Chapter 15
From disagreements over going to war with France, the Alien and Sedition Acts, and increasing debts, the Federalist Party lost much of the momentum they had gained leading up to the election of 1800. They resorted to mudslinging during the presidential election, accusing Jefferson of everything from thievery to atheism. These tactics backfired, and the Federalists were swept from both the presidency and Congress. Although Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams in the popular vote, he tied in the Electoral College with fellow Democratic-Republican Party member Aaron Burr. It was then up to the House of Representatives to decide who would take the presidency. Still in control of the House, the Federalists debated for four days over the issue. At the urging of Alexander Hamilton, who had long opposed Burr in New York politics and found him to be “without scruple,” the House chose Thomas Jefferson as the third president of the United States.
This election was significant because it exposed weaknesses in the recently agreed upon political infrastructure of the nation. First, it showed that the construction of the Electoral College, which allowed electors to vote for two candidates, would not work as intended in an environment with organized parties. Second, the outcome of the election was heavily affected by the three-fifths clause; historians argue that a direct election would have resulted in Adams’s victory.
In his first inaugural address, Jefferson stated, “We are all Republicans; we are all Federalists.” Jefferson understood that ideology could interfere with the decisions that needed to be made for the betterment of the nation. In this way, Jefferson’s presidency was paradoxical: in some cases, he adhered to the letter of the Constitution, while at other times, he adopted a loose interpretation. For example, he kept many of the hallmarks of the Federalist Era intact (such as Hamilton’s economic system), but he had the citizenship requirement of the Alien Act reduced to five years and abolished the excise tax. With any decision, he argued that the actions he took were for the good of the nation.