After having been among the most active and influential vice presidents in American history, Al Gore narrowly lost the presidential election of 2000 to George W. Bush (1946-; see entry in volume 5). Gore became the third Democratic Party candidate to win the popular vote but lose in the Electoral College. The other two Democrats were Samuel J. Tilden (1814-1886; see box in Rutherford B. Hayes entry in volume 3) in 1876 and Grover Cleveland (1837- 1908; see entry in volume 3) in 1888. When Gore left office in 2001 as vice president, it was the first time in twenty-five years that Gore did not hold an elected position in Washington, D.C.

Born in 1948 in Carthage, Tennessee, Albert Gore Jr. spent part of his childhood living on the family farm and in Washington, D.C., while his father served in the U.S. Senate. While his parents made the rounds of speeches and...