US History Series: Jefferson Is Elected President in 1800, But Only on the 36th Vote

VOICE TWO:

Hamilton did not like Adams. He did everything he could to block Adams from becoming president again. He gave his support to another Federalist candidate, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina.

Under the electoral system of that time, the candidate with the most votes became president. The candidate with the second highest number of votes became vice president.

VOICE ONE:

A Federalist victory in the election of eighteen hundred would not be easy. The Republicans had a very strong and popular candidate -- Thomas Jefferson. So, Federalist Party leaders attempted to change the electoral system.

The Constitution said state legislatures were to choose electors to vote for president. The Federalists tried to gain control over the legislatures' decisions.

They wanted Congress to create a special committee to rule if an elector had -- or did not have -- the right to vote. The committee could say if an elector's vote should be counted or thrown away.

VOICE TWO:

VOICE ONE:

By the summer of eighteen hundred, Thomas Jefferson's Republican Party had strong leaders in every state. It had many newspapers to express party ideas. Jefferson decided to take a holiday at Monticello, his farm in Virginia.

The Republican Party leader in New York was a lawyer, Aaron Burr. Burr had served as an officer under General George Washington during America's war for independence from Britain. After the war, he joined the Federalist Party and was elected to the United States Senate. Later, he changed parties and became a Republican.

VOICE TWO:

Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were bitter enemies. When Hamilton learned of a plan by his own party to elect Burr president, instead of Jefferson, his reaction was quick and sharp.

VOICE ONE:

The president elected in eighteen hundred would govern in a new capital city. The national government would move from Philadelphia to Washington, a newly built city in the District of Columbia. It was on the Potomac River between the states of Maryland and Virginia.

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THE MAKING OF A NATION