The effect which such an event would produce upon the _personnel_ of the Government and upon the partisan aspects of the Administration was not therefore known prior to 1841.

The Vice-President in previous years had not always been on good terms with the President.

In proportion to his rank there was no officer of the Government who exercised so little influence.
His most honorable function--that of presiding over the Senate--was purely ceremonial, and carried with it no attribute of power except in those rare cases when the vote of the Senate was tied--a contingency more apt to embarrass than to promote his political interests.

He was, of course, neither sought nor feared by the crowds who besieged the President.

He was therefore not unnaturally thrown into a sort of antagonism with the Administration--an antagonism sure to be stimulated by the _coterie_ who, disappointed in efforts to secure favor with the President, were disposed to take refuge in the Cave of Adullam, where from chagrin and sheer vexation the Vice-President had too frequently been found.