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The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival. A bitter partisan battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson, it produced a tie between Jefferson and his Republican running mate, Aaron Burr; a deadlock in the House where the tie had to be broken; an outburst of intrigue and suspicion as Federalists struggled to determine a course of action; Jefferson's election; and Burr's eventual downfall. The unfolding of this crisis tested the new nation's durability. The deadlock in the House revealed a constitutional defect. It also pushed partisan rivalry to an extreme, inspiring a host of creative and far-reaching electoral ploys. As a sense of crisis built, there was even talk of disunion and civil war, and indeed, two states began to organize their militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not prevail.
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victory for our modern two-party system
-
Federalist Adams
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Republican Jefferson
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stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair), the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government
-
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts)
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07 Sep 11
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The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival
-
A bitter partisan battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson, it produced a tie between Jefferson and his Republican running mate, Aaron Burr; a deadlock in the House where the tie had to be broken; an outburst of intrigue and suspicion as Federalists struggled to determine a course of action; Jefferson's election; and Burr's eventual downfall.
-
The unfolding of this crisis tested the new nation's durability. The deadlock in the House revealed a constitutional defect.
-
But envisioning the election as the birth of our modern political system masks the many ways in which it was distinctly not modern.
-
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-
<!-- right --> 
The Presidential Election of 1800: A Story of Crisis, Controversy, and Change
By Joanne B. Freeman
Professor of History, Yale University
Resolutions for amending the Constitution on Election of the President, 1800. (GLC00927.02)
Nasty political mud-slinging. Campaign attacks and counterattacks. Personal insults. Outrageous newspaper invective. Dire predictions of warfare and national collapse. Innovative new forms of politicking capitalizing on a growing technology. As much as this seems to describe our pending presidential contest, it actually describes an election more than two hundred years past.
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
-
-
. It was certainly a powerful endorsement of our Constitution. But envisioning the election as the birth of our modern political system masks the many ways in which it was distinctly not modern. In fact, in 1800, there was no modern party system.
-
-
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
-
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson, it produced a tie between Jefferson and his Republican running mate, Aaron Burr; a deadlock in the House where the tie had to be broken; an outburst of intrigue and suspicion as Federalists struggled to determine a course of action; Jefferson's election; and Burr's eventual downfall.
-
The Republicans and Federalists were not parties as we now understand them.
-
-
-
Nasty political mud-slinging. Campaign attacks and counterattacks. Personal insults.
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
But envisioning the election as the birth of our modern political system masks the many ways in which it was distinctly not modern.
-
. The Republicans and Federalists were not parties as we now understand them.
-
In short, the election of 1800 transpired in a world with its own culture and contingencies.
-
The national government was still a work-in-progress, a political experiment with no model of comparison in the modern world. A republic was supposedly superior to its Old World predecessors, but this assumption had yet to be tested.
-
The stability and long-term practicability of a republic was likewise a question, every political crisis raising fears of disunion and civil war.
-
: The United States was new, fragile, shaky, and likely to collapse, a prevailing anxiety that could not help but have an enormous impact on the period's politics.
-
-
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
The unfolding of this crisis tested the new nation's durability.
-
It also pushed partisan rivalry to an extreme, inspiring a host of creative and far-reaching electoral ploys.
-
Why so little scholarship? In part, because of our tendency to view the election of 1800 as a victory for our modern two-party system -- the first such victory in American national politics.
-
Viewed in this light -- as a neat and tidy stepping-stone to modern party politics -- the election doesn't seem to merit further analysis
-
The Republicans and Federalists were not parties as we now understand them.
-
In short, the election of 1800 transpired in a world with its own culture and contingencies
-
Given America's survival for more than two hundred years, it is easy to forget this central political reality of the early Republic: The United States was new, fragile, shaky, and likely to collapse, a prevailing anxiety that could not help but have an enormous impact on the period's politics.
-
these are only the most prominent of the period's many crises, each one raising serious questions about the survival and character of the national government and its relationship to the body politic.
-
-
-
The unfolding of this crisis tested the new nation's durability
-
The deadlock in the House revealed a constitutional defect.
-
Viewed in this light -- as a neat and tidy stepping-stone to modern party politics -- the election doesn't seem to merit further analysis
-
But envisioning the election as the birth of our modern political system masks the many ways in which it was distinctly not modern.
-
In fact, in 1800, there was no modern party system
-
This tense, tenuous political environment produced anxiety, bitterness, and high emotion for good reason.
-
-
-
two states began to organize their militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not prevail.
-
But envisioning the election as the birth of our modern political system masks the many ways in which it was distinctly not modern.
-
-
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
And yours truly examines the election as a prime example of the period's political culture in the final chapter of Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic.
-
In part, because of our tendency to view the election of 1800 as a victory for our modern two-party system -- the first such victory in American national politics.
-
But envisioning the election as the birth of our modern political system masks the many ways in which it was distinctly not modern
-
In short, the election of 1800 transpired in a world with its own culture and contingencies.
-
Political parties were not an accepted part of this picture: instead they were viewed as illicit groups of self-interested men intent on winning power and position in the next election.
-
"Advice to My Country,"
-
"Dismemberment of our Empire."
-
The 1797-98 XYZ Affair (prompted by a French attempt to get bribe money from American diplomats), the Quasi-War with France (stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair), the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government), the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts), Fries's Rebellion (a revolt against wartime taxes), and finally, the presidential election of 1800 -- these are only the most prominent of the period's many crises, each one raising serious questions about the survival and character of the national government and its relationship to the body politic.
-
-
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival. -
A bitter partisan battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson
-
deadlock in the House revealed a constitutional defect.
-
tested the new nation's durability
-
talk of disunion and civil war, and indeed, two states began to organize their militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not prevail.
-
envisioning the election as the birth of our modern political system masks the many ways in which it was distinctly not modern
-
events were far more uncertain and crisis-ridden than the idea of a "system" allows; there was no telling what would happen or why
-
every political crisis raising fears of disunion and civil war
-
tense, tenuous political environment produced anxiety, bitterness, and high emotion
-
The United States was new, fragile, shaky, and likely to collapse, a prevailing anxiety that could not help but have an enormous impact on the period's politics.
-
In 1796, with George Washington's retirement, the nation had its first real presidential election, Washington's departure alone prompting many to fear the nation's imminent collapse. The 1797-98 XYZ Affair (prompted by a French attempt to get bribe money from American diplomats), the Quasi-War with France (stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair), the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government), the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts), Fries's Rebellion (a revolt against wartime taxes), and finally, the presidential election of 1800 -- these are only the most prominent of the period's many crises, each one raising serious questions about the survival and character of the national government and its relationship to the body politic.
-
In 1796, with George Washington's retirement, the nation had its first real presidential election, Washington's departure alone prompting many to fear the nation's imminent collapse
-
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06 Sep 11
-
y, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angr
-
John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson,
-
The deadlock in the House revealed a constitutional defect
-
there was even talk of disunion and civil war, and indeed, two states began to organize their militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not prevail.
-
our tendency to view the election of 1800 as a victory for our modern two-party system
-
Viewed in this light -- as a neat and tidy stepping-stone to modern party politics -- the election doesn't seem to merit further analysis.
-
. The Republicans and Federalists were not parties as we now understand them.
-
An institutionalized two-party system would not be accepted for decades to come.
-
In 1800, the American Constitution had been in effect for only eleven years. The national government was still a work-in-progress, a political experiment with no model of comparison in the modern world.
-
The stability and long-term practicability of a republic was likewise a question
-
controversy over the location of the national capital
-
The 1797-98 XYZ Affair (prompted by a French attempt to get bribe money from American diplomats), the Quasi-War with France (stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair), the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government), the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts), Fries's Rebellion (a revolt against wartime taxes), and finally, the presidential election of 1800 --
-
these are only the most prominent of the period's many crises, each one raising serious questions about the survival and character of the national government and its relationship to the body politic.
-
-
05 Sep 11
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson,
-
As a sense of crisis built, there was even talk of disunion and civil war, and indeed, two states began to organize their militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not prevail.
-
Viewed in this light -- as a neat and tidy stepping-stone to modern party politics -- the election doesn't seem to merit further analysis.
-
In 1800, the American Constitution had been in effect for only eleven years.
-
political experiment with no model of comparison in the modern world.
-
every political crisis raising fears of disunion and civil war. This tense, tenuous political environment produced anxiety, bitterness, and high emotion for good reason.
-
the controversy over the location of the national capital and Alexander Hamilton's financial plan convinced many that the Union was not long for this world.
-
In 1794, when western Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay a national whiskey tax, President George Washington called an armed force of 15,000 soldiers to the field.
-
thousands of people gathered in New York City alone, a handful of them reputedly throwing rocks at Alexander Hamilton's head.
-
the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government
-
-
-
Nasty political mud-slinging. Campaign attacks and counterattacks. Personal insults. Outr
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
The unfolding of this crisis tested the new nation's durability.
-
As a sense of crisis built, there was even talk of disunion and civil war, and indeed, two states began to organize their militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not prevail.
-
The Republicans and Federalists were not parties as we now understand them
-
participants operated according to ideas and assumptions very different from our own.
-
In short, the election of 1800 transpired in a world with its own culture and contingencies.
-
The national government was still a work-in-progress, a political experiment with no model of comparison in the modern world
-
. A republic was supposedly superior to its Old World predecessors, but this assumption had yet to be tested.
-
The stability and long-term practicability of a republic was likewise a question, every political crisis raising fears of disunion and civil war.
-
This tense, tenuous political environment produced anxiety, bitterness, and high emotion for good reason.
-
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, the two driving forces behind the Constitution, went to their deaths with the Union's vulnerability on their minds.
-
In 1790, the controversy over the location of the national capital and Alexander Hamilton's financial plan convinced many that the Union was not long for this world.
-
The 1797-98 XYZ Affair (prompted by a French attempt to get bribe money from American diplomats), the Quasi-War with France (stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair), the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government), the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts), Fries's Rebellion (a revolt against wartime taxes), and finally, the presidential election of 1800 --
-
these are only the most prominent of the period's many crises, each one raising serious questions about the survival and character of the national government and its relationship to the body politic.
-
-
03 Sep 10
-
02 Sep 10
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival. A bitter partisan battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson, it produced a tie between Jefferson and his Republican running mate, Aaron Burr -
The unfolding of this crisis tested the new nation's durability. The deadlock in the House revealed a constitutional defect. It also pushed partisan rivalry to an extreme, inspiring a host of creative and far-reaching electoral ploys. As a sense of crisis built, there was even talk of disunion and civil war, and indeed, two states began to organize their militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not prevail.
-
-
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
-
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival
-
In short, the election of 1800 transpired in a world with its own culture and contingencies
-
-
-
presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden
-
tter partisan battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson
-
-
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival. A bitter partisan battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson, it produced a tie between Jefferson and his Republican running mate, Aaron Burr;
-
-
-
angry, dirty, crisis-ridden
-
-
-
As much as this seems to describe our pending presidential contest, it actually describes an election more than two hundred years past.
-
A bitter partisan battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson
-
And yours truly examines the election as a prime example of the period's political culture
-
Federalist Adams handed the presidency to Republican Jefferson, a new regime took command, and the nation endured
-
participants operated according to ideas and assumptions very different from our own. In short, the election of 1800 transpired in a world with its own culture and contingencies.
-
The national government was still a work-in-progress, a political experiment with no model of comparison in the modern world
-
: instead they were viewed as illicit groups of self-interested men intent on winning power and position in the next election.
-
The United States was new, fragile, shaky, and likely to collapse, a prevailing anxiety that could not help but have an enormous impact on the period's politics.
-
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, the two driving forces behind the Constitution,
-
when western Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay a national whiskey tax, President George Washington called an armed force of 15,000 soldiers to the field.
-
the lackluster Jay Treaty with Britain provoked angry public protests around the nation; thousands of people gathered in New York City alone, a handful of them reputedly throwing rocks at Alexander Hamilton's head
-
prompting many to fear the nation's imminent collapse.
-
-
-
Political parties were not an accepted part of this picture: instead they were viewed as illicit groups of self-interested men intent on winning power and position in the next election.
-
-
-
The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
-
battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson
-
Aaron Burr;
-
The unfolding of this crisis tested the new nation's durability. The deadlock in the House revealed a constitutional defect. It also pushed partisan rivalry to an extreme, inspiring a host of creative and far-reaching electoral ploys.
-
here was even talk of disunion and civil war, and indeed, two states began to organize their militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not prevail.
-
the influence of slavery on Jefferson's politics,
-
800 as a victory for our modern two-party system -- the first such victory in American national politics.
-
in 1800, there was no modern party system. The Republicans and Federalists were not parties
-
-
-
presidential election of 1800
-
A bitter partisan battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson, it produced a tie between Jefferson and his Republican running mate, Aaron Burr; a deadlock in the House where the tie had to be broken
-
The deadlock in the House revealed a constitutional defect. It also pushed partisan rivalry to an extreme, inspiring a host of creative and far-reaching electoral ploys
-
Federalist Adams handed the presidency to Republican Jefferson, a new regime took command, and the nation endured. Viewed in this light -- as a neat and tidy stepping-stone to modern party politics -- the election doesn't seem to merit further analysis.
-
An institutionalized two-party system would not be accepted for decades to come. And events were far more uncertain and crisis-ridden than the idea of a "system" allows; there was no telling what would happen or why.
-
In 1800, the American Constitution had been in effect for only eleven years. The national government was still a work-in-progress, a political experiment with no model of comparison in the modern world. A republic was supposedly superior to its Old World predecessors, but this assumption had yet to be tested.
-
The United States was new, fragile, shaky, and likely to collapse, a prevailing anxiety that could not help but have an enormous impact on the period's politics.
-
In 1793, the inflammatory activities of "Citizen" Edmond Genet threatened to spread French revolutionary fervor to American shores, prompting even Francophile Republicans to abandon his cause.
-
In 1794, when western Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay a national whiskey tax, President George Washington called an armed force of 15,000 soldiers to the field
-
1796, with George Washington's retirement, the nation had its first real presidential election, Washington's departure alone prompting many to fear the nation's imminent collapse.
-
1797-98 XYZ Affair (prompted by a French attempt to get bribe money from American diplomats), the Quasi-War with France (stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair),
-
-
-
Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson, it produced a tie between Jefferson and his Republican running mate, Aaron Burr
-
As a sense of crisis built, there was even talk of disunion and civil war, and indeed, two states began to organize their militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not prevail.
-
The Republicans and Federalists were not parties as we now understand them
-
Political parties were not an accepted part of this picture: instead they were viewed as illicit groups of self-interested men intent on winning power and position in the next election
-
. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, the two driving forces behind the Constitution, went to their deaths with the Union's vulnerability on their minds. Both men wrote final pleas for its preservation on the eve of their demise, Madison composing a memorandum entitled "Advice to My Country," and Hamilton writing one last letter on the night before his duel with Aaron Burr, urging a friend to fight against the "Dismemberment of our Empire.
-
1 Indeed, Hamilton fought the duel in part to preserve his reputation for that future time when the Republic would collapse and his leadership would be in demand
-
Witness the period's political chronology. In 1790, the controversy over the location of the national capital and Alexander Hamilton's financial plan convinced many that the Union was not long for this world. In 1792, partisan conflict exploded into the newspapers, threatening, as George Washington put it, to "tare the [federal] Machine asunder."4 In 1793, the inflammatory activities of "Citizen" Edmond Genet threatened to spread French revolutionary fervor to American shores, prompting even Francophile Republicans to abandon his cause. In 1794, when western Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay a national whiskey tax, President George Washington called an armed force of 15,000 soldiers to the field.5 In 1795, the lackluster Jay Treaty with Britain provoked angry public protests around the nation; thousands of people gathered in New York City alone, a handful of them reputedly throwing rocks at Alexander Hamilton's head. In 1796, with George Washington's retirement, the nation had its first real presidential election, Washington's departure alone prompting many to fear the nation's imminent collapse. The 1797-98 XYZ Affair (prompted by a French attempt to get bribe money from American diplomats), the Quasi-War with France (stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair), the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government), the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts), Fries's Rebellion (a revolt against wartime taxes), and finally, the presidential election of 1800 -- these are only the most prominent of the period's many crises, each one raising serious questions about the survival and character of the national government and its relationship to the body politic.
-
-
-
angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest
-
Republican Thomas Jefferson
-
Federalist John Adams
-
Aaron Burr
-
Jefferson's election
-
constitutional realities
-
political culture
-
influence of slavery
-
victory for our modern two-party system
-
In fact, in 1800, there was no modern party system
-
illicit groups of self-interested men intent on winning power and position in the next election
-
controversy over the location of the national capital
-
Alexander Hamilton's financial plan
-
In 1794, when western Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay a national whiskey tax, President George Washington called an armed force of 15,000 soldiers to the field
-
Jay Treaty with Britain
-
The 1797-98 XYZ Affair (prompted by a French attempt to get bribe money from American diplomats), the Quasi-War with France (stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair), the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government), the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts), Fries's Rebellion (a revolt against wartime taxes), and finally, the presidential election of 1800
-
-
Connor Delaney"In 1790, the controversy over the location of the national capital and Alexander Hamilton's financial plan convinced many that the Union was not long for this world. In 1792, partisan conflict exploded into the newspapers, threatening, as George Washington put it, to "tare the [federal] Machine asunder."4 In 1793, the inflammatory activities of "Citizen" Edmond Genet threatened to spread French revolutionary fervor to American shores, prompting even Francophile Republicans to abandon his cause. In 1794, when western Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay a national whiskey tax, President George Washington called an armed force of 15,000 soldiers to the field.5 In 1795, the lackluster Jay Treaty with Britain provoked angry public protests around the nation; thousands of people gathered in New York City alone, a handful of them reputedly throwing rocks at Alexander Hamilton's head. In 1796, with George Washington's retirement, the nation had its first real presidential election, Washington's departure alone prompting many to fear the nation's imminent collapse. The 1797-98 XYZ Affair (prompted by a French attempt to get bribe money from American diplomats), the Quasi-War with France (stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair), the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government), the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts), Fries's Rebellion (a revolt against wartime taxes), and finally, the presidential election of 1800 -- these are only the most prominent of the period's many crises, each one raising serious questions about the survival and character of the national government and its relationship to the body politic.
HOME 1 | 2 | CONTINUE
"-
Nasty political mud-slinging. Campaign attacks and counterattacks. Personal insults. Outrageous newspaper invective. Dire predictions of warfare and national collapse. Innovative new forms of politicking capitalizing on a growing technology. As much as this seems to describe our pending presidential contest, it actually describes an election more than two hundred years past.
-
Nasty political mud-slinging. Campaign attacks and counterattacks. Personal insults. Outrageous newspaper invective. Dire predictions of warfare and national collapse. Innovative new forms of politicking capitalizing on a growing technology. As much as this seems to describe our pending presidential contest, it actually describes an election more than two hundred years past.
-
Federalist Adams handed the presidency to Republican Jefferson,
-
he Republicans and Federalists were not parties as we now understand them. An institutionalized two-party system would not be accepted for decades to come. And events were far more uncertain and crisis-ridden than the idea of a "system" allows; there was no telling what would happen or why. Similarly, participants operated according to ideas and assumptions very different from our own. In short, the election of 1800 transpired in a world with its own culture and contingencies.
-
Indeed, Hamilton fought the duel in part to preserve his reputation for that future time when the Republic would collapse and his leadership would be in demand.2 Virginian Henry Lee's offhand comment in a 1790 letter to James Madison is a blunt reminder of the tenuous nature of the national Union. "If the government should continue to exist..." Madison wrote in passing, offering evidence of a mindset that is difficult to recapture.3
-
<!-- end main bulid -->In 1790, the controversy over the location of the national capital and Alexander Hamilton's financial plan convinced many that the Union was not long for this world. In 1792, partisan conflict exploded into the newspapers, threatening, as George Washington put it, to "tare the [federal] Machine asunder."4 In 1793, the inflammatory activities of "Citizen" Edmond Genet threatened to spread French revolutionary fervor to American shores, prompting even Francophile Republicans to abandon his cause. In 1794, when western Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay a national whiskey tax, President George Washington called an armed force of 15,000 soldiers to the field.5 In 1795, the lackluster Jay Treaty with Britain provoked angry public protests around the nation; thousands of people gathered in New York City alone, a handful of them reputedly throwing rocks at Alexander Hamilton's head. In 1796, with George Washington's retirement, the nation had its first real presidential election, Washington's departure alone prompting many to fear the nation's imminent collapse. The 1797-98 XYZ Affair (prompted by a French attempt to get bribe money from American diplomats), the Quasi-War with France (stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair), the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government), the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts), Fries's Rebellion (a revolt against wartime taxes), and finally, the presidential election of 1800 -- these are only the most prominent of the period's many crises, each one raising serious questions about the survival and character of the national government and its relationship to the body politic.
HOME 1 | 2 | CONTINUE
<!-- end right --> -
itness the period's political chronology. In 1790, the controversy over the location of the national capital and Alexander Hamilton's financial plan convinced many that the Union was not long for this world. In 1792, partisan conflict exploded into the newspapers, threatening, as George Washington put it, to "tare the [federal] Machine asunder."4 In 1793, the inflammatory activities of "Citizen" Edmond Genet threatened to spread French revolutionary fervor to American shores, prompting even Francophile Republicans to abandon his cause. In 1794, when western Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay a national whiskey tax, President George Washington called an armed force of 15,000 soldiers to the field.5 In 1795, the lackluster Jay Treaty with Britain provoked angry public protests around the nation; thousands of people gathered in New York City alone, a handful of them reputedly throwing rocks at Alexander Hamilton's head. In 1796, with George Washington's retirement, the nation had its first real presidential election, Washington's departure alone prompting many to fear the nation's imminent collapse. The 1797-98 XYZ Affair (prompted by a French attempt to get bribe money from American diplomats), the Quasi-War with France (stemming from French seizure of American ships and the XYZ Affair), the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government), the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts), Fries's Rebellion (a revolt against wartime taxes), and finally, the presidential election of 1800 -- these are only the most prominent of the period's many crises, each one raising serious questions about the survival and character of the national government and its relationship to the body politic.
-
A bitter partisan battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson, it produced a tie between Jefferson and his Republican running mate, Aaron Burr; a deadlock in the House where the tie had to be broken; an outburst of intrigue and suspicion as Federalists struggled to determine a course of action; Jefferson's election; and Burr's eventual downfall.
-
he presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival
-
-
01 Sep 10
-
As much as this seems to describe our pending presidential contest, it actually describes an election more than two hundred years past.
-
Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson
-
It also pushed partisan rivalry to an extreme, inspiring a host of creative and far-reaching electoral ploys
-
Why so little scholarship? In part, because of our tendency to view the election of 1800 as a victory for our modern two-party system -- the first such victory in American national politics
-
Hamilton fought the duel in part to preserve his reputation for that future time when the Republic would collapse and his leadership would be in demand.
-
Washington's departure alone prompting many to fear the nation's imminent collapse
-
-
-
As much as this seems to describe our pending presidential contest, it actually describes an election more than two hundred years past.
-
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an outburst of intrigue and suspicion as Federalists struggled to determine a course of action; Jefferson's election; and Burr's eventual downfall.
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The unfolding of this crisis tested the new nation's durability. The deadlock in the House revealed a constitutional defect. It also pushed partisan rivalry to an extreme, inspiring a host of creative and far-reaching electoral ploys. As a sense of crisis built, there was even talk of disunion and civil war, and indeed, two states began to organize their militias to seize the government if Jefferson did not prevail.
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he first such victory in American national politics. As the nation's constitutional framework dictated, Federalist Adams handed the presidency to Republican Jefferson, a new regime took command, and the nation endured
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national government was still a work-in-progress, a political experiment with no model of comparison in the modern world.
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Political parties were not an accepted part of this picture: instead they were viewed as illicit groups of self-interested men intent on winning power and position in the
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The United States was new, fragile, shaky, and likely to collapse, a prevailing anxiety that could not help but have an enormous impact on the period's politics
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The presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
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battle between Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson
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Federalist Adams handed the presidency to Republican Jefferson, a new regime took command, and the nation endured.
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This is not to say that the calm transferal of power from one regime to another is not noteworthy.
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In short, the election of 1800 transpired in a world with its own culture and contingencies.
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. In 1800, the American Constitution had been in effect for only eleven years. The national government was still a work-in-progress, a political experiment with no model of comparison in the modern world. A republic was supposedly superior to its Old World predecessors, but this assumption had yet to be tested. Political parties were not an accepted part of this picture: instead they were viewed as illicit groups of self-interested men intent on winning power and position in the next election.
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Given America's survival for more than two hundred years, it is easy to forget this central political reality of the early Republic: The United States was new, fragile, shaky, and likely to collapse, a prevailing anxiety that could not help but have an enormous impact on the period's politics.
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In 1790, the controversy over the location of the national capital and Alexander Hamilton's financial plan convinced many that the Union was not long for this world.
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In 1793, the inflammatory activities of "Citizen" Edmond Genet threatened to spread French revolutionary fervor to American shores, prompting even Francophile Republicans to abandon his cause. In 1794, when western Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay a national whiskey tax, President George Washington called an armed force of 15,000 soldiers to the field.5 In 1795, the lackluster Jay Treaty with Britain provoked angry public protests around the nation; thousands of people gathered in New York City alone, a handful of them reputedly throwing rocks at Alexander Hamilton's head. In 1796, with George Washington's retirement, the nation had its first real presidential election, Washington's departure alone prompting many to fear the nation's imminent collapse.
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he 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts (wartime measures to deport threatening aliens and silence attacks on the government), the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (recommending that state governments interpose their authority over the Alien and Sedition Acts), Fries's Rebellion (a revolt against wartime taxes), and finally, the presidential election of 1800 -
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presidential election of 1800 was an angry, dirty, crisis-ridden contest that seemed to threaten the nation's very survival.
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battle betwee
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Federalist John Adams and Republican Thomas Jefferson
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