![]() ![]() The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, was the first major change to the office. ![]() In his or her capacity as president of the Senate, the Vice President of the United States opens all presidential election certificates and presides over the counting of the Electoral College votes. Article I, Section 3 of the United States Constitution states that the vice president has no vote in the Senate unless there is a tie. According to the Apfirst-hand account in the daily journal of Senator William Maclay, John Adams summed up his vice-presidential role as such: “I am nothing but I may be everything.” 3 The primary constitutional duty of the vice president is to preside over the Senate as its president. ![]() The early vice presidency had limited powers and efficacy. 2 The growth in stature of the office, along with security concerns and an accretion of duties, necessitated the congressional designation of Number One Observatory Circle as the official home of the vice president. The evolution of the vice presidency has been incremental, with increasingly prominent individuals accepting the role (such as Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry Truman) and more substantive tasks assigned to those who occupied it. Notwithstanding Webster’s observation, the vice presidency as an office has gradually grown in power and stature over the past century. Webster, known for his oratory and quick wit, allegedly responded, “I do not propose to be buried until I am really dead and in my coffin.” 1 In 1848, Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts was offered the vice-presidential nomination for the Whig Party, alongside presidential nominee Zachary Taylor. ![]()
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