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The Election of 1800 Essay

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The election of 1800 was a fight between the democratic-republicans and the federalists party for presidency. It also became the first time in American History where there was a peaceful shift in the political party, from the federalists party to the democratic-republicans party (Jeffersonians). The election of 1800 consists of five candidates, each believing that victory by the other side would ruin their nation. The candidates were, Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson in the democratic-republican party, and John Adams, Charles Pinckney, and John Jay in the federalist party; The major presidential candidate in the election of 1800, were John Adams, running for his second term in office, against his old friend, the democratic-republicans …show more content…

The main result of the election of 1800 was the peaceful transition of political power and the tie between the two democratic-republican candidates, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr with seventy-three votes each. The decision was then to be made by the House of Representatives. Due to Alexander Hamilton's help and persuasion by choosing Thomas Jefferson as the lesser of two evils, the House of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson as president and Aaron Burr as vice president. As a result of the 1800 election, the Congress and the states passed the Twelfth Amendment in 1804 separating the ballots for the president and for the vice president to prevent the same crisis in the future. "[The outcomes of the election] revealed strong sectional divisions (Nash 243).” With only the middle states being challenged choosing between the federalists and democratic-republican. It was clear that New England, New York City, and Philadelphia would support John Adams and his federalist party and ideas, due to their commercial ties with Great Britain. As a result, John Adams and his pro-British views were popular amongst merchants, manufactures, and commercial farmers near the coasts. The South on the other hand, supported Thomas Jefferson and his democratic-republican views. Thomas Jefferson's popularity rose with many old federalists who were artisans and urban workers. Thomas Jefferson planned to change the country by having independent Yeoman farmers.

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