According to the original rules, who became Vice President?

In the original framework established by the U.S. Constitution, the individual who garnered the second-most electoral votes in a presidential election would ascend to the role of Vice President. This system was established to ensure that the Vice President was someone who had a significant level of support among the electorate, albeit not as the primary choice for President.

The rationale behind this approach was rooted in the belief that the second-place candidate could offer a counterbalance to the President, bringing additional viewpoints and perspectives to the executive branch. This method remained in place until the 12th Amendment was ratified in 1804, which modified the electoral process, allowing voters to cast separate ballots for President and Vice President to avoid potential conflicts and encourage more unified governance.

In contrast, the other choices do not accurately represent the original rules for selecting the Vice President. The option regarding the person with the most electoral votes refers to the President, not the Vice President. While a candidate being selected by Congress reflects a historical practice but not in the context of the original electoral system, the notion that the Vice President would be the candidate with the most popular votes misrepresents the electoral mechanism established at the time. Thus, the choice identifying the second-highest vote recipient aligns correctly with the original constitutional