America ’s first vice Chief Executive was not , it seems , all that in high spirits on his new No . 2 lance .
" My nation has in its wisdom contrived for me,“John Adamstold his wife , regarding the function ofvice president , " the most insignificant agency that ever the conception of man contrived or his imagery conceived . "
The vice administration has come a recollective path since Adams reluctantly kicked things off in 1789 under fellowFounding Father(and the res publica ’s first president ) George Washington . The office of frailty United States President was originally a sorting of consolation prize ; whoever finished secondly in the Electoral College ballot ( as Adams did to Washington in both 1788 and 1792 ) got the job . And the line of work ( as Adams suggested to his wife , Abigail ) was not very exciting . Adams had next to no responsibilities in the executive offset . His principal duty was to oversee the Senate .
Since then , both the way of life the frailty Chief Executive is selected and the role they play has commute .
" The vice United States President was n’t created to be powerful , sure enough . It was n’t create just to succeed the president . It was n’t make just to preside over the Senate . It was created , really , for electoral purposes because of the crotchet of the Electoral College , " saysChristopher Devine , a prof of political scientific discipline at the University of Dayton and the carbon monoxide gas - author of a couple of books on the importance of vice presidential candidates in presidential elections . " But after the decision was made to create a vice presidency , then there were some roles that were created for the vice president that would keep him busy day to Clarence Day and , in some cases , [ were ] consequential . "
The First Vice President
Adams , who was a Federalist , often felt stymied in the fledgling role of vice president , though he did break a couple dozen ties in Senate votes and set the ground normal for the way thing were done in the bedroom . Still , he was catch between two branches of government , hesitant to step on toes in either the executive or legislative branch .
Even as chair of the Senate , he ran into problems . When he signed some legislative documents as " John Adams , Vice President of the United States , " some senator objected , citing a problem with a member of the executive branch declare sway over the work of the legislative branch . So Adams soon began sign document as " John Adams , Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate . "
Despite the constraints of the position , Adams soldier on through a 2d term under Washington to finally realize his principal goal , becomingthe first of 14 frailty presidentsto ascend to the No . 1 smear . He was elected president in 1796 .
How the Vice President Was Elected
Because of the quirkyElectoral Collegerules , Adams ' frailty Chief Executive turned out to be Thomas Jefferson , who was the head of the Democratic - Republican Party — the foe . The two work force , long familiar with each other and friendly earlier in their lives , spent the next four days at betting odds , with Adams relying more on the counsel of his wife than on the advice of his frailty Chief Executive . And that was generally fine with Adams , study the frailty presidential term still hold little mightiness .
But those four age , commingle with the mess ofAdams ' re - election campaign , brought the issue of how the area pick out president and vice presidents to a promontory . In 1800 , Adams and Jefferson ran against each other again , this fourth dimension with " running match : " Charles Cotesworth Pinckney ( a Federalist ) with Adams andAaron Burr(Democratic - Republican Party ) with Jefferson .
Since Elector were required to vote for both president and vice president , Jefferson and Burr experience the most electoral votes , but it was a association . The tie Electoral College threw the decision of who would become president to the House of Representatives , which finally choose Jefferson . But not after seven disputative twenty-four hours of balloting . It took36 votesby the House of Representatives for Jefferson at long last be name third chairman of the United States and Burr his vice chair . Adams was so tired of with the proceedings that he refuse to stimulate the novel president ’s mitt and leave townsfolk early on inauguration day .
The whole brouhaha remind the adoption of the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution , in 1804 . From theNational Constitution Center :
Elector in the Electoral College , think , are chosen by political company in each state . In event , a vote for President of the United States is actually a vote for that prospect ’s electors . In most states and in most cases , when you vote for a prexy , an voter votes for the presidential nominee from that company and his running mate , the frailty president , of the same political party ticket . That ’s all but eliminated the job that Adams faced with Jefferson as his VP .
The Vice Presidency Today
" The vice presidential term has become much more consequential over fourth dimension . I would say that the frailty chairman really is a herculean position at this point , " Devine says . " We have to make the note that vice presidents , bypractice , are very brawny these days . There ’s nothing that has changed about the Constitution in terms of any mightiness of the frailty president . But we ’ve had this substantialinformalchange in powers over time . "
Devine , adduce the work of one of the country ’s foremost experts on the vice presidency , St. Louis University law professorJoel K. Goldstein , points to several steps for vice presidents on the road to relevancy :
" The brainstorm that Mondale had was that , ' attend , I ’m the only someone besides [ the president ] that ’s getting elected by the state as a whole , ' " Devine says . " So the vice president could serve as really this across - the - board adviser , this general consultant to the prexy , who was n’t representing the Treasury Department , or the Defense Department , or something like that . The only trueness he had was to the chairman . "
Since then , frailty president often are deployed strategically as voice of the President of the United States both domestically and abroad .
Veeps in Modern Presidential Elections
Unlike in Adams ' day when the part of vice president was little more than runner up , the modern vice president has become so important that it ’s carefully considered when political candidates run for President of the United States . The choice of a running mate is one of the most awaited decisions a presidential prospect make .
Whether that can transfer how people vote , though , is another matter and the guinea pig of Devine ’s recent workplace . In their book " Do Running Mates issue ? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections , " Devine and his co - author , Elizabethtown College political scientistKyle Kopko , suggest that the choice of a running mate is of import , but maybe not in the manner that many people think .
" They for certain weigh , I consider that ’s safe to say , " Devine enunciate . " The question is reallyhowthey subject . "
Where most pundits trust that a good pick of vice president help the slate electorally — bring in , say , more votes from women , or from Midwesterners , or from evangelicals , or whatever group that the potential frailty president can appeal — that ’s not always the case .
" Where do they matter ? " Devine asks . " A running play mate can matter in terms of alter how you think about the presidential nominee . "
concord to their research , Devine and Kopko say it ’s not about the vice president , specifically , but more about what the option of veep says about the would - be president . " When John McCain beak someone in Sarah Palin , who raise question about her level of experience , that causes voters to question McCain ’s judgment . Or at least makes them more potential to do so , " Devine says .
In that 2008 election , McCain ’s young and relatively inexperient opponent , first - condition Senator Barack Obama , prefer a savvy Washington veteran , then - Senator Joseph Biden , as his running mate . Even if many dissent with Biden ’s posture as a politician , his experience navigating the Hoosier State and out of Beltway government was seen as a plus and , therefore , a wise choice by Obama .
" The running mate ’s effect on how people think about the presidential candidate has a much greater gist on their ballot pick than how positively the great unwashed evaluate the running partner , " Devine say .
What started as a consolation booty to the administration has indeed come a long way . Now , a vice presidential nominee can help his ( or her ) running first mate look safe enough to get elected . And once voted into part , a new veep bask important power and influence
It ’s now function that John Adams would have loved .
