If you ask a random person on the street "who was the first US vice president," they'll probably pause for a second before correctly guessing John Adams. It makes sense. He's a Founding Father, a Harvard guy, and the man who eventually became the second president. But what most history books gloss over is that Adams absolutely hated the job. Like, really hated it. He famously called the vice presidency "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."
Imagine being one of the smartest, most ambitious men in a room full of geniuses like Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, only to be told your primary job is to sit in a chair and stay quiet unless there’s a tie. That was the reality for the man who served as the first US vice president. He wasn't just a placeholder; he was a revolutionary heavyweight stuck in a constitutional waiting room. Honestly, it’s a miracle he didn’t just pack his bags and head back to his farm in Massachusetts after the first week.
The Weird Way We Used to Elect VPs
Back in 1789, the rules were a total mess compared to how we do things now. You didn't pick a "running mate" like a modern candidate does. Instead, every elector in the Electoral College got two votes for president. The guy with the most votes became president, and the runner-up became vice president.
George Washington won every single elector's first vote. He was the undisputed choice. Adams came in second, but it wasn't even close. He got 34 votes, while Washington got 69. This didn't just hurt his ego; it made him feel like he lacked a real mandate. Alexander Hamilton actually spent the winter of 1788-89 maneuvering behind the scenes to make sure Adams didn't get too many votes, fearing a tie might embarrass Washington. Adams found out about this later, and it’s basically why he and Hamilton spent the rest of their lives wanting to throw hands with each other.
Because the system was set up this way, the first US vice president was essentially the "loser" of the presidential race. Can you imagine if today the person who lost the election had to serve as the winner's second-in-command? It was a recipe for awkward silences and political backstabbing.
Who Was the First US Vice President? Meet "His Rotundity"
John Adams was not an easy man to get along with. He was short, a bit plump, and had a temper that could peel paint off a wall. He was deeply brilliant but also deeply insecure. While he was serving as the first US vice president, his colleagues in the Senate weren't exactly kind to him. They gave him the nickname "His Rotundity" because of his waistline and his obsession with formal titles.
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You see, Adams was worried the new government wouldn't be respected by European kings. He spent way too much time arguing that the President should be called something like "His Highness, the President of the United States of America, and Protector of the Rights of the Same."
The Senate thought he was being a pompous snob. They shot him down and chose the simple "President of the United States." This whole debate made Adams look like a monarchist—someone who wanted to bring back kings—and his reputation never quite recovered from it.
A Man of Contradictions
- The Lawyer: He famously defended the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre because he believed in the right to a fair trial, even when it made him the most hated man in Boston.
- The Diplomat: He spent years in Europe during the Revolution, securing loans from the Dutch that literally kept the American war effort from going bankrupt.
- The Abolitionist (Sort of): Unlike Washington or Jefferson, Adams never owned slaves. He morally opposed the practice, though as vice president, his household did occasionally hire out enslaved workers from their owners, which is a nuance often missed in "good guy" narratives.
What Did the First VP Actually Do?
Since the Constitution didn't give the vice president much power, Adams had to figure it out on the fly. His only real job was to preside over the Senate. And since he was John Adams, he couldn't just sit there. He tried to join the debates. He tried to lecture the senators.
They hated it. They eventually told him to sit down and be quiet.
So, he pivoted. He used his power to cast tie-breaking votes. During his eight years as the first US vice president, he cast 29 tie-breaking votes. That’s a huge number. To put it in perspective, only Kamala Harris and John C. Calhoun have ever cast more, and they did it in much more polarized times.
One of his most important tie-breakers actually prevented a war with Great Britain in 1794. He voted against a bill that would have suspended trade with the British, which probably saved the young nation from a conflict it definitely wasn't ready to fight. Even while he felt "insignificant," he was quietly making decisions that kept the country from falling apart.
The Icy Relationship with George Washington
If you’re picturing Washington and Adams as a "dynamic duo" working together in the Oval Office, forget it. The Oval Office didn't even exist yet, and the two men were hardly close. Washington didn't really ask Adams for advice. He relied on his cabinet—guys like Hamilton and Jefferson—while Adams was left out in the cold.
Washington viewed the vice presidency as part of the legislative branch, not the executive. Because of that "separation of powers" logic, Adams was rarely invited to cabinet meetings. He spent his days in the Senate and his nights venting to his wife, Abigail, in their many, many letters.
They were cordial, sure. They did the "ceremonial" stuff together, like going on tours or attending dinners. But they weren't friends. Adams actually grew quite jealous of Washington’s god-like status. He once grumbled that "mankind should applaud the nation which educated him" instead of just adoring the man himself.
Why John Adams Still Matters
Despite all the complaining and the "His Rotundity" nicknames, Adams set the blueprint for what the office could be. He showed that the vice president could be a stabilizer. He was the first person to experience the "peaceful transfer of power" from the perspective of the person waiting in the wings.
When Washington finally decided to step down in 1796, Adams didn't just coast into the presidency. He had to fight for it in the first truly partisan election in American history. He won, narrowly beating his old friend (and future rival) Thomas Jefferson.
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Actionable Takeaways for History Buffs
- Read the Letters: If you want to know the real John Adams, read the "Dearest Friend" correspondence between him and Abigail. It’s better than any biography.
- Visit the Site: If you're ever in Quincy, Massachusetts, go to the Adams National Historical Park. You can see the actual "Old House" where he lived and died.
- Check the Tie-Breakers: If you're into political science, looking at the 29 votes Adams cast in the Senate gives you a better map of early American anxiety than almost any other document.
- Re-evaluate the Office: Next time you hear a VP being called "irrelevant," remember that the very first one felt the same way—right up until he became the most powerful man in the country.
The story of the first US vice president is a reminder that the "glory days" of the Founding Fathers were actually full of petty arguments, hurt feelings, and a lot of trial and error. Adams wasn't a marble statue; he was a guy trying to do a job that didn't have a manual yet. He survived eight years of "insignificance" to ensure the office—and the country—survived its infancy.