Not ones for ambiguity, shortly after securing the country’s independence from the British, Congress turned to resolving the issue of succession. The constitution stated the vice president would serve in place of the president, should the latter be unable to execute his duties, for the remainder of the term. Nothing in the Constitution discussed, however, the path of succession beyond the vice president.

On this day, February 21, in 1792, Congress passed the Presidential Succession Act, giving the duties of the president, in the event of death or incapacitation of both the sitting president and the vice president, to president pro tempore of the United States Senate, followed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.

The line of succession was amended several times afterward. In 1886, President Grover Cleveland, following the death of his vice president, signed into law a succession order that put the cabinet executives in charge after the vice president. First in order would be the secretary of states, followed by the others in the order in which their cabinet was established. In 1947, it was changed again, replacing the defunct secretary of war. As it stands today, the current line of succession after the president is: vice president, speaker of the house, president pro tempore of the Senate, and the heads of each executive department in the order of their creation beginning with the secretary of state and the secretary of treasury.