Presidential Election of 1812

**The** **Seventh Presidential Election** was held between October 30th to December 2nd, 1812. During this election impressment began to kick into gear, and with a riled up United States off the cusp of a victory in the Second Civil War, Britain seemed like the next big target for expansion. In the end Brigadier General Rudolph Hartmann and Governor John Tremble were the major candidates that supported the war the most, netting them the top contenders despite the incumbent Amo Gus's candidacy.

## Candidates

### Democratic-Republican

The Democratic-Republican Party was the biggest contender in years past before the nation went into Civil War, however it had seen a major downturn after the South rebelled. The Democratic-Republican Party had made strides in years leading up to this, and with near unanimity they selected popular Civil War Hero Rudolph Hartmann as their nominee, someone who unified the party in their lack of controversy. For his running mate they selected up-and-coming Representative Arthur K. Perceval of Tennessee, though he was apparently very controversial, being one of the pro-southern Democratic-Republicans, costing him nationally in the contingent election.

### People's Labour / Yankee

People's Labour Party had been largely falling apart in the latter half of the 1800s, splitting between Democratic-Republicans and Yankees, however with the backing of the Yankee Party, they nominated John Tremble, the Governor of New York, and a Presidential Candidate in 1800 under the Democratic Union Party and a Vice Presidential Candidate in 1804. Tremble unified the party under the sense of the Old-Guard, a unified movement of the lineage People's Labour. Tremble was joined on the ballot by a Yankee Vice Presidential Candidate, that being John Quincy Adams, a Senator for Massachusetts.

### Constitutional Democratic

The Constitutional Democratic Party was waning in support throughout the 1800s, and was unable to win a majority of electors in 1808. With an incumbent President in Amo Gus, the party thought little about who to nominate, however the party never ended up nominating for Vice President, becoming the first and only major political party to never do so in an election.

### Patriot

The Patriot Party was gearing up for their first major run, having gained significant support in the south in the following years and with the readmission of the deep south. The party selected Senator William Gray of Kentucky. In the end they didn't nominate a Vice Presidential Candidate.

### Tertium Quid

The Tertium Quid Party had previously sided with the Constitutional Democratic Party in 1808, but with the unpopularity that Gus was gaining, they decided to run an independent campaign. This time the selected Representative John Taylor of Virginia, while also renominating Vice President Thomas McKean.

### United American Restoration

United American Restoration League had started a huge commotion with their Monarchist views in the post Civil War nation. They selected Governor of Georgia Markus De Léon, meanwhile for Vice President they nominated John F. Fitzgerald of Massachusetts, the party didn't have major prospects, and fell short of 2% in the National Popular Vote.

## Results

The People's Labour Party and the Democratic-Republican Party made a Non-Aggression Pact during the election, causing both to go only for the north or south respectively, and while either only got around 20%, combined they had 43.47%, which far outdid Gus's 37.24%. The Election was forced into a contingent between Rudolph Hartmann, John Tremble, and Amo Gus; of which Hartmann would be selected as the next President, eventually bringing the Democratic-Republicans and the People's Labour under one banner. As for Vice President, many Constitutional Democratic Electors voted for Thomas McKean again, putting him into the contingent election, where McKean would be voted in as Vice President due to a turn for the worse in Arthur K. Perceval's health.

## Congress Vote

The Congress would convene on February 19, 1813 to decide the outcome of the 1812 Election, at the time there were 19 States, so a candidate needed 10 to win. In the first round Rudolph Hartmann gained 10 states with a lot of help from the Patriot Party, winning the contingent election in the first round over John Tremble at 5 and Amo Gus at 1. With a downturn in the health of Arthur K. Perceval, many Democratic-Republicans chose to back the incumbent Vice President Thomas McKean instead, who was of the Tertium Quid Party. In the end McKean had 12 votes, John Quincy Adams had 6, and Perceval only got 1, giving McKean the Vice Presidency again.

 **Hartmann** | Gray