1800 United States presidential election

The 1800 United States presidential election was the fourth election in the history of the United States. It occurred from October 31 to December 3, 1800. This election was between the Democratic-Republican nominee, Vice President Thomas Jefferson of Virginia and the Federalist nominee, President John Adams of Massachusetts. Both Jefferson and his running mate, senator Aaron Burr of New York, had tied for first when they both won 73 electoral votes, thus sending it to the House of Representatives for a contingent election between Jefferson and Burr. Adams would come in third place as he had won 65 electoral votes.

As per Article 2, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution, since none of the four nominees won the minimum 131 electoral votes needed to become President, the House would come together and vote among the top two candidates on who would replace incumbent President John Adams.

The House of Representatives would meet nearly two weeks before the inauguration on February 17, 1801, to elect which of the two leading candidates, Jefferson or Burr, would be elected as the 3rd President. At the time of the contigegent election, there were 16 states, thus the minimum number of states needed to be elected as President was 9. Jefferson won the vote on the 36th ballot, winning 10 of the 16 states and being elected as the 3rd President, while Aaron Burr was elected as the 3rd Vice President as he won 4 of the 16 states. Two states (Delaware and South Carolina) chose to not support either Jefferson or Burr. 

This election would begin the 25+ year era of control on the White House and the presidency, which would span from Mar. 1801 with the swearing in of Jefferson to his first term as President until the inauguration of Andrew Jackson as the 7th President in 1829. This was also the first presidential election in U.S. history to be a rematch as well as the first election where an incumbent president lost re-election, leading to the first time ine modern history where a national government changed hands peaceably following a free election.

This was also the last election to take place prior to the establishment of the 12th Amendment in June 1804

Background
Before the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the second place winner was the vice president. Because of this, Thomas Jefferson became John Adams' vice president even though they hated each other. This caused it to be an awkward time as the enemies had to work together. When the 1800 election rolled around, everyone was divided and furious. Adams had passed many unpopular laws like the Alien and Sedition Acts. John Adams was also called out for being too friendly with Britain, and his supporters responded by calling Jefferson supporters "Radical Atheists". This was the last election in America before the twelfth amendment was passed. There were technically two other people running, but they were more like vice presidential candidates. If electors supported one candidate, they were told to put their other vote to that candidate's unofficial vice president nominee, expecting that if they won, the other person would be in second place. John Adams' unofficial vice president candidate was Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and Jefferson's was Aaron Burr.

 Nominations 

 Democratic-Republican Party 
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic-Republican_Party|center|65x65px|Democratic-Republican Party1800 Democratic-Republican Party Ticketfor Presidentfor Vice Presidentcenter|200x200pxcenter|200x200px2ndVice President of the United States(1797-1801)U.S. Senatorfrom New York(1791-1797)
link=Federalist_Party|center|65x65px|Federalist Party1800 Federalist Party Ticketfor Presidentfor Vice Presidentcenter|200x200pxcenter|200x200px2ndPresident of the United States<small>(1797-1801)6thU.S. Minister to France(1796–1797)

Results
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr both got 73 electoral votes. However, since they got the same, the Senate had to vote on which one would become president and which one would be vice president. Jefferson ended up being president. However, it was hard because the Senate was still controlled by people who didn't like Jefferson and Burr. Adams got 65 electoral votes. His vice president candidate, Pinckney, got 64, with the one other vote going to John Jay. If Adams was reelected, he wouldn't have had to deal with the Senate vote.

 Notes 

 References 

Category:1800 in the United States
Category:United States presidential elections