History question...again..?

Question

Why was Jefferson not named President after he won the popular vote in 1800?

a. John Adams had more Electoral College votes

b. Aaron Burr had more Electoral College votes

c. Congress refused to agree to Jefferson's election

d. Jefferson did not have any Electoral College votes

It has to be one of the answers......

Answer 1

The only possible answer could be C. I know this question frustrates you, as it is frustrating many.

We can rule out A. Jefferson had more than Adams, 73 - 65.

We can rule out B. They were tied 73 - 73.

We can rule out D. Jefferson had 73.

So C is the only choice. The logic may be this - Congress did not agree to Jefferson's election because Jefferson wasn't elected by the electoral college. Nobody was, so there was no winner to agree or disagree with.

Therefore, the House of Representatives had to have their own election. Their job at that stage wasn't to agree with the election, since nobody was elected. The Constitution says that if the electors can't decide, the House of Representatives must. Their job became to elect.

I hope that makes sense to you and you can finally put this to bed. C is the only answer that makes any sense in this one, and it is more semantics than anything, I think. What say you?

Answer 2

None of the above. The Electoral College was in tie, and the House of Representatives needed 36 ballots to elect a winner.

My Encyclopædia Britannica says :

"The Federalist candidates clearly lost the presidential election of 1800, but under the electoral system then prevailing neither of the Republican candidates, Jefferson and Aaron Burr, could claim victory. The Constitution had provided no means for electors to distinguish between their choices for president and vice president, and both candidates had received the same number of votes. The choice between them was therefore made in the House of Representatives. Partly because of the influence of Hamilton, who distrusted Burr even more than he disliked Jefferson, the latter was chosen president and inaugurated March 4, 1801."

And Wikipedia concurs :

"He was then placed on the Democratic-Republican presidential ticket in the 1800 election with Jefferson. At the time, state legislatures chose the members of the U.S. Electoral College, and New York was crucial to Jefferson. Though Jefferson did win New York, he and Burr tied for the presidency with 73 electoral votes each."

"It was well understood that the party intended that Jefferson should be President and Burr Vice President but the responsibility for the final choice was that of the House of Representatives. The attempts of a powerful faction among the Federalists to secure the election of Burr failed, partly because of the opposition of Alexander Hamilton and partly because Burr himself did little to obtain votes in his own favor. He wrote to Jefferson underscoring his promise to be Vice-President, and during the voting stalemate in the Congress wrote again that he would give it up entirely if Jefferson so demanded. Ultimately, the election devolved to the point where it took thirty-six ballots before James A. Bayard, a Delaware Federalist, submitted a blank vote. Federalist abstentions in the Vermont and Maryland delegations led to Jefferson's election as President, and Burr’s moderate Federalist supporters conceded his defeat."

"Aaron Burr : Vice Presidency" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Burr#Vice_Presidency

"Prior to the passage of the 12th Amendment, a problem with the new union's electoral system arose. He tied with Burr for first place in the Electoral College, leaving the House of Representatives (where the Federalists still had some power) to decide the election."

"After lengthy debate within the Federalist-controlled House, Hamilton convinced his party that Jefferson would be a lesser political evil than Burr and that such scandal within the electoral process would undermine the still-young regime. The issue was resolved by the House, on 17 February 1801 after thirty-six ballots, when Jefferson was elected President and Burr Vice President."

"Thomas Jefferson : The election of 1800" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson#The_election_of_1800

Answer 3

I believe the answer is A) John Adams had more Electorial College votes.

Answer 4

That would be A!

Answer 5

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