Introduction: the vice presidency -- Origins: the Constitutional Convention and pre-Twelfth Amendment vice presidents -- The traditional era: nineteenth-century vice presidents -- Setting the stage: transitional-era vice presidents -- The rise of the modern vice presidency -- Vice presidents in the modern age -- Al Gore and the Gore-Clinton partnership -- Dick Cheney: George W. Bush's loyal lieutenant -- Joe Biden: Barack Obama's handyman -- Making sense of it all: the future of the vice presidency.