1800:

Adams v Jefferson

Portait of John Adams in a campaign engraving print
A new display of the United States

Constitutional Constraints

After the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788, rules for presidential elections followed a simple format. Electors across the states cast a vote for two candidates each1. Notably, they did not designate their choice for president or vice president2. The candidate with the majority of electoral votes was declared president, and the candidate with the second-most electoral votes served as vice president1.

Unlike our current system, parties at the time did not nominate a singular presidential ticket, with one nominee each for the roles of president and vice president. Instead, in 1796, each party ran one candidate for president. The election gave way to a Federalist president, John Adams, and a Democratic-Republican vice president, Thomas Jefferson. Hoping to avoid a repeat of a divided executive branch, each party ran two candidates in 18003. One for president, and a second to serve as vice president.

Electoral Tie

In 1800, the Democratic-Republican Party chose sitting Vice President Thomas Jefferson as their presidential nominee. They also chose Aaron Burr to run for VP, in the hopes of winning a unified executive branch3. The Federalist Party utilized the same strategy, with Charles Pinckney running alongside President Adams3.

In the election, the Democratic-Republican ticket emerged victorious, with Jefferson and Burr each winning 73 electoral votes compared to 65 for Adams and 64 for Pinckney4. The Federalists directed one elector to vote for another candidate, ensuring Adams would be president and Pinckney his VP if they won. In contrast, the Democratic-Republicans did not coordinate as efficiently, and their candidates emerged with the same number of votes3. Because of the tie, according to the Constitution, the election would be decided in the House of Representatives1.

The Election in the House of Representatives

Picture of U.S. Capitol Building in 1800
A view of the Capitol of Washington before it was burnt down by the British

At the time, President Adams’ Federalist Party controlled the House of Representatives. Therefore, the Federalists would ultimately decide which of the two Democratic-Republican candidates would be the next president. However, the Federalists were divided between voting for Jefferson, honoring the public’s choice, and voting for Burr, who they saw as more open to their interests3.

Although the Democratic-Republicans made it explicitly clear that Burr was to serve as VP for Jefferson, Burr refused to step aside and let Jefferson win the House vote3. Both men campaigned relentlessly during the six-day stretch of voting in the House of Representatives3. The Federalists sought political extractions from each candidate, asking Jefferson and Burr to make a deal in the Federalists’ interests in exchange for their votes.

Ultimately, the House voted 36 times before deciding on the next president2. In the voting procedure, every state had one vote, cast by the members of the House from that state. On the final ballot, the state of Delaware did not cast a vote. Federalist representatives from Maryland, Vermont, and South Carolina also abstained from their state delegations’ votes3. This put Jefferson over the top, finally securing enough votes to become the 3rd President of the United States.

Backroom Bargaining for the Presidency

In the months leading up to the February House vote, Jefferson and Burr each offered the other cabinet positions and political prominence in exchange for the presidency 5. Neither candidate accepted the other’s terms as the consequential House vote loomed5. Meanwhile, Federalists in Congress communicated with both Jefferson and Burr in hopes of gaining political concessions from either candidate3.

Jefferson was approached by both President John Adams and Federalist congressmen from New York and Massachusetts concerning a potential deal for the presidency3. Initially, he refused3. However, after days of deadlocked voting, Federalist Rep. Bayard from Delaware met with Rep. Smith from Maryland5. Smith acted as a liaison for Jefferson and agreed that Jefferson would meet the terms of a Federalist deal if Bayard and the Delaware delegation abstained on the next ballot5. Meanwhile, Federalists awaited letters from Burr before changing their votes. The letters arrived, but were destroyed when they reached Washington, with contents unknown5. Delaware abstained, and Jefferson won the vote3.

While in office, Jefferson acted in accordance with the terms of the proposed Federalist deal. As president, he did not remove any Federalists from the executive branch and relented in his previous push to change the country’s financial system5. During the Jefferson administration, Rep. Bayard, who swung the election to Jefferson, sent a letter to a Federalist in his government. The letter assured the Federalist officeholder that his position was not in jeopardy, as Bayard wrote, “I have taken good care of you… You are safe”5.

References

  1. U.S. Const. art. 2, § 1. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Drexler, K. (2022, August 8). Research Guides: Presidential Election of 1800: A Resource Guide: Introduction. Guides.loc.gov. https://guides.loc.gov/presidential-election-1800 ↩ ↩2

  3. John Ferling. (2004). Adams Vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800. Oxford University Press. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  4. National Archives. (2019, October 29). 1800 Electoral College Results. https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/1800 ↩

  5. Ferling, J. (2004, November). Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr and the Election of 1800. Smithsonian; Smithsonian.com. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thomas-jefferson-aaron-burr-and-the-election-of-1800-131082359/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

1824: John Quincy Adams v Jackson »