The Election Of 1804: Thomas Jefferson vs. Charles C. Pinckney
Background Info
Before we get into the election itself, let's first talk about some of things that are going on in the country with Thomas Jefferson as the president.
So, Thomas Jefferson was able to squeak out a narrow victory in the election of 1800 against his on and off friend, John Adams and since his accension to the highest office in the land, Jefferson and his Democratic Republicans have begun to dismantle every bit of policy and legislation that the Federalist Party accomplished while at the same token looking to reduce the amount of spending within the government and the size of the military.
Jefferson had also managed to reduce the amount of debt within the country which helped to improve the economy and his able to continue trading with foreign nations, however Jefferson ended breaking one his biggest promises during his presidency which was to limit executive power in the government, and he broke this promise as a result of the Louisiana Purchase.
So needless to say, President Jefferson was hugely popular with many Americans, and he had little opposition when it came to getting the re-nomination by his party but there is one major change when it comes the Democratic Republican ticket and that's Jefferson's VP pick.
Hamilton's Death
Since the controversial conclusion to the contingent election between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson, Burr has reluctantly been working with Jefferson while at the same time having a deep seeded hatred for Alexander Hamilton, the man who cost him the presidency due to Hamilton's persuasion with the House of Representatives.
Hamilton's life meanwhile hasn't been so good either with his constant meddling in the previous presidential elections, his affair with Maria Reynolds who was a married woman and the revelation that this affair led to extortion and blackmailing on Maria and husband's part, badly damaged his reputation in politics.
Ultimately on July 11th, 1804, Aaron Burr dueled with and killed Alexander Hamilton which not only ended the life of the Federalist Party Founder, but it also ended the political career of Aaron Burr who would go to trial for his shooting of Hamilton, but the charges were dropped.
Understandably, Jefferson tried to distant himself from his vice president who he never was fond of anyway and when it came time for the 1804 election, Jefferson chose the former Governor of New York, George Clinton as his new pick for vice president.
The Federalist Party Ticket
With John Adams retiring from politics soon after the election of 1800, the increasing influence the Democratic Republicans had over the country during Jefferson's first term and the death of Alexander Hamilton made the Federalist Party's chances of winning look very bleak.The party nevertheless nominates Charles C. Pinckney as their candidate for president with former New York Senator, Rufus King as his running mate; Pinckney had run for president in the previous elections and even was John Adams' running mate in the election of 1800 in addition to being a former a U.S. Ambassador to France and hero in the Revolutionary War, while Rufus King was a founding father, lawyer and the U.S. Ambassador of Great Britain.
The strategy of the Federalist Party in this election is to see if they can get some Southern votes with Pinckney as the head of ticket while at the same time keeping the majority of states, they had won in 1800 which were hardcore Federalist states. On top of that, they're also criticizing Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana Territories as unconstitutional and bringing up the claims that Jefferson was having an affair with a female slave, he owned by the name of Sally Hemings.
One other thing to mention is that this is the first presidential election to occur after the ratification of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution meaning that the old rule of the person coming in second place in a presidential election becomes the vice president is now null and void.
Going forward in future elections, when people head out to vote they're casting their ballots for both the president and vice president on the same ticket.
So, with all of that said let's take a look at the results.
The Results
Despite the Federalist Party's best efforts at the time, Thomas Jefferson easily gets re-elected to another term as president receiving 162 electoral votes and 72.8% of the popular vote which is not only the highest amount of the popular vote for a re-elected president but also the highest for a presidential candidate since the two-party system began.Charles Pinckney only received 14 electoral votes and 27.2% of the popular vote with Pinckney picking up two states (Connecticut and Delaware); while Jefferson was able to pick up 15 states even the Federalist stronghold state of New England went to Jefferson in this election.
Jefferson's 45.6% margin in the popular vote remains the most lopsided in U.S. election history, not only that but he would become the first of two vice presidents to be elected and re-elected as president.
So that is the election of 1804, a landslide victory for Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans; The Federalist...better luck next time as head into the election of 1808.
The Election of 1800: John Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson
The Election Of 1796
The Election Of 1792
The Election Of 1788-89: The First Election
The Election Of 1788-89: The First Election (blogofwrestling52.blogspot.com)
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