1. Election of 1800: The rise of political parties caused flaws
in the electoral college
Parties (caucuses) chose their candidates and electors
would vote for them
Federalists
Adams--Pres---65
Hamilton---VP
Democratic Republicans
Jefferson---Pres.---73
Burr---VP----73
2. Led to a tie between Jefferson and Burr---- the House of
Representatives chose Jefferson
3. To eliminate future problems -12th Amendment passed: Requires electors to specify
which person they want for President and VP on separate
ballots so there cannot be a tie
electoral
college
1800 Election Results
Adams
Jefferson
1800 Election Results
(16 states in the Union)
Thomas Jefferson
Virginia
DemocraticRepublican
73
52.9%
Aaron Burr
New York
DemocraticRepublican
73
52.9%
John Adams
Massachusetts
Federalist
65
47.1%
Charles Pinckney
South Carolina
Federalist
64
46.4%
John Jay
New York
Federalist
1
0.7%
Total Number of Electors
138
Total Electoral Votes Cast
276
Number of Votes for a
Majority
70
1800 Election Results
(Into the House of Representatives!!)
 1 vote for each State 
Thomas Jefferson
Virginia
Democratic-Republican
10
62.5%
Aaron Burr
New York
Democratic-Republican
4
25.0%
Blank
-------
2
12.5%
John Adams
Federalist
Thomas Jefferson
Democratic/Republican
Significance of Election of 1800
• peaceful transfer of power from one
political party to another
• “revolutionary” achievement
• “We are all Republicans, we are all
Federalists” - T. Jefferson
• Election of 1808: James Madison
(president from 1809-1817)
• Election of 1816: James Monroe
(president from 1817-1825)
• The election of 1824…
The Candidates in 1824
Henry Clay John Quincy Adams
[KY]
[MA]
William H. Crawford
[GA]
John C. Calhoun
[SC]
The Election of 1824
•Even with Jackson
winning the popular vote,
he needed to win the
electoral vote as well.
•There were 261 total
261 total electoral votes; a candidate
needed 131 to win the
electoral
electoral vote and the
votes and
election.
131 needed
•Since no candidate
to win
received a majority of
electoral votes, the election
went to the House of
Representatives to chose
the president.
•John Q. Adams was
chosen.
Election of 1824
• The election of 1824 is an important transition in American politics
– The collapse of the Federalist Party after the War of 1812
– No opposition party in this election - all candidates who wanted to
succeed Monroe claimed to be Democratic-Republicans
– The issues between the old parties (Federalists, DemocraticRepublicans) had disappeared or become less important
• Factions developed in the Democratic-Republican Party itself
– These splits tended to be sectional
– Differences in views focused on national issues like slavery, the tariff,
banking, and public land policy
• No political party system functioned in this election
– Lack of an opposition party eventually led to the development of a
new two-party system in the U.S.
Election of 1824
• Four crucial elements of our current electoral
system were highlighted in this election
– The nomination of candidates
– The popular election of electors
– The Electoral College
– The election of the president in the House of
Representatives when no candidate receives a
majority in the Electoral College
New parties
AFTER ELECTION OF 1824
JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY
The political world changed during the ‘new democracy’. Two new
political parties emerged -
NATIONAL REPUBLICANS
• Adams, Clay, and Webster
• strong national government
• favored the Bank of the US,
tariffs, industry, public schools,
and moral reforms such as
prohibition of liquor and
abolition of slavery
• the best or the privileged
(elites) should run the gov’t
DEMOCRATS
• Jackson and Calhoun
• believed in states rights and
federal restraint in economic and
social affairs
• favored the liberty of the
individual and were fiercely on
guard against the elite
dominating the government
• want to protect the common
man
Election of 1828
Jackson and J. Q. Adams ran
against each other for the
presidency
One anti-Jackson newspaper declared,
“General Jackson’s mother was a common
prostitute, brought to this country by the
British soldiers! She, afterwards married a
mulatto man with whom she had several
children, of which one was Andrew Jackson.”
•Anti-Adams people accused
him of hiring a servant girl for
a visiting Russian ambassador
•Adams was accused of
gambling in the White House
•One of the worst elections in US history for its “mudslinging”
•As a result of this, Jackson’s wife Rachel died of a heart attack just
before he became President…He blamed Adams and Clay and never
forgave them…..
The Election of 1828
•Why such a
difference between the
election of 1824 and
1828?
261 total
electoral votes
and 131
electoral votes
to win
•Population shifted to
western states and the
South, which gave the
‘common man’ more
political power
•More men voted in
1828 -- why?
•Property restrictions and
education requirement
dropped
•Jackson appealed to the
‘common man’ because he
was like them
The Election of 1824
•Election
of 1824,
355,817
voted.
The Election of 1828
•Election
1828,
1,155,350
voted.
1790
WMA 21 yrs. old, educated
and property owner…….
voting
Several states would drop
property qualifications and
education…….
1790 to 1828
Caucus---small group of individuals
who would choose a candidate
1828 to 1900
Convention---members from the
political parties nominate a candidate.
Eliminated, “King Caucus”
Current System Used
Direct Primary---allow registered voters
to participate in choosing a candidate
Which of these would be the most democratic way
to nominate a candidate for your party to run
against the opposition party for public office?
Questions
1. Why was the election of 1824 decided in the
House of Representatives?
2. Who were the candidates in 1824?
3. How did John Quincy Adams win the election
in 1824?
4. By the time of the 1828 election, how had
the franchise (the right to vote) changed in
the U.S.?
5. Is it likely that newly enfranchised voters
would have different concerns from those
who had already been voting? Due to what
factors? Explain your answer.