The Oldest Political Party In The Usa, Dating To The Election Of 1800
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- The Oldest Political Party In The Usa Dating To The Election Of 1800s
Original and vintage political campaign buttons from all United States presidents including Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Franklin Roosevelt. One of the largest stock of presidential campaign buttons online. Nov 07, 2016 By 1800, the nation’s first two political parties were beginning to take shape. The two major candidates for President were the Federalist President, John Adams, and the Democratic-Republican candidate, Thomas Jefferson. When the electors cast their votes, the result was a tie. United States presidential election of 1789, American presidential election held on Feb. 4, 1789, in which George Washington was unanimously chosen as the first president of the United States by electors from 10 of the 13 extant states. Following the Constitutional Convention of May 1787, over.
- ADAMS WINS PRESIDENCY
- A new era has begun!
- MAJOR EVENTS SURROUNDING THE ELECTION OF 1800
- John Adams wins the presidency of 1796. A leader of the Federalist party, Adams is the first president elected after the tenure of George Washington. His ideas on a strong federal government and nationalized banking prove unpopular.
- ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS
- You are hereby charged with TREASON!
- ELECTION OF 1800
- FEDERALISTS
- REPUBLICANS
- In 1798, Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts made attaining citizenship more difficult, and acted as measures to prevent subversive factions. It also restricted speech against the Federalist government. They targeted Republican supporters.
- VOTE GOES TO THE HOUSE
- In the much anticipated election, pitting Adams against Jefferson once again, the potential of power being transferred to another party became reality. Coming off the coattails of unpopular actions, the Federalist party was weakened. Jefferson won with 73 electoral votes.
- I, Hamilton, will swing this vote!
- Not only does Jefferson score 73 electoral votes, but so does his running mate and fellow Democratic-Republican, Aaron Burr. The vote then was decided in the House of Representatives. Finally, Jefferson was elected on the 36th vote.
- JEFFERSON WINS PRESIDENCY
- On February 17th, 1801, Jefferson was officially declared president after securing the House vote. Hamilton, a Federalist, was key in his victory. Despising Burr, Hamilton convinced other congressional members Jefferson was the safer choice. It worked. Jefferson was elected.
- RATIFICATION OF THE 12TH AMENDMENT
- The election of 1800 exposed flaws in the voting system. Party members ran on the same ticket as each other, yet electors cast two votes for president. This proved problematic. With the 12th amendment, electors now had to cast separate votes, one for president, and one for vice president.
- PRESIDENTIAL VOTE
- VICE-PRESIDENTIAL VOTE
The election of 1800 was one of the most controversial in American history, marked by intrigue, betrayals, and a tie in the electoral college between two candidates who were running mates on the same ticket. The eventual winner was decided only after days of balloting in the House of Representatives.
When it was settled, Thomas Jefferson became president, marking a philosophical change that has been characterized as the 'Revolution of 1800.' The result represented a significant political realignment as the first two presidents, George Washington and John Adams, had been Federalists, while Jefferson represented the ascending Democratic-Republican Party.
Constitutional Flaw
The 1800 election result revealed a serious flaw in the U.S. Constitution, which said that candidates for president and vice president ran on the same ballot, which meant running mates could be running against each other. The 12th Amendment, which changed the Constitution to prevent the 1800 election problem from recurring, created the current system of presidents and vice presidents running on the same ticket.
The nation's fourth presidential election was the first time candidates campaigned, though the campaigning was very subdued by modern standards. The contest was also noteworthy for intensifying political and personal animosity between two men tragically linked in history, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
John Adams
When Washington announced that he would not run for a third term, Adams, his vice president, ran and was elected president in 1796.
Adams became increasingly unpopular during his four years in office, especially for the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, repressive legislation designed to stifle freedom of the press. As the 1800 election approached, Adams was determined to run for a second term, though his chances weren't promising.
Alexander Hamilton
Hamilton had been born on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean Sea. While he was technically eligible to be president under the Constitution, having been a citizen when it was ratified, he was such a controversial figure that a run for high office never seemed feasible. However, he had played a formidable role in Washington's administration, serving as the first secretary of the treasury.
Over time he came to be an enemy of Adams, though they were both members of the Federalist Party. He had tried to ensure the defeat of Adams in the election of 1796 and hoped to see Adams defeated in his 1800 run.
Hamilton didn't hold governmental office in the late 1790s when he was practicing law in New York City. Yet he built a Federalist political machine in New York and could exert considerable influence in political matters.
Aaron Burr
Burr, a prominent New York political figure, was opposed to the Federalists continuing their rule and also hoped to see Adams denied a second term. A constant rival to Hamilton, Burr had built a political machine centered on Tammany Hall, which rivaled Hamilton's Federalist organization.
For the 1800 election, Burr threw his support behind Jefferson. Burr ran with Jefferson on the same ticket as the vice presidential candidate.
Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson had served as Washington's secretary of state and ran a close second to Adams in the election of 1796. As a critic of the Adams presidency, Jefferson was an obvious candidate on the Democratic-Republican ticket to oppose the Federalists.
Campaigning in 1800
While it is true that the 1800 election marked the first time that candidates campaigned, the campaigning mostly consisted of writing letters and articles expressing their intentions. Adams did make trips to Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania that were construed as political visits, and Burr, on behalf of the Democratic-Republican ticket, visited towns throughout New England.
In that early period, the electors from the states were generally chosen by state legislatures, not by popular vote. In some cases, the elections for state legislatures were essentially substitutes for the presidential election, so any campaigning took place at the local level.
Electoral College Tie
The tickets in the election were Federalists Adams and Charles C. Pinckney against Democratic-Republicans Jefferson and Burr. The ballots for the electoral college weren't counted until Feb. 11, 1801, when it was discovered that the election was a tie.
Jefferson and his running mate, Burr, each received 73 electoral votes. Adams received 65 votes and Pinckney received 64. John Jay, who had not even run, received one electoral vote.
The original wording of the Constitution, which didn't distinguish between electoral votes for president and vice president, led to the problematic outcome. In the event of a tie in the electoral college, the Constitution dictated that the election would be decided by the House of Representatives. So Jefferson and Burr, who had been running mates, became rivals.
The Federalists, who still controlled the lame-duck Congress, threw their support behind Burr in an effort to defeat Jefferson. While Burr publicly expressed his loyalty to Jefferson, he worked to win the election in the House. Hamilton, who detested Burr and considered Jefferson a safer choice for president, wrote letters and used all his influence with the Federalists to thwart Burr.
House Decides
The election in the House of Representatives began on Feb. 17 in the unfinished Capitol building in Washington, D.C. The voting went on for several days, and after 36 ballots the tie was finally broken. Jefferson was declared the winner and Burr was named the vice president.
It is believed that Hamilton's influence weighed heavily on the outcome.
Legacy of the Election of 1800
The fractious outcome of the 1800 election led to the passage and ratification of the 12th Amendment, which changed the way the electoral college functioned.
Because Jefferson didn't trust Burr, he gave him nothing to do as vice president. Burr and Hamilton continued their epic feud, which finally culminated in their famous duel in Weehawken, New Jersey on July 11, 1804. Burr shot Hamilton, who died the next day.
Burr wasn't prosecuted for killing Hamilton, though he later was accused of treason, tried, and acquitted. He lived in exile in Europe for several years before returning to New York. He died in 1836.
Jefferson served two terms as president. He and Adams eventually put their differences behind them and wrote a series of friendly letters during the last decade of their lives. They both died on a noteworthy day: July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
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