Controversial Elections - Part 1

Will the election of 2020 have a clear winner? If the election is close, the parties will argue over the proper counting of absentee and mail-in ballots. Allegations will be made of voter suppression and ballot harvesting. We could have chaos if the election is not resolved by January 6, 2021, when the newly elected Congress officially counts the Electoral College votes. While chaotic, it would not be unprecedented. Several Presidential elections took months to resolve after the election.

George Washington Warns Against Political Parties

The Founders did not anticipate nor support the development of political parties, or ‘factions’ as they were called. In his 1796 farewell address, President Washington stated: “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension …is itself a frightful despotism.” He warns that people will tire of the dissension and seek the stability of a single ruler: “ The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual” Unfortunately, the country ignored Washington’s warning.

The Election of 1796

Two political parties were founded at the very start of the Republic. The Federalist party believed in a stronger central government.  The Democratic-Republican party (later the Democrats) favored a more limited government. Thomas Jefferson, the Democratic-Republican, faced Federalist John Adams in the 1796 election to succeed Washington.

The campaign was harsh with personal attacks. Opponents of Jefferson accused him of being an atheist, a demagogue, a coward, and a traitor. They described Jefferson supporters as cut-throats who walk in rags and sleep amid filth and vermin. Meanwhile, Jefferson’s followers said Adams was a monarchist who wanted to rule as a king. They mocked Adam’s weight calling him ‘his rotundity.’

Adams narrowly defeated Jefferson with 71 electoral votes to Jefferson’s 68. This election represented one of the first peaceful transfers of power in history.

The Electoral College system differed in those days from today. In 1796 electors had two votes and voted for two separate Presidential candidates. There were no designated candidates for Vice President. The candidate with the most votes became President, the candidate with the second most votes became Vice President. Since Thomas Jefferson finished second, he became Adam’s Vice President. For the only time in our nation’s history, the President and Vice President came from different parties. Imagine, for example, that Hillary Clinton was Donald Trump’s Vice President. Or Nixon was John F. Kennedy’s Vice President. Political life would have been pretty fascinating!

The Election of 1800

1800 saw a re-match between Adams and Jefferson. As in 1796, the main issue was the scope and power of the central government. The controversial 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts were one major issue. These laws banned criticism of the federal government, and Adams used them to imprison several journalists and politicians.

The campaign included harsh defamatory statements and personal attacks on each side. Jefferson supporters said Adams was a “hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.” In return, Adam’s followers called Jefferson “a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father.” Who said negative campaigning is anything new? Adams was also called “a fool, a hypocrite, a criminal, and a tyrant” while opponents of Jefferson warned if he were elected, “murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest, will openly be taught and practiced.”

Now the fun starts. Both the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties created a formal ticket with a Presidential candidate and a Vice Presidential candidate. Democratic-Republican electors were told to vote for Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Federalists were to vote for Adams and Charles Pinckney of South Carolina. Democratic-Republicans won 73 electors as compared to 65 Federalist electors. As shown in the map below, several states split their electors: for example, Pennsylvania selected eight Democratic-Republican electors and seven Federalist electors. Maryland and North Carolina also split their votes.

Keep in mind that at this time there were no official Vice Presidential candidates. Each elector had two votes to vote for two different candidates for President. Again, the winner becomes President, the second place finisher becomes Vice President.

The Federalists realized that if all their electors voted for Adams and Pinckney, they would be tied with 65 votes each. Therefore, one of their electors voted for some other candidate instead of Pinckney. As a result, Adams received 65 electoral votes, Pinckney 64. Thus, if Adams came in first, he would be President. But Adams came in third behind Jefferson and Burr who both received 73 electoral votes. The Democratic-Republicans failed to have one of their electors vote for someone other than Burr. If they had, Jefferson would be President with 73 votes, and Burr, Vice President with 72 votes.

As a result, Jefferson and Burr finished in a tie with 73 electoral votes. As specified in the Constitution, if there is a tie, the House of Representatives breaks the tie and picks the President. Each state receives one vote, regardless of the size of the state.

There were sixteen states at the time, nine needed for victory. Initially, six states voted for Burr, eight for Jefferson. Two remaining state delegations were evenly split and did not cast a vote. Burr resisted pressure to concede the Presidency to Jefferson. A stalemate. The House voted over 30 times, each time Jefferson received eight votes, one short of victory. Behind the scenes, Alexander Hamilton backed Jefferson over Burr. In the musical Hamilton, the song ‘Election of 1800’ describes Hamilton supporting Jefferson, despite their political differences, because Hamilton believed Jefferson had principles while Burr had none. Also, some Jefferson supporters held quiet meetings with Federalists to assure them that Jefferson would continue some of their fiscal policies. These factors convinced some electors to change their votes. On the 36th vote, held in mid-February 1801, several Federalists either abstained or voted for Jefferson. (see table showing states that changed their votes) With the support of ten states, he became President. One can certainly speculate that Burr’s hatred of Hamilton was fueled by this election and Hamilton’s support for Jefferson.

Despite the disputes over the results, the election of 1800 demonstrated the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to an opposing party. After the long controversial heated election, Jefferson reached out to his opponents.  In his Inaugural Address, he said, “We are all Republicans. We are all Federalists.” He then discussed post-election unity. “all will, of course, arrange themselves under the will of the law, and unite in common efforts for the common good.” Jefferson went onto serve two terms as President, followed by James Madison and James Monroe; each won easy victories.

Conclusion

To prevent a reoccurrence of the 1800 tie, Congress passed the 12th Amendment to the Constitution. Instead of casting two votes for Presidents, electors now cast one vote for President and one for Vice President. The Amendment passed in 1804 and, starting with that year’s election, has governed Presidential elections ever since. However, despite this change, 20 years later there was another close, controversial, election. Read Part II, click here. Read Part III, click here.