A Modern Father of Our Constitution: An Interview With Former Senator Birch Bayh

Following the death of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Birch Bayh, then a freshman Senator from Indiana, undertook a remarkable campaign to amend the U.S. Constitution and address gaps in our system of presidential succession. The effort to ratify the Twenty-Fifth Amendment was orderly, swift, and effective. In leading this campaign, Senator Bayh took his first step in becoming the only American since the Founding Fathers to draft more than one amendment to the Constitution. As part of this Symposium, the Fordham Law Review sought to merge constitutional theory with historical context and the practicalities of lawmaking surrounding the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. This Interview lends a historical and practical perspective to the academic discussion of our nation’s system of presidential succession and sheds light on the distinguished career of an inspiring public servant