Episode 2 of 4
Adams defeats Jefferson in the electoral college
- When
- November 1796
- Where
- 1796 U.S. presidential election outcome
Federalist John Adams defeated Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson 71–68 in the electoral college in the 1796 presidential election.
Incumbent vice president John Adams of the Federalist Party defeated former secretary of state Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic-Republican Party in the 1796 election. Jefferson lost the electoral college vote 71–68. Under the electoral laws of the time, Jefferson's second-place finish made him Adams's vice president. The French had supported Jefferson for president and became belligerent at his loss.
Sources
- 1796 United States presidential election Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-20
- Thomas Jefferson Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30
- John Adams Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-27
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.