The Mysterious Election of 1800

The mysterious election of 1800

The election of 1800 was one of, if not, the most mysterious and most exciting presidential elections in the history of the United States. The election was a great clash of powers between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans who believed the winner could possibly set the path of America’s government, possibly forever. The Democratic-Republicans believed if the federalists won they would destroy the republic, and get rid of liberty that the American people fought for n the American Revolution. Federalists, months before the election, tried to implement the Alien and sedition Acts which were a series of four laws, one of them making sedition and libel of the governed a crime. The acts, along with the direct tax of 1798, and a military the federalists were building up, according to the textbook Liberty, equality, power, were not popular with the people with the people and worked in the favor of the Democratic-Republicans.
The Federalists believed if the Democratic-Republicans won America would become lawless and violent like France at the time which was in a the middle of their own revolution and a war with Britain, the Democratic-Republicans wanting to back the French and the Federalists wanting to back the British but America remained neutral in the war thanks to President John Adams. Tensions between the two parties were so bad that in the textbook Liberty, Equality. Power it is stated that a Connecticut Federalist said that “There is scarcely a possibility that we shall escape a civil war.”(Liberty, Equality, Power 283) Each side believed the end of the republic would occur if they were to be defeated. The Federalists put forward John Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney for the election while the Democratic-Republicans chose Thomas Jefferson, John Adam’s vice president during his one term as president, and Aaron Burr. On December 12 when the electoral votes were counted, Jefferson and Burr were tied with 73;