Last week we covered George Washington’s Farewell Address, which was released in September 1796. The publication of that address effectively marked the beginning of the 1796 presidential campaign. Political leaders, of course, had been anticipating Washington’s decision and had been planning for this first election where there would be a real contest for the presidency, rather than the coronation that Washington enjoyed in both of his elections.
Federalist Candidates
The selection of candidates was nothing like it is today. Parties did not have conventions or anything close to a formal nominating process. Both groups realized that they needed to focus on a single candidate or else the other party would rally all of theirs behind one and would win.
The most obvious leader of the Federalist movement at the time was Alexander Hamilton. While he was the ideological leader, he was also a lightning rod for controversy. Democratic Republicans believed he represented everything that was wrong with the direction of the country. In addition to his policies his enemies saw him as cocky and conceited, unwilling to compromise, and far too elitist. Some have also suggested that opponents told Hamilton that if he tried to run, that his sexual affair with Maria Reynolds would be made public and that his personal reputation would be destroyed.
Hamilton recognized all this, and also recognized that Adams was preparing to run. If Hamilton ran against Adams, it would divide the party and hand the presidency to the Democratic Republicans. Hamilton told people at the time that he viewed Adams with greater seniority in public office and would make a better consensus candidate.
Other candidates were considered, but they were mostly thought of as candidates for the Vice Presidency. Remember that in 1796, each elector had two votes, but did not specify between president and vice president. The candidate with the second highest number of electoral votes for president would become Vice President.
Among this second tier of candidates, John Jay was a strong contender. He was from New York, which would be a contentious state in the election. He had been Chief Justice and was at the time Governor of New York. What really did in Jay as a candidate was his association with the Jay Treaty. That treaty with Britain still remained highly unpopular among Americans, and certainly would have hurt his prospects.
Another prospect was Thomas Pinckney. At the time Pinckney was serving as Ambassador to Great Britain. His popularity at home was mostly the result of his role in getting the Treaty with Spain that gave the US control of more territory in the south, as well as the Mississippi River. This made Pinckney popular among many southerners and westerners. Aside with popularity in his home state of South Carolina, Pinckney was also very popular in New England. This broad national popularity made him a potentially strong candidate with the ability to get support even from some Democratic Republicans who would never consider voting for Hamilton or Adams.
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| Thomas Pinckney |
James Iredell of North Carolina fit that bill. He was the one Supreme Court Justice who had voted for state immunity in the Chisholm v. Georgia case that resulted in the 11th Amendment. That gave him some discussion as a potential national candidate, but it never really went anywhere.
Also from North Carolina was Samuel Johnston who had been governor and a senator from the state. Johnston was a southern federalist, but other than that seemed to get little consideration.
Finally, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney also got some mentions among Federalists. President Washington had offered him the Secretary of State or War, but he declined both. Instead, he was , at the time, serving as Minister to France at the time. Some thought he might appeal to Democratic Republicans because of his relationship with France, but in the end, the Federalists seemed to focus more on his older brother, Thomas Pinckney.
Hamilton also gave strong consideration to Patrick Henry, the former governor of Virginia. Hamilton asked Virginia Federalists John Marshall and Henry Lee to feel out Henry for a possible run. This might seem an odd choice for the Federalists since Henry had been a leading opponent of the Constitution. But after the Constitution's adoption, Henry found himself drifting closer to the Federalist Party. Part of this may have been simply that Henry was a long time political opponent of Jefferson and Madison.
Henry was never a big fan of Hamilton’s strong national government, but he also strongly opposed the Democratic-Republican positions favoring revolutionary France over Britain. As such, Henry became a Federalist. He generally shared the same positions as Washington and Adams. Hamilton likely favored Henry because as a popular Virginia leader, he would divide votes in that state, hurting Jefferson.
Henry declined to run. He had already retired from state office. At 60 years old, he was feeling the ailments of old age. Like Washington, he wanted a comfortable quiet retirement to his plantation.
Democratic-Republican Candidates
The Democratic Republicans also tried their best to organize. They held a meeting in Philadelphia in May to see if they could get behind a national candidate. There was almost no debate for the top of the ticket. Thomas Jefferson led the party and everyone supported him.
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| Aaron Burr |
At the end of the Congressional session in May, party leaders met in Philadelphia to discuss the creation of a ticket that could run with Jefferson. Senator Pierce Butler of South Carolina wanted the spot. He had risen to prominence for his outspoken opposition on the Jay Treaty. Butler had initially sided with the federalists in the Senate but had moved to the Democratic Republicans during his term in office. Because he had no appeal in the north and provided no regional balance, most party leaders opposed him becoming a contender.
To balance Jefferson, the party leaders wanted a northerner. Three candidates from New York emerged in the debate. Senator Aaron Burr became the most prominent candidate. He was a leading opponent of Alexander Hamilton. But many in the party believed that Burr was fueled more by naked ambition than by adherence to the ideals of the party. Burr was also young, just turning 40 in 1796. Burr had also broken an unwritten rule that candidates should not personally campaign for the presidency. Burr had already been traveling through most of the northern states in 1795 trying to garner support for his candidacy.
A more palatable New Yorker for many was Robert Livingston. He was first Chancellor of New York, essentially the state’s Chief Justice. He had also been secretary of Foreign Affairs during the Confederation era. Livingston’s outspoken support for many Democratic-Republican positions made him a favorite of many Virginians, but never really caught on among many.
The third New York contender was former Governor George Clinton. He had a well known reputation as an opponent of Hamilton and the Federalists. But he really didn’t seem to have much support outside of New York.
Also in discussion was Massachusetts Governor Samuel Adams, who had recently become governor following the death of John Hancock. Samuel Adams might help to divide voters in Massachusetts which would hurt his cousin John Adams’ chances. But the main reason he didn't get serious consideration was his age. He was 75 in 1796. That was just too old. His faculties seemed to be fading and he probably just wasn't up to the job.
Over the course of debate, the leaders were deadlocked with the main two rival camps being Pierce Butler and Aaron Burr. Eventually, they decided on Burr to run with Adams. But the opposition to Burr remained strong and ultimately caused problems for the ticket during the elections.
The Campaign
Although the candidates, other than Burr, largely avoided direct campaigning, their supporters raised various issues. A big one was still the Jay Treaty, which President Washington had signed in 1795. Federalists argued that it avoided a war with Britain that would have destroyed the country, and also supported commercial interests necessary to the national economy. The Democratic Republicans argued it was a betrayal of our French allies and that it sacrificed American honor with virtually nothing gained.
The debate over the Jay treaty also related to the larger question of whether Americans should side more with Britain or France. Federalists wanted a British model of government and opposed the French radicalism that led to the reign of terror in that country. They also objected to the French Ambassador Pierre Adet openly interfering with US elections by publicly proclaiming support for the Democratic Republicans and threatening war if the Federalists won. Federalists used this issue to claim that the Democratic Republicans had allowed themselves to become the tools of a foreign power, France and that it threatened US sovereignty.
The Bank of the United States remained a contentious issue. Federalists viewed the bank as the engine that was growing the economy. The Democratic Republicans viewed it as an engine of corruption, designed to enrich northern speculators at the expense of farmers and other working people.
Federalists also supported a standing army and navy. They were necessary to support US interests against the Indians and internationally. Democratic Republicans viewed them as examples of tyranny and a threat to civil liberties. They were also digging the US into further debt.
Like any elections we saw attacks on the candidates. The Jeffersonian press accused Adams of supporting a hereditary government and his predilection for titles and aristocracy. Some accused him of helping get comfortable government jobs for his son, John Quincy Adams, and wondered if Adams would set up a hereditary dynasty. Benjamin Franklin Bache accused Adams of being a secret monarchist. Adams’ son, John Quincy Adams published an anonymous series of articles attacking Jefferson as being against Christianity. In one article, Adams compared Jefferson to the prophet Muhammad saying that he wanted “to call upon all true believers in the Islam of democracy, to draw their swords”
Federalists attacked Jefferson for his pathetic record as Governor of Virginia during the Revolution. They also noted that Jefferson had supported measures that almost certainly would have caused the US to go to war with Britain to defend revolutionary France. They accused Jefferson of being a radical Jacobin who was also a coward and an atheist.
Throughout the campaign, both Adams and Jefferson remained at home, feigning disinterest, while encouraging surrogates to defend them and attack their opponent.
The Election
In 1796, there was no single election day. In fact, most states still did not have elections. Nine of the 16 states did not hold a popular vote. The state legislators selected the electors for the state. Some states allowed districts to choose an elector, but if no one got an outright majority, the legislature would appoint one.
The states that did have elections did not have very many people who qualified for voting. Virginia, the largest state at the time, with a population of nearly 800,000 had just over 5000 votes cast for president. That is well under 1% of the population. Pennsylvania had the highest turnout, with nearly 25,000 people voting out of a population of over 500,000, or less than 5% of the population.
There was also no winner take all system in states. As I said, many states had individual districts choose the electors. Others had hybrid systems that resulted in electors being divided within the states. And, of course, electors told voters who they planned to vote for president, they were not obligated to stick to that promise. This proved especially problematic when they cast their second electoral vote.
The process began on October 31, when Rhode Island began holding town meetings to select their electors. The week before French Minister Pierre Adet appeared in Boston to express support for Jefferson,. He then released a series of notes published in the Aurora, a pro-Jefferson paper, which suspended diplomatic relations with the US, and implying that the only way to avoid war would be if the elections handed Jefferson the presidency. This overt foreign interference in US elections outraged the Federalists.
The elections continued. Between November 2 and November 12, most of the states selected their electors. South Carolina was the last state, having its legislature select electors on December 6.
The results in many states were not made public meaning that no one was certain of the outcome. On December 27, Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that he was confident that he had won the presidency by a slim margin
The results, however, would not be a certainty until February 8, 1797, when a joint session of congress opened and counted the secret electoral ballots. As Vice President, Adams counted the ballots and announced himself to be the winner.
Adams won all of New England, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Jefferson won the south, plus Pennsylvania. In the end, party discipline had its impact. One hundred percent of electors cast a vote for either Adams or Jefferson. In fact, one elector voted for both Adams and Jefferson. The closest elections took place in Pennsylvania, where Jefferson beat Adams by a mere 89 votes. The second closest was in Maryland where Adams won by only 539 votes. Had Maryland flipped, Jefferson would have won the electoral vote.
Electors were far less disciplined in selecting the second place winner. Since each elector had two votes, they could have elected the Federalist ticket, which included Thomas Pinckney as Vice President. Quite a few New England electors voted for Adams but not Pinckney. All of the electors in New Hampshire and Rhode Island gave Oliver Ellsworth their second vote. In Connecticut, four out of nine electors gave John Jay their second vote. In Massachusetts, one elector voted for Ellsworth, and two for Samuel Johnston. In Maryland, one elector voted for Adams and Jefferson. Two other Adams supporters in Maryland voted for their Senator, John Henry.
As a result, 21 of the electors who picked Adams did not choose Pinckney as their second vote. Most of them said they did so because they wanted to ensure Pinckney did not beat Adams. Since most of the anti-Pinckney votes came in New England, it may also have been an unwillingness to support a candidate from the south.
The same thing happened among Democratic Republican electors. In Pinckney’s home state of South Carolina, all eight electors voted for Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Pinckney. Perhaps thinking they could push Pinkney ahead of Adams by adding their votes to the federalist votes and push Pinkney ahead of Adams.
Pennsylvania also had one elector that backed Jefferson and Pinckney. Many other electors threw away one of their votes for a candidate who was not really under consideration. One elector in Virginia and one in North Carolina cast votes for George Washington.
The anti-Burr vote among Democratic Republicans went well beyond ensuring he did not beat Jefferson. Southerners held a deep distrust of Burr. Because Burr actively campaigned in the North, many southerners suspected that he was trying to win northern votes, which, if combined with southern support for the vice presidential slot, would allow Burr to defeat Jefferson and win the presidency. Georgians were also particularly hostile toward Burr because of his involvement as a speculator in the Yazoo land scandal. Although Georgia gave all four of its votes to Jefferson, the electors handed their other votes to George Clinton. Similarly in Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, all of which gave their votes to Jefferson, Burr received only one or two votes in each of those states.
The result was a total of 48 electoral votes that were cast against the candidates who the parties had selected to be Vice President. The Federalist Vice Presidential choice, Pinckney, received 59 votes compared to Adams’ 71. The Democratic Republican Vice Presidential designee Aaron Burr, received only 30 votes compared to Jefferson’s 68.
Since Jefferson beat Pinckney in the electoral college, he was the second place finisher. This meant that Jefferson would serve as Adams’ Vice President.
Despite his loss, Jefferson seemed happy with the outcome. He told friends that he had always viewed Adams as his senior. He also said that having a Democratic-Republican President when there was a crisis brewing with France would be a bad idea. Jefferson also thought he could rebuild the good relationship that he had with Adams when the two men worked together during the war. Jefferson also believed Adams would be the ideal person to stand up to Hamilton and the Federalist agenda since Adams was not seen as a partisan Democratic-Republican. Personally, Jefferson told friends that he was happy to have escaped the presidency. He said that any presidential "honeymoon" would be short and quickly "ransomed by years of torment and hatred." He was happy to avoid that.
By contrast Adams was deeply upset by his squeaker of a victory, especially when compared to Washington’s unanimous victories. Adams blamed Hamilton for the fact that he did not do better. He blamed Hamilton for encouraging southern votes for Pinckney in an effort to have Pinckney beat Adams. As a result, Adams and Hamilton remained political enemies.
Next Week: After the elections, George Washington gives his final State of the Union Address, and finishes his final months in office.
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Previous Episode 395 Washington's Farewell Address
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Further Reading
Websites
Edmund S. Berkeley, and Dorothy S. Berkeley. “‘The Ablest Clerk in the U. S.’ John James Beckley.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 70, no. 4, 1962, pp. 434–46. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4246892
DeConde, Alexander. “Washington’s Farewell, the French Alliance, and the Election of 1796.” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, vol. 43, no. 4, 1957, pp. 641–58. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1902277
Fa, Bernard. “Early Party Machinery in the United States: Pennsylvania in the Election of 1796.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 60, no. 4, 1936, pp. 375–90. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20087008
Heidenreich, Donald E. “Conspiracy Politics in the Election of 1796.” New York History, vol. 92, no. 3, 2011, pp. 151–65. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23185122
Scherr, Arthur. “The Significance of Thomas Pinckney’s Candidacy in the Election of 1796.” The South Carolina Historical Magazine, vol. 76, no. 2, 1975, pp. 51–59. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27567304
Sharp, James Roger. “The Election of 1796.” American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis, Yale University Press, 1993, pp. 138–62. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vksqm.11
VIDEO: John Adams and the Election of 1796: https://www.americanacorner.com/video-blog/john-adams-and-the-presidential-election-of-1796
Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)
Jahoda, Gloria “John Beckley; Jefferson’s Campaign Manager” Bulletin of the Public Library, Vol. 64, No 5, May 1960, pp. 247-260. h
Smith, William L. The Pretensions of Thomas Jefferson to the Presidency Examined; and the Charges against John Adams Refuted, Philadelphia: [no publisher listed] 1796.
Wood, John The History of the Administration of John Adams, Esq., Late President of the United States, New York: Barlas and Ward, 1802.
Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*
Brown, Ralph A. The Presidency of John Adams, Univ. of Kansas Press, 1975.
Chernow, Ron Alexander Hamilton, Penguin Press, 2004.
Chernow, Ron Washington, A Life, Penguin Press, 2010.
Chervinsky, Lindsay M. Making the Presidency John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic, Oxford Univ. Press, 2024.
Cunningham, Noble E. The Jeffersonian Republicans: The Formation of Party Organization, 1789-1801, Univ. of NC Press, 1957 (borrow on archive.org).
Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788–1800, Oxford Univ. Press, 1993 (borrow on archive.org).
Kelly, Robert E. Neck and Neck to the White House: The Closest Presidential Elections, 1796-2000, McFarland, 2011 (borrow on archive.org).
Kurtz, Stephen G. The Presidency of John Adams: The Collapse of Federalism, 1795-1800, Literary Licensing, LLC, 2011.
Malone, Dumas Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty, Little Brown & Co. 1962 (borrow on archive.org).
McCullough, David John Adams, Simon & Schuster, 2001.
Meacham, Jon Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, Random House, 2012
Miller, John C. Alexander Hamilton and the Growth of the New Nation (or Portrait in Paradox), Harper & Brothers, 1959 (borrow on archive.org)
Nester, William The Hamiltonian Vision, 1789-1800, Potomac Books, 2012.
Pasley, Jeffrey L. The First Presidential Contest: 1796 and the Founding of American Democracy, University Press of Kansas, 2016.
Randall, Willard Sterne Thomas Jefferson: A Life, Henry Holt and Co. 1993.
Sharp, James R. American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis, Yale Univ. Press, 1993 (relevant chapter on JSTOR).
Spalding, Matthew and Patrick Garrity A Sacred Union of Citizens, Roman & Littlefield, 1996 (borrow on archive.org).
Staloff, Darren Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The Politics of Enlightenment and the American Founding, Hill and Wang, 2005.
Wood, Gordon S. Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815, Oxford Univ. Press, 2009.
* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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