What was the United States presidential election of 1800?

The United States presidential election of 1800 saw Thomas Jefferson , a Democratic-Republican, defeat incumbent John Adams to become the third president. The election exposed a deficiency in presidential election procedures because electors voted for two candidates without specifying which office each should hold. The Federalist candidate, John Adams, was challenged by Thomas Jefferson, who drew on Anti-Federalist opposition. Both Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, received 73 electoral votes, resulting in a tie that was decided by the House of Representatives. The House elected Jefferson as president. The election of 1800 was the first in which power was transferred peacefully between parties. The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1804 as a result of the tie. It required separate votes for president and vice president.

Who were the main candidates in the 1800 election?

In the 1800 election, the main presidential candidates were John Adams representing the Federalist Party, and Thomas Jefferson representing the Democratic-Republican Party. Each party also nominated a vice-presidential candidate: Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (Federalist) and Aaron Burr (Democratic-Republican). In 1800, electors voted for two people without specifying which one should be president or vice president. The candidate with the most votes would become president, and the runner-up would become vice president. This system led to an electoral tie between Jefferson and Burr, which was ultimately resolved in the House of Representatives, resulting in Jefferson becoming President.

Why was the election of 1800 considered important in U.S. history?

The United States presidential election of 1800 holds significant importance in U.S. history because it was the first election that resulted in a change of government through a general election and a contest between political parties. The election exposed critical deficiencies in the presidential election process, as Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr of the Democratic-Republican party received the same number of electoral votes. The election ultimately went to the House of Representatives, which chose Jefferson as president. This outcome led to the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804, which required electors to cast separate ballots for president and vice president.

How was the winner of the 1800 election decided?

The 1800 presidential election between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams resulted in a tie in the Electoral College, where Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr each received 73 votes. According to the rules at the time, a tie was decided in the House of Representatives, where each of the 16 states would cast a single vote. Most Federalists wanted to support Burr over Jefferson. However, Alexander Hamilton , a Federalist and opponent of Burr, helped sway support for Jefferson. After 36 ballots, several Federalists abstained, giving Jefferson a majority of 10 states to 4, and he was elected president. This election led to the Twelfth Amendment in 1804, which mandated separate ballots for president and vice president.

What challenges or problems occurred during the election process?

The United States presidential election of 1800 encountered significant challenges due to the rise of political parties and unclear constitutional guidelines. The Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties sought to unite their electors, but a flaw in the system—electors cast two ballots without specifying which was for president and which for vice president—led to a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. This tie threw the election to the House of Representatives, then controlled by the Federalists. Federalists, disliking Jefferson, considered supporting Burr. After 36 ballots, Jefferson was elected when some Federalists abstained. The election exposed a serious deficiency in presidential election procedures and served as a catalyst for the Twelfth Amendment in 1804, which mandated separate ballots for president and vice president.

How did the election of 1800 change the U.S. presidential election system?

The United States presidential election of 1800 exposed critical flaws in the original electoral college system. Each elector cast two votes without differentiating between presidential and vice presidential candidates. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr of the Democratic-Republicans received an equal number of votes, leading to a tie. To prevent future deadlocks, the Twelfth Amendment was ratified in 1804, requiring electors to cast separate votes for president and vice president. This constitutional change ensured that the top candidate for president would be chosen by the House of Representatives, using a one-vote-per-state rule, from the top three recipients of electoral votes.

United States presidential election of 1800

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Portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Gilbert Stuart, showing Jefferson with white hair, a white ruffled shirt, and a dark coat against a neutral background.

Portrait painting by Gilbert Stuart of John Adams, shown seated and facing forward, wearing a dark coat and white cravat against a plain brown background.

Thematic map of the eastern United States showing the results of the 1800 presidential election, with states shaded in blue for Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican) and yellow for John Adams (Federalist). Electoral vote totals for each state are displayed, alongside a table listing the number of electoral votes each candidate received by state. An explanatory note describes the pre-12th Amendment process, where the top vote-getter became president and the runner-up became vice president.

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Location:: United States

Key People:: John Adams; Aaron Burr; John Jay; Thomas Jefferson; Charles Cotesworth Pinckney

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United States presidential election of 1800

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At a glance: the election of 1800

The electoral college vote

Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson, oil on wood by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1821; in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 66 × 54.5 cm.

The Framers had viewed political parties with suspicion, but by the 1790s party politics had taken root—and with it the interests of party organizations began to exert influence. In 1796 the Federalist Party supported John Adams for president, but it split its vote such that Jefferson, the Democratic-Republican candidate, earned the second greatest number of votes, thereby securing the post of vice president (electors cast two ballots originally without designating a presidential or vice presidential choice). Adams thus governed during his presidency with the leader of the opposition as his vice president.

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The White House in Washington, D.C., USA. The north portico which faces Pennsylvania Avenue.

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U.S. Pres. John AdamsJohn Adams, oil on canvas by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1800–15; in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 73.7 × 61 cm.

The 1800 election was a rematch between Adams and Jefferson, and to forestall the recurrence of the same situation from the 1796 election, the parties sought to ensure that all their electors were united. On the Federalist side Adams ran with Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, while Jefferson’s running mate was Aaron Burr.

As in the previous elections, there was no popular vote. Instead, the state legislatures appointed electors, and the Democratic-Republicans swept most of the South, including all the electors from Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, while Adams ran strong in the northeast, capturing all the electoral votes from Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont. With Burr, a New Yorker, on the ticket, Jefferson won that state, and the electors from the remaining states (Maryland, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania) split their votes. The Federalists, realizing the potential for a tie, arranged for one of their electors, from Rhode Island, to cast a ballot for John Jay. All of the Democratic-Republican electors, however, cast their ballots for Jefferson and Burr, and since electors could not indicate a presidential or vice presidential choice, the result was a tie.

The House of Representatives chooses

Under the existing rules, a tie was to be decided by the lame-duck Federalist-controlled House of Representatives, with each of the 16 states casting a single vote. Almost all the Federalists wanted to coalesce behind Burr rather than elect their political enemy Jefferson, but Alexander Hamilton, a Federalist and longtime enemy of Burr’s, tried to engineer support for Jefferson. Still, Burr maintained that he would not challenge Jefferson—an assertion that Jefferson did not wholly accept.

Voting in the House of Representatives began on February 11, 1801, and on the first ballot Jefferson was the choice of eight states, while Burr was supported by six (all with a Federalist majority among their congressional representatives), and two were split. After more than 30 more ballots held over the next several days, the results were the same. Finally, after 36 ballots and with Federalists in Maryland and Vermont abstaining, giving those states to Jefferson, Jefferson was elected president (with Burr as vice president) on February 17 by a majority of 10 states to 4 (Delaware and South Carolina cast blank votes). The election was a catalyst for the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment (1804), under which electors would cast separate ballots for president and vice president.

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For the results of the previous election, see United States presidential election of 1796. For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 1804.

Results of the 1800 election

The results of the 1800 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table.

American presidential election, 1800
presidential candidate	political party	electoral votes
*Electors were chosen by legislatures in many states, not by popular vote.
**As both Jefferson and Burr received the same number of electoral votes, the decision was referred to the House of Representatives. The 12th Amendment (1804) provided that electors cast separate ballots for president and vice president.
Source: United States Office of the Federal Register.
Thomas Jefferson	Democratic-Republican	73**
Aaron Burr	Democratic-Republican	73
John Adams	Federalist	65
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney	Federalist	64
John Jay	Federalist	1

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Mindy Johnston.

United States presidential election of 1800

At a glance: the election of 1800

The electoral college vote

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The House of Representatives chooses

Results of the 1800 election