The Presidential Election of 1800

The Presidential Election of 1800, often referred to as the "Revolution of 1800," holds a unique and significant place in American history. It served as a powerful demonstration to the world that the fledgling United States was committed to the principle of popular sovereignty, where the people held the ultimate power to choose their leaders and, consequently, shape their destiny. This election was a hard-fought, albeit nonviolent, contest that resulted in the first and only tie in the nation’s presidential history. More importantly, it marked the peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another, a stark departure from the history of violent regime changes that characterized much of Europe. This pivotal moment solidified the foundation of American democracy and demonstrated its resilience in the face of political division.

The election unfolded against a backdrop of intense partisan rivalry and heated political debate. The key players were the Federalist Party, led by the incumbent President John Adams, and the Democratic-Republican Party, spearheaded by Adams’ own Vice President, Thomas Jefferson. This election was, in essence, a rematch of the 1796 election, which had resulted in a peculiar outcome: a Federalist President and a Republican Vice President. This oddity stemmed from the original design of the Electoral College, as outlined in the Constitution, which allowed electors to cast votes for two individuals without specifying which vote was for President and which was for Vice President. This system, while intended to foster broader consensus, inadvertently sowed the seeds of political discord.

However, the tie in the Presidential Election of 1800 wouldn’t be between Adams and Jefferson. Instead, it would occur between Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr. This unexpected turn of events was a direct consequence of the same flaw in the U.S. Constitution that had previously led to a president and vice president from opposing parties. The intricacies of the Electoral College, designed with the best of intentions, would ultimately expose a critical vulnerability in the nation’s foundational document.

The Road to the Election: A Landscape of Political Strife

The period leading up to the Presidential Election of 1800 was marked by a barrage of accusations, personal attacks, and fierce rhetoric from both sides of the political spectrum. The Federalists, deeply wary of the radical sentiments emanating from the French Revolution, sought to portray the Republicans as dangerous radicals who would lead the country down a path of ruin and anarchy. They warned that the Republicans’ support for France would undermine American stability and jeopardize the nation’s future.

Simultaneously, the Republicans launched their own offensive, accusing the Federalists of harboring pro-British sympathies and elitist tendencies. They charged that the Federalists were undermining American values and eroding individual liberties through policies such as the Alien and Sedition Acts. These Acts, a series of four bills passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress in 1798 amidst the Quasi-War with France, were seen by the Republicans as a direct assault on freedom of speech and the press.

These acts became a focal point of contention in the Presidential Election of 1800. The Republicans vehemently opposed Adams’ foreign policy, which they perceived as overly favorable to Britain. They also criticized the new taxes levied to finance the Quasi-War, an undeclared naval conflict between the United States and France that began in 1798. Furthermore, they expressed concerns that the newly formed army, ostensibly created for the conflict, could be used to suppress dissent and oppress the American people. The Republicans vehemently denounced the Alien and Sedition Acts as egregious violations of states’ rights and fundamental constitutional principles, further fueling the political firestorm.

Adding another layer of complexity, Adams faced internal opposition from within his own party. A faction known as the "High Federalists," aligned with Alexander Hamilton, viewed Adams as too moderate and insufficiently committed to the Federalist agenda. Hamilton, a powerful figure in the party, even concocted a plan to manipulate the electoral process to ensure that Adams’ running mate, Charles Pinckney, would be elected President instead. However, Hamilton’s machinations were exposed when the Democratic-Republicans obtained and published a scathing 54-page letter in which Hamilton launched a scathing attack on Adams. This revelation severely damaged Hamilton’s credibility, undermined Adams’ political standing, and ultimately weakened the Federalist Party as a whole.

The Presidential Election of 1800 saw both parties engage in a frantic scramble for any possible advantage. This included manipulating the selection process of electors in several states. In Georgia, for instance, Republican state legislators replaced the popular vote with selection by the state legislature, effectively disenfranchising the voters. In response, Federalists in Massachusetts and New Hampshire took similar measures, consolidating control over the electoral process. Meanwhile, Virginia switched from using electoral districts to a winner-take-all system, further highlighting the intense political maneuvering that characterized the election.

At the time, each state had the freedom to choose its election day between April and October. After a long and contentious campaign that many feared would tear the country apart, South Carolina’s vote proved to be decisive. The state’s decision to elect eight Republicans to the Electoral College tipped the balance in favor of Jefferson and Burr, breaking a 65-65 national split and ultimately securing their victory.

A Constitutional Flaw Exposed

The original United States Constitution stipulated that members of the Electoral College could only vote for President. Each elector was granted two votes, with the individual receiving the most votes becoming President and the runner-up assuming the role of Vice President.

To prevent a tie on the Federalist side, the party devised a plan to have one of their electors cast a vote for John Jay instead of Pinckney. The Democratic-Republicans initially intended to have one of their electors abstain from casting a second ballot for Burr. However, this plan was not executed. Instead, every Republican elector voted for both Jefferson and Burr, resulting in an identical 73 votes for each candidate.

This unexpected tie thrust the election into the hands of the House of Representatives. According to the Constitution, the outgoing House, still controlled by the Federalists, would be responsible for resolving the deadlock, with each state casting a single vote. With new terms for both the House and President set to begin in early March, the pressure was on to find a resolution.

In February 1801, members of the House convened to ballot as states to determine the winner. An absolute majority vote of the 16 states was required for victory. However, many outgoing Federalists were unwilling to support Jefferson, and instead voted for Burr, giving him six of the states. The seven states controlled by Republicans cast their votes for Jefferson, with Georgia’s sole Federalist elector joining their ranks. This gave Jefferson eight votes, one short of the nine needed to secure the presidency.

Vermont, evenly divided between Federalists and Republicans, cast a blank ballot. This left Maryland, which had five Federalist and three Republican representatives, as the deciding state. However, Maryland’s representatives were also split in their vote between Burr and Jefferson, resulting in another blank ballot being cast.

The deadlock persisted for seven days in February, with the House casting a total of 35 ballots. Each time, Jefferson received only eight of the nine states needed to win. Finally, on February 17, Federalist James Bayard of Delaware, along with his party allies in Maryland and Vermont, cast blank ballots, breaking the impasse. This resulted in both states selecting Jefferson, giving him a total of ten states and the office of President of the United States. The final vote tally was Jefferson ten, Burr four, and two with no result.

Correcting the Flaw: The Twelfth Amendment

The original structure of the Electoral College, as outlined in the Constitution, allowed each elector to cast two votes, provided that they did not vote for two individuals from their own state. The candidate with the most electoral votes would become President, and the runner-up would become Vice President. In the event of a tie, the House of Representatives would be responsible for choosing the President.

The election of 1796 exposed the first problem with this system when Federalist electors scattered their second votes, resulting in the Democratic-Republican presidential candidate Thomas Jefferson becoming Vice President. This raised concerns about the potential for a Vice President from an opposing party to obstruct the President’s agenda or even attempt to assassinate him to seize power.

Following the near-disasters of 1796 and the Presidential Election of 1800, Congress proposed the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in December 1803. This amendment mandated that each elector cast distinct votes for President and Vice President, rather than two votes for President. This change was designed to reduce the likelihood of an opposing party holding the Vice President’s position.

The amendment also retained the provision prohibiting an elector from voting for both candidates on a presidential ticket if both candidates were from the elector’s state. It further stipulated that anyone ineligible to be President could not be Vice President either. The states ratified the Amendment in 1804.

While the amendment did not alter the composition of the Electoral College, it did modify the procedures for resolving ties that are sent to the House. If no candidate receives a majority of Electoral College votes for President, the House of Representatives chooses the President. The amendment requires the House to choose from the three candidates with the highest number of electoral votes. It also stipulates that the Senate, in the event of a tie, chooses the Vice President, limiting its choice to the two candidates with the highest number of electoral votes.

The amendment further prevents deadlocks by requiring that if the House cannot choose a President by March 4 (or the first day of a Presidential term in office), the candidate elected as Vice President will act as President. The Twentieth Amendment, ratified in 1933, changed the date of the beginning of the Presidential term to January 20. It also clarified that the Vice President-elect would only act as President if the House had not chosen a President by that date.

This system remains in place in the United States today. Therefore, it is still possible for a Presidential candidate to fail to reach the required number of Electoral College votes, sending the decision for President to the House of Representatives and the Vice President to the Senate.

Since the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, there has been one other election in which the House of Representatives served as the deciding body for the President of the United States. In the election of 1824 between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, neither candidate reached a majority of the electoral vote. It was also the only election in which the candidate with the most electoral votes did not become President.

While Andrew Jackson received more electoral votes than Adams, he did not achieve a majority. As a result, the House of Representatives chose Adams in February 1825. Both candidates ran under the Democratic-Republican party banner, as the Federalists had dissolved in previous years, heavily damaged by the Presidential Election of 1800. However, the Republican party had fragmented into four groups, each with its own candidate. In later years, the group led by Andrew Jackson would evolve into the Democratic Party, while groups led by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay would form the National Republican Party, followed by the Whig Party.