1800 United States Presidential Election

Background. The 1800 contest was a rematch of the 1796 election, but unlike 1796 both parties formally nominated tickets. The Democratic-Republicans ran Vice President Thomas Jefferson with Aaron Burr, while the Federalists nominated incumbent President John Adams with Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina. By 1800 Alexander Hamilton had come to view Adams as too independent and considered Pinckney better suited to his interests.

Campaign Practices. The election introduced a new type of American politics: a two-party republic with acrimonious campaigning conducted behind the scenes and through the press. Aaron Burr, Jefferson's running mate and campaign manager, employed contemporarily unorthodox public campaigning methods that some historians credit with inventing the modern electioneering process.

Electoral Vote and Tie. Because each state could choose its own day to elect electors, voting stretched from October to December 1800, with electors meeting in their respective states on December 3 to vote by ballot for two persons under the Constitution. Of the 16 states participating, six used some form of popular vote. The result was a tie between Jefferson and Burr, requiring the House of Representatives to decide the outcome.

Contingent Election. In February 1801 the House of Representatives balloted as states to determine whether Jefferson or Burr would become president. Because the presidential election had to be decided by the outgoing House elected in 1798, the newly Democratic-Republican House majority could not act. House Democratic-Republicans feared the Federalists might engineer a victory for Burr or refuse to break the deadlock, leaving Secretary of State John Marshall as Acting President.