2. The Election of 1800
• Sometimes referred to as the "Revolution
of 1800”
• Vice President Thomas Jefferson vs.
President John Adams
• This election marked the decline of the
Federalist Party
• Democratic-Republican party gained
power
3. The Election of 1800
• The political campaigns of
both parties were very much
like modern ones due to
their use of propaganda to
get votes
• The main debated topics
were:
– the tax imposed by Congress
to pay for the war against
France
– The opposition to the Alien
and Sedition Acts
4. Bitter Rivalries
• The election was clearly separated
between those who were:
– pro-French and pro-decentralization
republicans
– pro-British and pro-centralization federalists
• The election was a long, bitter rivalry due
to opposing opinions between both
political parties
5. John Adams• Adams was a pro-British
and pro-centralization
federalist
• Adams was not able to
win because of the
disorganization of the
Federalist Party
• His severed ties between
Alexander Hamilton and
himself crippled the
Federalist Party
6. Thomas Jefferson
• Jefferson was a pro-
French and pro-
decentralization republican
• Was able to win in the end
due to the organization at
the state and local levels
• Claimed that the Alien and
Sedition Acts were against
the Constitution and
people’s rights
7. The Achilles' Heel
• The Election of 1800 was based off of
votes from the electoral college
• It was flawed due to the fact that
– Presidents were chosen by the most number
of votes
– Vice Presidents were chosen by the second
highest number of votes
– Presidents and their chosen Vice President
were on separate ballots
8. How It Did (and Didn’t) Work
• The Republican’s plan:
– Abstain a vote from Aaron Burr to secure
Jefferson’s win
• The plan got messed up, causing Jefferson
and Burr to tie in votes
• The vote was then put into the hands of the
then-Federalist House of Representatives
• This resulted in a week-long deadlock
9. The Fumbling Federalists
• The disorganization between the Federalists
caused the deadlock
• Many Federalists voted for Burr
• Though Hamilton strongly disliked both
candidates, he lobbied for Jefferson and
against Aaron Burr
• This led to Burr’s and Hamilton’s fateful
showdown
10. The Result
• Jefferson was able to secure the vote due to
Hamilton’s lobbying and Burr’s absence of
effort to win
• The Twelfth Amendment, ratified by
Congress in 1804, stated that Electors are to
make a choice between their selected
• A ‘revolution’ of sorts took place, transferring
power from the Federalists to the
Democratic-Republicans
