Large in his time, mostly passed over in history, George Clinton's ascention to the vice presidency would not have surprised contemporaries. If anything, he was a contender for the top office. He was a giant in New York State, and in the democratic-republican movement in the nation.  But his stand against The Constitution, his opposition to the new state of Vermont, and a parade of well-spoken competitors in ambition limited him. Thus he rose to VP, an office that he warned against creating.  Clinton's warnings about the system of American government, likely written under an alias (Cato) may have earned him few friends among historians or in his time, but we read some of them as they could contain wisdom.