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Article: Vice President, U.S.
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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VICE PRESIDENT, U.S.
VICE PRESIDENT, U.S.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the vice presidents of the United States started out as strong and independent national executives. The U.S. Constitution of 1787 created the office largely as a realistic backup in the very likely event of a president's death or disability. While it was true that, apart from serving as a backup, the vice president had no other official function than to preside over the Senate and break its tie votes, he was initially elected independently
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in a separate election
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by the electoral college. Just how significant that could be, quickly became clear. The first two vice presidents, John Adams and Thomas ...