He felt Jefferson was the safer man between the two. Finally, Alexander Hamilton, a leader of the Federalists, helped influence the opinion toward Jefferson. In the streets of Washington, DC, over a hundred people waited as the voting dragged on. In February 1801, representatives from the House gathered to vote. The House of Representatives, dominated by Federalists, had to break the tie. Jefferson and Aaron Burr, however, had tied for the presidency with 73 electoral votes each. Jefferson defeated John Adams by four votes. Many feared that the intense differences could lead to a civil war.

The Republicans were supported by Virginia and much of the south. Federalists claimed that “a vote for Jefferson was a vote against God.” The Republicans claimed that Adams and the Federalists wanted to “set up a monarchy and enslave ordinary people.” The Federalists were supported by New England and much of the north.

John Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinkney ran as Federalists. Jefferson and Aaron Burr ran as Republicans. It has been called one of the most “vicious elections in American history.” The election of 1800 again pitted Thomas Jefferson against John Adams. This copyprint of a watercolor by William Birch shows the completed north wing of the U.S. Jefferson said that the Federalist’s attacks on liberties were “an experiment on the American mind, to see how far it will bear an avowed violation of the constitution.” He feared that Federalist ‘spies’ were listening in on his conversations. Jefferson worried that his mail was opened. Republican newspaper editors were jailed or fined. They were two groups made up of white males with different ideas who wanted power within the new government.ĭuring Jefferson’s term as vice-president, the differences between the Federalists and the Republicans increased. In 1796, the Republicans and Federalists were not considered political parties. Republicans and Democrats fight for elections, share power and try to run the government together. Today Americans are used to political parties. They supported the republican ideal of a government belonging to the people.

They wanted a strong state and local government. Republicans such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison disagreed. Federalists included George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. They favored a strong federal government. The Federalists felt that voters did not have the education to make decisions on government matters. The election highlighted the differences between the two opposing groups. Since Jefferson received the second highest number of votes, he became vice-president. Since Adams received the most votes, he became president. At this time, there were not separate elections for president and vice-president. It was 1796, and Jefferson lost the election by three votes. Thomas Jefferson was praised as the “steadfast friend to the Rights of the People.” John Adams was called a “royalist” who wanted a government ruled by well-born, wealthy men. List of all Side Cases Skateboard Detective vs.Alexander Hamilton was one of the leaders of the Federalist Party and one Jefferson’s chief political rivals.

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