War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding

right down to the present. War made the U.S. independent, kept it together, increased its

size, and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America's wars is essential for understanding American history.

Welcome to Key Battles of American History,

a podcast in which we discuss American history through the lens of the most important battles of America's wars.

Here is your host, James Early.

Thank you. your host, James Early. Every four or eight years, the power of the presidency transfers from one person to another.

This transition is a moment of great vulnerability when the nation is preoccupied and distracted away from possible threats to its security. That threat is magnified,

especially during an unplanned transition. If the president dies, is assassinated, or resigns

from office. Eight times in American history a president has died in

office, four of them by assassination. Once in American history, a president has resigned. Despite the

chaos and confusion of these events, the business of the nation moved forward. The biggest

safeguard against chaos during a transition comes from the

U.S. Constitution, which spells out what happens when the president dies, resigns, or is incapacitated.

It's called the line of succession, and it specifies who becomes president in those circumstances.

So everybody knows that the vice president is next

in line after the president. From there, it's the Speaker of the House, the President,

pro tem of the Senate, and then the cabinet. But our guest today believes that that system is

flawed, that there are gaps that could lead to chaos and could undermine the legitimacy

of our government

in the event of a crisis. It's a scenario that has been portrayed in tons of movies and TV

shows, and according to our guest, it could play out disastrously in real life. Our guest today

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