1788/1792 - The Federalists took the House and Senate with 100% of the vote 1796 - John Adams (F) d. Thomas Jefferson (DR) with 73.6% of the vote
Hey all welcome to Board 8 Elects! a topic series in which we discuss each historical election from the perspective of the year it took place in!
The idea here is to re-litigate each election from the perspective of when it took place. I will be providing each candidates platform (where possible) so the merits of the election can be discussed and voted on. If possible lets speak of the issues in the present tense.
I am going to ask you vote via BOLDING the name of the candidate rather than providing a poll because I feel the poll encourages gut voting and I would really like to see some discussion.
Topics will be live for 3 or 4 days - basically until I make the next topic voting will be active in this one.
Welcome to the election of 1800 - the two candidates may be the same but the mood of the country has shifted dramatically in the last 4 years.
The Adams presidency saw the country embroiled in the Quasi-War a conflict between The US, Great Britain and France (with some Spanish/French interminglings tossed in for flavor).
The Democratic Republicans have made dramatic gains in Congress after the unpopularity of the Alien and Sedition acts moved the Democratic Republicans back to the mainstream after being pushed to the fringe in the aftermath of the Whiskey Rebellion. Jefferson has served as vice-president and used the post to snipe at Adams. They have also begun to wield the power of newspapers to wage war on the Federalists, who are now without the active services of the now-retired flamethrower Alexander Hamilton. The election looming is bound to be an ugly one.
Let's Meet the Candidates
The Federalist Party has renominated the sitting President 65-year old John Adams. They have selected the younger brother of his previous running mate, South Carolina Governor Charles Cotesworth Pinckney to be his running mate this time for the same reasons as last time, hoping to earn southern electoral votes.
The Democratic-Republicans have also chosen to run the same candidate as last time, 57 year old sitting Vice President, Thomas Jefferson. They have also chosen to run Aaron Burr, who has previously served as both Senator and Governor of New York following holding a commission in the Continental Army, as his running mate once again, though there were murmurings in the party that wished they could switch the order of the ticket on account of Jefferson's Francophilia being politically unpopular.
The Issues
The Quasi-War still looms large, as the last two years have been spent in an undeclared war with France. The crux of the issue is that the United States under Federalist rule decided to suspend payments on their debts owed to the French, reasoning those debts were owed to King Louis and the Bourbons and not France itself. France began to seize american ships and cargo to cover this debt and more. This had led to the US fighting alongside the British in their wars against Napoleon and at times seeing American sailors impressed to fight in that conflict as payment for that aid. Adams reached an agreement with the French to cease hostilities to avoid having to commit American naval forces to the War of the Second Coalition. The Democratic Republicans blame this war on the Jay Treaty blaming Adams for both the war and for British behavior. Some Federalists meanwhile think Adams was too soft on the French in this and should have pressed further to secure increased trade with the British empire.
In order to fund the above war, there was another internal tax levied, this one a direct tax on land, houses, and most controversially slaves. This was perceived as a political decision with the Southern landowners that were most effected by the tax being the base of the Democratic-Republican party. This led to another armed revolt, Fries' Rebellion, which saw the Pennsylvania Dutch rise up and need to be put down by the now even larger federal army. The Democratic-Republicans swear to roll back these taxes as well as the other domestic taxes on liquor. Adams has dramatically expanded the size of the standing army, something which the Democratic Republicans fear will be used for tyrannical purpose.
The Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts two years ago. In short, they restrict immigration making it more difficult to become an American citizen and granted the state wide powers to imprison and deport non-citizens for crimes or conspiracies against the US. It also criminalized the act of making false statements about the US Government. The Democratic-Republicans again cry Tyranny
The Federalists still claim that the Democratic Republicans are too pro-France, especially in light of some highly flattering commentary by Jefferson regarding Napoleon Bonaparte, the new Consul of France who is increasingly seen as the hero of the Revolution. There is a general sense that France will be able to take advantage of Jefferson, causing many to eye Aaron Burr as way to have their cake and eat it too....
The Campaign
There were a number of surprises and wild accusations flying in the press. Nearly every newspaper in the country is in open support of one candidate or the other. The accusations range from the colorful to the politically damning with Jefferson and Adams only thinly veiled by pseudonym flinging mud at one another. Adams has accused Jefferson of fathering children with his slaves and generally merely playing pretend at his supposed grand convictions, scoring political points by pointing out the hypocrisy of supported armed revolts against supposed tyranny in the morning and then owning slaves in the evening. Other Federalists have called Jefferson a 'secret atheist' Meanwhile Jefferson has called Adams obese and has accused him of being hermaphroditic and unmanly, calling his decisions cowardly and insinuating that Adams love for ships and armies and wielding power against immigrants is compensating for his otherwise feminine character.
A pair of powerful letters were released which have shaken the electorate. The first, penned by Alexander Hamilton, shreds Adams for his leadership of the Federalist party, in particular criticizing his handling of the Quasi-War. Mostly the letter focuses on the personality of Adams, calling him unfit to hold the office of "chief magistrate".
The other letter is a letter written by Jefferson four years earlier which has been leaked in Federalist papers. In the letter Jefferson implies that he viewed Washington as something of a tyrant or at least betraying republican principles in the manner in which he conducted himself. Washington is far more beloved than either candidate and this has been seen as a truly incendiary missive.
The intensity of this campaign and the likelihood that the Federalists will be defeated has begun a campaign to draft Burr into stealing the election. The move is seen as controversial and un-democratic but with a large amount of Congress both wishing for a change in direction but to avoid being ruled by Jefferson....Burr has become an attractive option. Burr is seen as both willing to walk back the excesses of the Adams era, such as the large standing army and high tax rates, without risking the eccentricities of a Jefferson administration. This is technically doable because all that would need to happen is for Burr to finish with the highest number of electoral votes. Burr has been silent on it.
SPECIAL - Burr can win this election, but only if Adams comes in third place while still collecting enough votes to combine with Burr to hold 66% of the vote, representing Burr's narrow path to victory.