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Bill of Rights Constitutional Rights in Action Foundation FALL 2016 Volume 32 N o 1 s n o m m o

THE TROUBLED C a i d e m i k i

ELECTIONS OF W 1796 AND 1800 won the first two U.S. presidential elec - tions without being challenged. When he decided not to run for a third term in 1796, intense rivalries, political disputes, and attempted manipulations of the Electoral College came into play. These factors would again affect the 1800 election, essentially a rematch of 1796, pitting a sitting president, , against his own vice president, . The men who drafted, debated, and approved the Constitution, known as the Framers, had envisioned the presidency as a position above regional and political disputes . They understood that disagree - John Adams, painted by John Trumbull circa 1792, and Thomas ments were inevitable in a democracy. But they also saw Jefferson, painted by Charles Wilson Peale in 1791. the president ’s role as a conciliator who tried to bring as a country of small farmers and artisans empowered people together despite their disagreements . with the right to vote. Republicans (not connected to George Washington exempliXed the Framers ’ view. today ’s Republican Party) formed around the leadership He deplored factions , or competing political groups in of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. government, which he believed to be selXsh special in - In foreign affairs, the two parties also split. Federal - terests that opened “the door to foreign inYuence and ists favored close ties with Great Britain, the North ’s corruption .” He disapproved of political parties. major trading partner. Republicans favored close ties Despite Washington ’s disapproval, two political par - with France. As ambassador to France, Jefferson had ties emerged during his two presidential terms, the Fed - witnessed and secretly aided the French Revolution , but eralist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party . The left before it resulted in mass executions . Federalists believed in a strong central government , a In 1795, the United States and Great Britain signed a right to vote limited to men with property, and the eco - treaty that favored but refused to compen - nomic policies of the Xrst Secretary of the Treasury , sate southern states for slaves taken by the British during . Hamilton advocated that the fed - the American Revolution. The treaty angered Republicans eral government should assume the states ’ Revolutionary and the French, who felt betrayed after having supported War debts. He also advocated for the establishment of a the Americans during the Revolutionary War. national bank and policies that aided manufacturers in New England and New York City . The 1796 Election The Democratic-Republicans (aka Republicans) ad - With Washington ’s voluntary retirement, the presi - vocated for a limited central government and strength - dency was open to competitors from both parties in the ened rights of states. They envisioned the United States Xrst contested presidential election . Federalists charged

POLITICAL STRATEGIES This edition of Bill of Rights in Action looks at how leaders use strategic means to gain power, maintain power, and effect justice. The first article examines behind-the-scenes schemes and strategies in early U.S. presidential elections. The second article looks at the ways in which Cyrus the Great presaged modern ideas of tolerance to maintain order. The third article explores the pros and cons of how the U.S. could build economic power through the Trans-Pacific Partnership. U.S. History: The Troubled Elections of 1796 and 1800 by guest writer Patrick Jenning World History: Cyrus the Great and the Creation of the Persian Empire by longtime contributor Carlton Martz Economics: Free Trade, Globalization, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership by Carlton Martz

© 2016, Constitutional Rights Foundation, Los Angeles. All Constitutional Rights Foundation materials and publications, including Bill of Rights in Action , are protected by copyright. However, we hereby grant to all recipients a license to reproduce all material contained herein for distribution to students, other school site personnel, and district administrators. (ISSN: 1534-9799) s that Republicans ’ advocacy of democracy would bring s e r g on mob rule, like the French Revolution . Republicans be - n o C lieved Federalists really wanted to establish a monarchy. f o y r

In this tense atmosphere, Article Two of the Consti - a r b i tution deXned how the president was to be chosen. It L created the Electoral College, whose members (electors) would vote for the president. Each state was given a number of electors equal to the total of its congressmen. Article Two also stated: The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each . . . and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate . . . . The states were free to determine how the electors were chosen . For example , seven states allowed qualiXed voters to choose electors, whether in a district-by-district or state-wide popular vote. In other states, the legislature chose electors. Twelve candidates in all from the two parties ran for president. Unlike today, in 1796 there was no such thing In this 1800 political cartoon, the eye of God is shown directing the as a president ’s “running mate .” Instead, the candidate American eagle to snatch the Constitution from Jefferson's hands. receiving a majority of the votes nationally was elected Jefferson is shown kneeling at an "Altar to Gallic Despotism" ("Gal - president, while the person with the second highest vote lic" means "French"). The "Mazzei" letter refers to an infamous let - count became vice president. ter in 1796 in which Jefferson called Washington "monarchical." Which political party would have issued this cartoon? And why? Each party did have an intended presidential candi - date, which was Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson for the Republicans and Vice President John Adams for the Hamilton, too, had his own scheme. He preferred Federalists. All candidates ran for president, but each Pinckney over Adams for president on his own also had an intended vice president, which was Party ticket. Adams, he thought, was too moderate in for the Republicans and Thomas Pinckney his Federalist views. And he thought Pinckney would for the Federalists. As stated in Article Two, each elec - be more likely to reward him with political favors. tor had two ballots (votes) to cast and did not have to The problem for Hamilton was the Federalists ’ strat - indicate which ballot was for president nor which was egy. They decided that if each New England elector used for vice president . one vote for Adams, while each southern elector used Because of this process, the only way either of the par - one vote for Pinckney, then the Xnal tally would have ties could ensure that their favored candidate for president Adams as president with Pinckney as vice president. won the election was to have some electors withhold or Hamilton therefore persuaded some Federalist elec - not cast their second ballots. They would have all the re - tors in to withhold second ballots from spective party ’s electors use their Xrst ballots for the in - Adams . Hamilton wanted them to tip the vote tally in tended presidential candidate. Most, but not all, electors favor of their fellow South Carolinian, Pinckney . would then use their second ballots for the intended vice Adams had been informed about Hamilton ’s presidential candidate. The goal was that just enough elec - scheme, however, and was angry. Electors in New Eng - tors would withhold their second ballots from the intended land who favored Adams countered Hamilton ’s plot by vice president to ensure second place for that candidate . withholding their second ballots for Pinckney. As a re - The parties ’ respective plans failed. Electors all met sult, Adams won the election with 71 electoral votes to in their states on the same day to vote, but each state ’s Jefferson ’s 68. Pinckney Xnished third . electors were also separated from all the other states ’ It was clear to many in public life that Article Two ’s electors by hundreds of miles. There were no telephones procedure was Yawed. For the Xrst and only time in U.S. or Internet, of course, so immediate communication in history, a president and vice president each came from order to coordinate the withholding of second ballots different political parties. In 1800, the Yaws would have was impossible . even more serious consequences.

2 U.S. HISTORY BRIA 32:1 (Fall 2016) The Adams Presidency party ’s leader are obscure, some saw it as an attempt to During the four years of the Adams presidency, ten - undercut Adams in favor of Charles Pinckney. sions between the Federalists and the Republicans Jefferson also found himself attacked by Federalists mounted, in large part because of their differences over who called him a coward for Yeeing the governor ’s U.S. relations with two warring foreign powers, France mansion during the Revolutionary War. Federalist news - and Great Britain. papers also condemned Jefferson for having once writ - In July 1798, French warships seized U .S. merchant ten “it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there ships in international waters, and a naval conYict began are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket between France and the United States. Republicans were nor breaks my leg. ” The Federalists used this as proof openly critical of the war. Federalists, led by Hamilton , re - that he was an atheist. At this point, it seemed that the acted to the criticism with a series of laws known as the only thing the two presidential candidates agreed on . was their hatred of Hamilton. The Sedition Act was used to silence and imprison op - As the long election year wore on, political maneu - ponents of the Adams administration. Jefferson and the vering continued with some state legislatures switching Republicans denounced the law as unconstitutional and from direct popular voting for electors to legislative se - the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky passed resolu - lection in order to gain advantage for the candidate the tions against it. The Kentucky resolution, secretly com - state legislature supported. posed by Jefferson, proclaimed the right of states to nullify, A Surprise Deadlock or reject, acts by the federal government that states con - In early December, the electors cast their ballots in sidered to be unconstitutional . their separate states. While the formal counting of bal - In private letters, Jefferson even suggested secession lots would not take place until February in the new cap - from the union as a proper response to the Sedition Act . ital of Washington , D.C., it was generally acknowledged Hamilton, who became head of the Army after Wash - that the Republicans had won the presidency . Unfortu - ington ’s death in 1799, advocated using the Army to nately, none of the Republican electors had withheld a “put Virginia to the Test of resistance. ” vote for Burr as expected , so the two Republican candi - The 1800 Election dates, Jefferson and Burr, tied at 73, thus making the Because each state was free to determine the time election unresolved . an d method for choosing its electors to the Electoral Col - On February 11, 1801, Vice President Jefferson ofX - lege, the election of 1800 lasted from April until Decem - cially tallied the votes . The Constitution stated that ber . New York was Xrst to vote . There, Aaron Burr when two candidates tied , the House of Representatives consolidated support for the Republican Party among the must choose between them. Each state could cast one voters of New York City to gain control of the state leg - vote, and it was up to the legislators to decide who islature . The legislature, which in 1796 had favored would be president and who would be vice president . Adams, in turn promptly selected 12 electors favorable to While Burr indicated publicly that Jefferson should Jefferson and Burr . become president , he quietly campaigned among Fed - Burr ’s services were rewarded in June when Re - eralists to win the presidency for himself. Some Feder - publicans selected him to run as Jefferson ’s vice presi - alists even reasoned that Burr, a northerner, might be dent . About the same time, Federalists nominated induced to betray the Republicans and join the Federal - Adams for re-election as president and ists if he became president . Thomas Pinckney’s brother , Charles In 1800, the Caws Hamilton, however, while detest - of South Carolina , for vice president. ing Jefferson, viewed Burr as a danger - Both sides viewed the election as would have even more ous, unprincipled man. “His ambition critical to the nation ’s future and en - serious consequences. aims at nothing short of permanent gaged in vicious personal attacks power and wealth in his own person, ” against their opponents . Jefferson Xnanced scurrilous at - he wrote to one Federalist representative. In a letter to an - tacks on his one-time friend , Adams . One Republican other representative, Hamilton wrote that Burr had the newspaper in Massachusetts even referred to the presi - reputation of being “the most unXt man in the U. S. for dent as “bald, blind, crippled, toothless Adams.” the ofXce of President .” Hamilton , too , tried once again to sabotage his fello w The Constitution required the winning candidate to Federalist Adams ’s campaign . First, Hamilton tried to obtain a clear majority of state votes in the House . So advance Secretary of State Charles Pickering as the Fed - the candidates needed nine of the 16 states to win. The eralist presidential nominee. Adams learned of the plot Republicans controlled eight states , and two additional and dismissed Pickering. Then , Hamilton wrote a states were evenly divided between Federalists and Re - scathing pamphlet attacking Adams ’s record and judge - publicans. The Federalists, who had lost the election, ment in ways that delighted Ad ams ’s Republican oppo - controlled only six states, but this was enough to deny nents . While Hamilton ’s motives for this attack on his both Jefferson and Burr the clear majority of nine states.

BRIA 32:1 (Fall 2016) U.S. HISTORY 3 Thus, the Federalists held the key to which Republican The Federalists never again won a presidential elec - leader, Jefferson or Burr, would become president . tion . They disappeared completely after their opposition to Over a week, the House passed 34 ballots . Each the with Great Britain led them to threaten se - time , Jefferson received eight votes and Burr six . The cession of the New England states. Many of their policies Representatives of Vermont and Maryland divided for establishing a strong central government and Xnancial evenly and cast a blank ballot each time to maintain the credit for the United States did last until the present day. majority requirement at nine . Fearful that the impasse Aaron Burr eventually learned of Hamilton ’s attacks might continue past March 4, the date that Adams ’s on his character before and after the winter of 1800. presidency would end , House members suggested nu - While running for governor of New York in 1804, Burr merous schemes for dealing with the crisis, including challenged Hamilton to a duel. In the early morning holding new elections or elevating the president pro tem duel on July 11, Burr shot Hamilton, who died the next of the Senate to the presidency . There was even talk of day from his wound . civil war, and Governor of Virginia con - Adams returned to his home in Massachusetts after templated sending the state militia to the capitol if Jef - losing the 1800 election and never again ran for ofXce. ferson was denied the presidency . Jefferson and Adams, who had been close friends for Finally, on the 35 th ballot, the impasse was broken. years before they parted ways during the two elections James Bayard, the sole representative from Delaware, they contested, would regain their friendship late in life. claimed he had received assurances from Jefferson ’s al - Both died on the same day, July 4, 1826, 50 years to the lies that Jefferson would continue many Federalist poli - day after the Declaration of Independence was signed . cies. Bayard announced that he would abstain from voting, lowering the total state count to 15 states, chang - WRITING & DISCUSSION ing the majority needed for election from nine to eight . 1. In his 1796 Farewell Address , President Washington After much debate, several Federalist legislators fol - warned the American people about the dangers of lowed Bayard ’s lead . Jefferson won 10 states, a clear ma - political parties. He described the desire for one jority . Burr, then, became vice president. Bayard ’s claim party to dominate another in politics as a “frightful that he had struck a deal with Jefferson would be debated despotism” leading to “a more formal and perma - for years . As president, however, Jefferson did not chal - nent despotism.” Do you agree? Why or why not? lenge Hamilton ’s Xnancial programs, remove Federalist Use evidence from the article in your answer. appointees from ofXce, or eliminate the Navy — three 2. If you lived in 1800, which of the two parties would provisions Hamilton had given to Bayard and other Fed - have appealed to you more? Use evidence from the eralists for bargaining with Jefferson . article to support your opinion. Legacy 3. Federalists attacked Jefferson’s unorthodox religious views. Democratic-Republicans attacked Adams’s Jefferson referred to the election of 1800 as the appearance and age. Hamilton called Burr a “dis - “Revolution of 1800. ” Not only had political power grace.” Is it fair for political candidates to attack their transferred peacefully from one party to another, but opponents’ characters, or should they focus on po - the victory of the more democratic Republican Party litical disagreements? Why or why not? foreshadowed the expansion of voting rights in the 4. Are political parties necessary in a democracy, or do coming years. Jefferson was re-elected in 1804, de - they create needless conYict? feating Charles Pinckney, who would run and lose again in 1808, this time to .

ACTIVITY: Amending Article Two In the elections of 1796 and 1800, the Electoral College process caused some confusion in the election of the pres - ident and vice president. The year is 1801. You are a member of the House of Representatives. You and your fellow legislators want to amend Article Two of the Constitution to correct the problems of the Electoral College . 1. Meet in a committee of Xve legislators. Review and discuss the process and problems of the elections of 1796 and 1800 as described in the reading. 2. Decide as a committee how you would want to Xx the problems with Article Two and the Electoral College. Draft an amendment to present to other members of the House of Representatives. Choose a spokesperson for your committee. 3. Committees will take turns sharing their draft amendments with the House and their reasons for their amendment. 4. After all committees have presented, the House will discuss and then vote on which draft amendment they want to accept. If two-thirds accept it, it passes in the House. (Teachers, once the class has completed the activity, show them the 12th Amendment (1804) and discuss how it addressed the problems of the Electoral College.)

4 U.S. HISTORY BRIA 32:1 (Fall 2016)