Presidential Election of 1816

**The** **Eighth Presidential Election** was held between November 1st to December 4th, 1816. The Incumbent President Rudolph Hartmann had struggled greatly with the War of 1813, and after practically losing the war he had signed a treaty, right before ratification Secretary of War Henry Erler sailed down and retook New Orleans in the Second Battle of New Orleans, giving the U.S. a sense of last minute victory. Hartmann was still seen as a failure of a President by some, but others viewed him kindly in the upcoming election.

## Candidates

### Yankee Party

The Yankee Party had considered working with the new Democratic Party since it included their old ally the People's Labour Party, but most disagreed due to their nomination being President Hartmann, who had supported the War of 1813, which vastly hurt New English Business. In result Massachusetts Senator John Quincy Adams would be the only one to run in the 1816 Yankee Party Primary, winning handedly. Harry Raude, an Independent Representative from Ohio would win the Vice Presidential Primary, beating out Senator Nathaniel Chipman of Vermont.

### Democratic Party

The Democratic Party had no problems nominating their incumbent President Rudolph Hartmann, though unpopular in the north, Hartmann was considered the best choice the Democrats had. They nominated Georgia Senator William H. Crawford alongside him.

### Patriot Party

The Patriot Party was unsure on who to pick for their 1816 run, but only two candidates really had any chance in the election, William Gray a Kentucky Senator and their 1812 candidate, and Joseph Brandon a Delaware Senator and their 1804 and 1808 candidate. Brandon was ultimately chose by the Party with some sway from the Gus Family's racist wing, but to keep the power balance together they chose William Gray as their Vice Presidential candidate.

### Constitutional Democratic Party

The Constitutional Democratic Party was scrambling for a candidate in 1816, their Party leader John G. Benckendorf was only 31, and other contenders like Amo Gus and Theophile Lybaert both declined to take part in the Election. Instead the Constitutional Democrats chose Andrew Kerry the Secretary of State under George Benckendorf, who campaigned on the idea of returning the nation to the Benckendorf policy. For Vice President they chose Philip Cox, a former Pennsylvania State Legislator and a Senate Candidate in 1806.

### New People's Labor Party

The New People's Labor Party had very few members, so they chose their party leader Gregory Anderson, a Representative of Maine. They also chose Gregory Anderson Jr., Gregory Anderson's son, for Vice President, making it the only Father-Son ticket in American History. Anderson Jr. was a journalist who lived in Boston at the time.

## Results

The election was divided 4 ways, the Hartmann winning 85 Electors, Adams 53, Brandon 25, and Kerry 24. The election being split was sent to Congress for the third Congressional Contingent Election in a row.

## Congress Vote

The Congress would convene on January 23, 1817 to decide the outcome of the 1816 Election, this being the third time in a row they had to do so. 20 States were existent at the time, and would help decide the President. The Presidency would be decided in favor of John Quincy Adams, who would become the next United States President. William H. Crawford would win the Vice Presidential vote with 11 votes, Raude getting 8, and Gray only getting 1.

 Hartmann