The Election of 1796
The election of 1796 was the 3rd quadrennial presidential election, and the first time that no incumbent president ran for re-election. Although he was not yet constitutionally mandated to do so, incumbent President George Washington refused to seek a third term in office. In the meantime, the Federalist and Anti-Federalist factions of Washington's government had become what were essentially political parties, and the nation was about to experience its first contested presidential election.
The election was held from Friday, November 4 to Wednesday, December 7, 1796. In the end, it would become the only time thus far in history when a president and vice president were elected from opposing tickets. Although Federalist John Adams defeated Republican Thomas Jefferson, the election was in many ways a battle between Jefferson and Federalist Alexander Hamilton, with Jefferson supporters attacking the economic and foreign policies developed by Hamilton during the Washington administration. Politics became divided over two main issues: (1) whether or not the nation should have a strong centralized national government or whether power should vest in the states; and (2) whether or not the nation should develop closer ties with Great Britain or with France (or with neither). It was also the beginning of an element of political campaigning in which each candidate's moral character was attacked.
Incumbent Vice President John Adams from Massachusetts became a candidate for the presidency on the Federalist Party ticket with former Governor Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina. Their opponents were former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson from Virginia along with Senator Aaron Burr of New York. Technically, each man from any party ran alone, as the notion of "running mate" had not yet been enabled under the constitution.
Anti-Federalists campaigned heavily for Jefferson, and Federalists campaigned heavily for Adams, a first for the new nation in a Presidential campaign. The campaign was an acrimonious one. Federalists attempting to identify their opponents with the violence of the French Revolution, while the Anti-Federalists accused the Federalists of favoring monarchism and aristocracy. Jefferson supporters criticized the Federalists over Jay's Treaty, perceived as too favorable to Britain.
When the votes were counted, Jefferson received the second highest number of electoral votes and was elected vice president according to the prevailing rules of electoral college voting.
Prior to the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, each elector was expected to vote for two persons, but was not able to indicate which vote was for president and which was for vice president. Instead, the recipient of the most electoral votes would become president and the runner-up vice president. As a result, both parties ran multiple candidates for president, in hopes of keeping one of their opponents from being the runner-up.
The Federalists' nominee was John Adams of Massachusetts, the incumbent vice president. The Federalists' second choice (and hope for the vice-presidency) was Thomas Pinckney, former governor of South Carolina. Alexander Hamilton, who was ineligible to run because of foreign birth, held some animosity towards Adams, and began working behind the scenes to elect Pinckney over Adams by convincing Jefferson electors from South Carolina to cast their second votes for Pinckney. The scheme ultimately failed, but it created tension between Adams and Hamilton for the next administration.
Since the 1792 election, Tennessee was admitted into the United States, and the Electoral College had increased to 138 electors. Under the system in place in 1796, electors were to cast votes for two persons. Both votes were for president; the runner-up in the presidential race was elected vice-president. Each party intended to manipulate the results by having some of their electors cast one vote for the intended presidential candidate and one vote for somebody besides the intended vice-presidential candidate, leaving their vice-presidential candidate a vote or so shy of their presidential candidate. Unfortunately, these schemes were complicated by several factors caused by conditions at the time. All electoral votes were cast on the same day, and communications between states were extremely slow, making it very difficult to coordinate which electors were to manipulate their vote for vice-president. There were rumors that southern electors pledged to Jefferson were coerced by Alexander Hamilton to give their second vote to Pinckney in hope of electing him president instead of Adams. As it turned out, all eight electors in Pinckney's home state of South Carolina, as well as at least one elector in Pennsylvania, cast ballots for both Jefferson and Pinckney. Despite these extra votes, these candidates did not receive enough votes overall for the plan to work. At least 20 Adams electors who failed to cast their other vote for Pinckney. It's strange to think that if 13 or more of these electors had cast their second ballots for Pinckney, he would have become the nation's second president.
The result was that Adams was elected president while his opponent, Jefferson, was elected vice-president. Here is how the electoral votes were finally tallied:
John Adams (Federalist of Massachusetts)-71
Thomas Jefferson (Anti-Federalist of Virginia)-68
Thomas Pinckney (Federalist of South Carolina)-59
Aaron Burr (Anti-Federalist of New York)-30
Samuel Adams (Anti-Federalist of Massachusetts)-15
Oliver Ellsworth (Federalist of Connecticut)-11
George Clinton (Anti-Federalist of New York)-7
John Jay (Federalist of New York)-5
James Iredell (Federalist of North Carolina)-3
George Washington (Independent of Virginia)-2
John Henry (Anti-Federalist of Maryland)-2
Samuel Johnston (Federalist of North Carolina)-2
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (Federalist of South Carolina)-1
At this point in time only 9 of the 16 states used any form of popular vote. Those states that did choose electors by popular vote had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements.
This result made for a difficult presidency for John Adams. His Vice-President, Thomas Jefferson, would use his position to attack Adams' policies, and to gain an advantage in the next election.
This election motivated consideration of what would later become the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On January 6, 1797, Representative William L. Smith of South Carolina presented a resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives for an amendment to the Constitution by which the presidential electors would designate which candidate would be president and which would be vice-president. No action was taken on his proposal, setting the stage for the deadlocked election of 1800.
The election was held from Friday, November 4 to Wednesday, December 7, 1796. In the end, it would become the only time thus far in history when a president and vice president were elected from opposing tickets. Although Federalist John Adams defeated Republican Thomas Jefferson, the election was in many ways a battle between Jefferson and Federalist Alexander Hamilton, with Jefferson supporters attacking the economic and foreign policies developed by Hamilton during the Washington administration. Politics became divided over two main issues: (1) whether or not the nation should have a strong centralized national government or whether power should vest in the states; and (2) whether or not the nation should develop closer ties with Great Britain or with France (or with neither). It was also the beginning of an element of political campaigning in which each candidate's moral character was attacked.
Incumbent Vice President John Adams from Massachusetts became a candidate for the presidency on the Federalist Party ticket with former Governor Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina. Their opponents were former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson from Virginia along with Senator Aaron Burr of New York. Technically, each man from any party ran alone, as the notion of "running mate" had not yet been enabled under the constitution.
Anti-Federalists campaigned heavily for Jefferson, and Federalists campaigned heavily for Adams, a first for the new nation in a Presidential campaign. The campaign was an acrimonious one. Federalists attempting to identify their opponents with the violence of the French Revolution, while the Anti-Federalists accused the Federalists of favoring monarchism and aristocracy. Jefferson supporters criticized the Federalists over Jay's Treaty, perceived as too favorable to Britain.
When the votes were counted, Jefferson received the second highest number of electoral votes and was elected vice president according to the prevailing rules of electoral college voting.
Prior to the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, each elector was expected to vote for two persons, but was not able to indicate which vote was for president and which was for vice president. Instead, the recipient of the most electoral votes would become president and the runner-up vice president. As a result, both parties ran multiple candidates for president, in hopes of keeping one of their opponents from being the runner-up.
The Federalists' nominee was John Adams of Massachusetts, the incumbent vice president. The Federalists' second choice (and hope for the vice-presidency) was Thomas Pinckney, former governor of South Carolina. Alexander Hamilton, who was ineligible to run because of foreign birth, held some animosity towards Adams, and began working behind the scenes to elect Pinckney over Adams by convincing Jefferson electors from South Carolina to cast their second votes for Pinckney. The scheme ultimately failed, but it created tension between Adams and Hamilton for the next administration.
Since the 1792 election, Tennessee was admitted into the United States, and the Electoral College had increased to 138 electors. Under the system in place in 1796, electors were to cast votes for two persons. Both votes were for president; the runner-up in the presidential race was elected vice-president. Each party intended to manipulate the results by having some of their electors cast one vote for the intended presidential candidate and one vote for somebody besides the intended vice-presidential candidate, leaving their vice-presidential candidate a vote or so shy of their presidential candidate. Unfortunately, these schemes were complicated by several factors caused by conditions at the time. All electoral votes were cast on the same day, and communications between states were extremely slow, making it very difficult to coordinate which electors were to manipulate their vote for vice-president. There were rumors that southern electors pledged to Jefferson were coerced by Alexander Hamilton to give their second vote to Pinckney in hope of electing him president instead of Adams. As it turned out, all eight electors in Pinckney's home state of South Carolina, as well as at least one elector in Pennsylvania, cast ballots for both Jefferson and Pinckney. Despite these extra votes, these candidates did not receive enough votes overall for the plan to work. At least 20 Adams electors who failed to cast their other vote for Pinckney. It's strange to think that if 13 or more of these electors had cast their second ballots for Pinckney, he would have become the nation's second president.
The result was that Adams was elected president while his opponent, Jefferson, was elected vice-president. Here is how the electoral votes were finally tallied:
John Adams (Federalist of Massachusetts)-71
Thomas Jefferson (Anti-Federalist of Virginia)-68
Thomas Pinckney (Federalist of South Carolina)-59
Aaron Burr (Anti-Federalist of New York)-30
Samuel Adams (Anti-Federalist of Massachusetts)-15
Oliver Ellsworth (Federalist of Connecticut)-11
George Clinton (Anti-Federalist of New York)-7
John Jay (Federalist of New York)-5
James Iredell (Federalist of North Carolina)-3
George Washington (Independent of Virginia)-2
John Henry (Anti-Federalist of Maryland)-2
Samuel Johnston (Federalist of North Carolina)-2
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (Federalist of South Carolina)-1
At this point in time only 9 of the 16 states used any form of popular vote. Those states that did choose electors by popular vote had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements.
This result made for a difficult presidency for John Adams. His Vice-President, Thomas Jefferson, would use his position to attack Adams' policies, and to gain an advantage in the next election.
This election motivated consideration of what would later become the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On January 6, 1797, Representative William L. Smith of South Carolina presented a resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives for an amendment to the Constitution by which the presidential electors would designate which candidate would be president and which would be vice-president. No action was taken on his proposal, setting the stage for the deadlocked election of 1800.