Election of 1800 and Today

Election of 1800 and Today

Open Ended

Image someone you hate.

Now, imagine you needed their help to win a really valuable prize. What would you say to them to get them to help you?

FLASHBACK

• President Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts into law

• These Acts were widely hated and seen as unconstitutional

• The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (Secretly written by Jefferson and Madison) attacked the Acts, calling for states to nullify them

• Jefferson and Adams, former friends, are now bitter political rivals

Multiple Select

Review: Which part(s) of the 1^st Amendment did the Alien and Sedition Acts violate?

• Freedom of Religion

• Freedom of Speech

• Freedom of the Press

• Freedom to Petition/Protest

• Freedom to Gather

1800....Election Time!

• Adams decides to run for re-election as the Federalist Party Candidate

• Jefferson, leading the Republican Party, runs against him

• SUMMARY of Adam's campaign: "Vote for me because I'm better than you"

• SUMMARY of Jefferson's campaign: "Vote for me, I am not John Adams"

PLOT TWIST!

• FLASHBACK: "The electoral college had each elector cast a vote for their 1^st choice and 2^nd choice"

• To ensure that their President and Vice President Candidates won, one elector from each party was supposed to not cast a 2^nd choice vote

PLOT TWIST!

Adams and Pinckney lost, but.......

The Republican elector forgot to not cast his 2^nd choice vote

​

Now Jefferson and Burr are tied!

Multiple Choice

What happens if the elector votes in a presidential election result in a tie/do not grant a candidate a majority?

• We re-vote in a special election

• We let the electoral college vote again

• Congress votes, with one vote being cast by each state

• The Governors Choose

• The candidates duel to the death with pool noodles

Congress gets to shine

There were sixteen states, each with one vote; an absolute majority of nine was required for victory.

​

Problem! The Federalists controlled Congress! (and there were no Federalists left in the race!)

Poll

Who would you vote for?

• Aaron Burr

• Thomas Jefferson

Congress gets to shine

• Alexander Hamilton breaks the tie by supporting Thomas Jefferson

• He would much rather have someone with wrong principles than someone devoid of any

• This would later cause a change in how we elect our President (12^th Amendment)

Open Ended

Why is it important to not attack the losing party after an election? Give me your own thoughts.

Inaugural Address

• Acknowledged that the election was very intense and caused much division, and so He called for unity of the American People

• " We are all Federalists, We are all Republicans"

• Announces his Jeffersonian Revolution, a switch to Small Government, shrinking the Government, and States Rights

• Eventually gets the 12th Amendment passed​ (separate votes for Pres. & VP)

Open Ended

Do you think American can ever achieve unity?

Or are we doomed to always be divided by Politics?

(make sure you explain!)