK to express his policy views to the people of West Berlin when it came to the Berlin Wall.

Overall, Johnson’s time as VP might’ve been short but it was also important in the grand scheme of things especially when it came to the Space Race and later passing the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.

#5. Richard Nixon (Vice President: 1953-1961)

When asked about the contributions of his Vice President, Former General turned President Dwight Eisenhower remarked: “If you give me a week, I might think of one, I don’t remember.”

Now that by itself should be enough to keep Richard Nixon off of this list, however in reality his work as Vice President was actually more impressive than some might remember.

Nixon’s work overseas saw him traveling to Japan, Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and the Middle East which helped to cement his foreign policy experience and bulid relations on behalf of the Eisenhower Administration.

Speaking of foreign policy, The most iconic moment of Nixon’s time as VP saw him and the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev engage in a debate over each others global ideology which only made Nixon looked more like a future president.

On the Domestic front, Eisenhower’s health problems saw Nixon take up the role of acting president on more than one occasion; He also attend and even lead numerous cabinet and national security meetings and not to mention he convinced the president to sign the 1957 Civil Rights Act (the first major piece of Civil Rights legislation signed into law since 1875)

With accomplishments like that, it’s no wonder many refered to Richard Nixon as “The First Modern Vice President”.

#4. Al Gore (Vice President: 1993-2001)

Al Gore first came to prominence following his service during the Vietnam War and soon entered the world of politics which wasn’t too difficult considering his father was a former U.S. Representative and former Governor of Tennessee.

Gore went on to become Senator of Tennessee for sixteen years and decided to run for the presidency first in 1988, but wasn’t able to win the party’s nomination.

Another opportunity came in 1992 but a car accident involving his son put a halt on his presidential hopes…Though that didn’t stop him from being Bill Clinton’s running mate with the two fresh faced Southerners emerging victorious in the general election.

Now the 45th Vice President, Gore became Clinton’s right hand man on several issues. The 90’s economy boom has been credited to Gore’s efforts in pushing for the creation of new technology leading to the rise of the internet and his work with the NPR saw government bureaucracy being cut and saving taxpayers over $100 billions.

Perhaps his lasting achievement would be his efforts in reducing carbon emissions and environmental protections in order to deal with the ever growing issue of climate change.

Gore would make a third run for the presidency in 2000, but lost under some dubious circumstances…Leaving many to wonder what the country would’ve been like had he been elected.

#3. Walter Mondale (Vice President: 1977-1981)

No list of the best VP’s in U.S. history would be complete without the inclusion of this former Minnesota Senator turned 42nd Vice President.

Walter Mondale served in the army during the Korean War before graduating from law school and later entering politics. As a left leaning centrist and an experienced name within the Democratic Party, Mondale was selected by former Governor turned presidential candidate Jimmy Carter to be his running mate in the 1976 election, which they narrowly won.

Like others on this list, Mondale made the role of Vice President feel more important than ever before; He had weekly lunches with the president (something that’s more standard in modern politics), he offered advice when it was needed for Carter and broke a tie breaking vote in 1977 which saw a bill adding more money to Social Security being passed.

Mondale’s foreign policy work saw better relations with China, a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt known as the Camp-David Accords and during a trip to South Africa he told the Prime Minister of Vienna that “Every Citizen should have the right to vote.” thereby being against the country’s apartheid government.

After Carter lost re-election in 1980, Mondale ran for president four years later and was subsequently beaten in a landslide to President Ronald Reagan. Mondale would become the Ambassdor to Japan under the Clinton Adminisration and lose a race for a vacant Senate seat in 2002 before returning to private life and passing away on April 19th 2021 as America’s Oldest Vice President at age 93.

#2. Joe Biden (Vice President: 2009-2017)

Much like Lyndon Johnson, the presidency of Joe Biden is certainly a divisive one with a few notable highlights peppered throughout; That said, his time as Vice President has been highly regarded by many and looking back it’s easy to see why.

First of all, Biden’s performances on the debate stage against Sarah Palin and Paul Ryan in 2008 and 2012 saw the seasoned politician become an attack dog for the Obama campaign when it came to defending policies or responding to misinformation…It’s a tactic that’s rarely used nowadays but it worked.

Second, his efforts in helping the middle class and the economy saw the Ready to Work Initiative create more opportunities for those entering the work force while the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ended up saving the auto industry and created millions of jobs in the process.

His work with the debt ceiling crisis of the early 2010’s saw him and Republicans come to a compromise in solving the problem, he lead the often overlooked ‘Cancer Moonshot’ to expand the government’s research on treating and preventing cancer, plus his championing of the Violence Against Women’s Act saw the first steps in tackling all forms of assault to women and the LGBTQIA community.

On top of his foreign policy work which saw the U.S. pull out of the Iraq War and creating a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia, Biden’s time as Vice President has truly been impactful.

#1. Garret Hobart (Vice President: 1897-1899)

As we’ve seen throughout this list, there have been a few VP’s have that made the role of second-in-command feel signifigant, but one man who doesn’t get the credit for expanding the position of Vice President and that would be Garret Hobart.

A well trained lawyer before entering politics, Hobart served a few local jobs including as a bank clerk in Paterson New Jersey. Upon entering politics he worked in the New Jersey General Assembly before becoming it’s speaker in 1874; Following this, he would win a Senate seat to the Assembly in 1876 before becoming the Senate President in 1881 and 1882.

His work ethic combined with his charm and connections with the business community, allowed Hobart to be seen as a rising figure in the Republican Party and as such was selected to be William McKinley’s running mate in the election of 1896 with the duo coming out on top.

Hobart would serve as an advisory role to the president but also used his influence as the newly elected Senate President to get much of McKinley’s policies passed including a treaty which ended the Spanish-American War following America’s victory in the conflict. In fact Hobart’s influence as VP was so powerful, some refered to him as “The Assistant President” and his Vice Presidential home as “The Cream White House”.

Sadly Hobart wouldn’t be able to finish his term, as a nasty case of the flu along with his heart related issues led to him dying on November 21st 1899 at just 55 years old. By the time of the 1900 presidential election, McKinley’s new running mate and Vice President would be former New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt…And the rest as they say is history.

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