Introduction
The elections of 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams marked one of the most contentious campaigns in the US. Also referred to as the Revolution of 1800 , these elections ushered in a new era of leadership under the rule of Jefferson. It was a hard-fought and emotional election, considering the fact that the two main contestants were once best friends. Even though the incumbent president John Adams was defeated by Jefferson, both individuals acted in the best interests of the nation. The elections realigned the government and ushered in a new generation of party rule under the Republicans. Consequently, this led to the downfall of Adam’s Federalist Party. This election served as a referendum of two distinct visions in the US. The elections of 1800 therefore signified one of the bitterest, fiercely partisan and crisis-ridden residential elections in the history of US.
Adams and Jefferson
John Adams was the first US vice president and its second president whereas Thomas Jefferson was the first US secretary of state, the second vice president and the third president. As the vice president to John Adams, Jefferson had differing ideas regarding the power of the central government ( Mallock, 2016 ). He therefore plotted against President Adams and made his intentions clear when he decided to run for the presidential seat in 1800. This was characterized by negative campaigning strategies, marking one of the most controversial presidential elections in the history of America.
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Whereas Adams was a Federalist, Jefferson was a Democratic Republican who believed in the rule of the people. Adams vouched for a system where the central government had control over all states in the nation. Jefferson on the other hand believed that people, particularly states had the right to govern themselves and as such, the Federal government had to be limited in its power. The contest for the presidential seat was extremely acrimonious to an extent that the outgoing president Adams declined to shake hands and attend the inauguration of President Jefferson ( Beyer, 2004 ). This election was a very big contributor to the spread of a hostile partisanship that ended the first party system by bringing to an end the Federalist Party. It is imperative to note that even though the fight for supremacy brought division among many individuals in the US, the transfer of power was done peacefully as John Adams agreed to bequeath his presidency to his greatest political rival and foe.
Significance of the Election of 1800
The Revolution of 1800 divided Americans into Federalists and Democrats. These two parties had different opinions regarding the role of the nation’s new Federal government. The Federalists advocated for a system where the central government had more power in such a way that everything had to be done from this authority. Democrats on the other hand wanted a system where the central government had limited power over matters of state. According to them, the Federal government only had the right to undertake the responsibilities that had been outlined in the constitution.
Larson (2007) notes that Adams contested for his seat under the Federalists whereas Jefferson contested under the Democratic Republicans. As these two fought against each other’s ideologies, they became political rivals and eventually destroyed their friendship. The Federalists criticized Jefferson for being an un-Christian deist who had compassion for the French Revolution. They argued that if Jefferson won, then the same chaos and bloodshed that was experienced during the revolution would occur again in the US. The Democratic Republicans on the other hand criticized the centralization of the Federal government under President John Adams. Beyer (2004) notes that they specifically protested against the expansion of the nation’s army and navy as well as the introduction of new taxes and profligate expenditure to support the Federal government. In addition to this, they were also against the attacks that were focused on individual rights under the Alien and Sedition Acts. In general, the division in the nation was brought by the differing opinions of the Federalists who wanted to exercise strong Federal authority and restrain the power of the popular majority. This was against the Democratic Federalists who wanted to minimize the Federal authority so that the common citizens could have the chance to have a direct rule over state governments.
During the elections, the Jefferson, under the Democratic Republicans managed to scoop most of the South, including Georgia , Kentucky , South Carolina , Tennessee , and Virginia . President Adams on the other hand captured all the electoral votes in the north east from Vermont, Connecticut Delaware , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , New Jersey and Rhode Island . Aaron Burr secured all the votes from New York whereas the remaining states (North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Maryland) were split among the two rivals ( Mallock, 2016 ). After realizing that there was a high likelihood of recording a tie, the Federalists made arrangements for one of their electors to cast a Ballot for John Jay. All the Democratic Republicans on the other hand voted for Jefferson and Burr. Consequently, Jefferson won the presidential election with 73 votes while Adams had 65. There was, however, a complication since the Republican vice Aaron Burr had also received 73 votes. The election was decided by the House of Representatives who voted in favor of Jefferson.
Jefferson and Adams’ Friendship
The dissolution of the friendship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams in 1800 marked a great turning point in the lives of these two leaders. Both men were once great friends who used to spend personal time with each other together with their families. In their years of professional collaboration, they were famous for drafting the Declaration of Independence. According to Ferling (2004) , the enmity between the two friends started when Adams was president and Jefferson his vice president. This drift was brought as a result of the political indifferences between the two leaders. Each of these individuals believed that the other’s ideologies were betraying the philosophies that were fought for during the Revolutionary War. During his service as the vice president, Jefferson worked with Madison behind Adam’s back to undermine his efforts as the President. In the elections of 1800, Jefferson stood as a running mate against Adams where he managed to win the election. This automatically dissolved the friendship and as such, Adams did not attend Jefferson’s inauguration.
As a Federalist, Adams believed in a system that embraced a strong central government with a national financial (banking) system (The Hamiltonian system) whereas Jefferson held populist beliefs of a decentralized system where there was more autonomy in the states and a weaker influence of the Federal government ( Dunn, 2004 ).The political division between Adam and Jefferson greatly contributed to the rift that was built between them. Their political conflicts of opinion were fundamental to the opposing views about what the two believed was best for their country. Jefferson served for two terms after which he stepped down as the president in 1809. A reconciliation was initiated by Dr. Benjamin Rush, who believed that their friendship could be repaired. His efforts were, however, fruitless over the two years that he tried to persuade both men. It was not until 2012 when they started to write to each other after one of Jefferson’s neighbor who was visiting Adams in Massachusetts provided some overheard information to the former “I always loved Jefferson, and still love him” ( Ferling, 2004 ). From thereon, Adams and Jefferson rekindled their friendship and realized that it was more valuable than their political differences. Both men died hours from each other as friends with a much stronger bond.
Conclusion
From the discussion provided above, it is evident that the elections of 1800 marked the most divisive presidential campaigns in American history. This was the first time that parties were directly involved in presidential campaigns. Both foreign and domestic developments had divided people into two different partisan groups, the Federalists under President John Adams and the Democratic Republicans under Thomas Jefferson. By the time the elections were held in different states, all the members of the congress had aligned themselves to a particular party. To the Federalists, the only way of ensuring that the US was a secure and prosperous nation was to institute a strong centralized government under the leadership of the incumbent President Adams. The Democratic Republicans on the other had advocated for a system where the Federal government had limited control over the authority of states. These differences in opinion between the two former friends brought rivalry and created a drift in their relationship. Their enmity was further magnified after Adams was defeated by Jefferson. These two friends, however, reconciled in 1812 once they realized that friendship was more important that their political inclinations.
References
Beyer, M. (2004). The election of 1800: Congress helps settle a three-way vote . New York: Rosen Pub. Group.
Dunn, S. (2004). Jefferson's second revolution: The election of 1800 and the triumph of republicanism . Boston [u.a.: Houghton Mifflin.
Ferling, J. (2004). Adams vs. Jefferson: The tumultuous election of 1800 . Oxford University Press.
Larson, E. J. (2007). A magnificent catastrophe: the tumultuous election of 1800, America's first presidential campaign . Simon and Schuster.
Mallock, D. L. (2016). Agony and Eloquence: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and a World of Revolution . Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
