Thomas R. Marshall

Thomas Riley Marshall (March 14, 1854 – June 1, 1925) was the 28th vice president of the United States from 1913 to 1921 under President Woodrow Wilson. A prominent lawyer in Indiana, he became an active and well-known member of the Democratic Party by stumping across the state for other candidates and organizing party rallies that later helped him win election as the 27th governor of Indiana. In office, he attempted to incorporate items from his progressive agenda into the Constitution of Indiana, but was blocked by the Indiana Supreme Court.

Marshall's popularity as Indiana governor, and the state's status at the time as a critical swing state, helped him secure the Democratic vice presidential nomination on the ticket with Wilson in 1912, and they won the subsequent general election. An ideological rift developed between them during their first term leading Wilson to limit Marshall's influence in the administration. Marshall's brand of humor caused Wilson to move Marshall's office away from the White House, further isolating him. Marshall was targeted in an assassination attempt in 1915 for supporting intervention in World War I. During Marshall's second term he delivered morale-boosting speeches across the nation during the war and became the first U.S. vice president to hold cabinet meetings, which he did while Wilson was in Europe during peace negotiations. As he was president of the United States Senate, a small number of anti-war Senators kept it deadlocked by refusing to end debate. To enable critical wartime legislation to be passed, Marshall had the body adopt its first procedural rule allowing filibusters to be ended by a two-thirds majority vote—a variation of this rule remains in effect.