1804 United States presidential election: Difference between revisions
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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American EnglishTemplate:For Template:Infobox election Presidential elections were held in the United States from November 2 to December 5, 1804. Incumbent Democratic-Republican president Thomas Jefferson defeated Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina. It was the first presidential election conducted following the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reformed procedures for electing presidents and vice presidents.
Jefferson was renominated by his party's congressional nominating caucus without opposition, and the party nominated Governor George Clinton of New York to replace Aaron Burr as Jefferson's running mate. With former president John Adams in retirement, the Federalists turned to Pinckney, a former ambassador and Revolutionary War hero who had been Adams's running mate in the 1800 election.
Though Jefferson had only narrowly defeated Adams in 1800, he was widely popular due to the Louisiana Purchase and a strong economy. He carried almost every state, including most states in the Federalist stronghold of New England.
Background
[edit]Although the 1800 presidential election was a close one, Jefferson steadily gained popularity during his term. American trade boomed due to the temporary suspension of hostilities during the French Revolutionary Wars in Europe, and the Louisiana Purchase was heralded as a great achievement.
Nominations
[edit]Democratic-Republican Party nomination
[edit]| [[Thomas Jefferson|Template:Color]] | [[George Clinton (vice president)|Template:Color]] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| File:Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale 1805 cropped.jpg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd President of the United States (1801–1809) |
1st Governor of New York (1777–1795, 1801–1804) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The congressional nominating caucus of the Democratic-Republican Party was held in February 1804, with 108 members of the United States Congress in attendance and Senator Stephen R. Bradley as its chair. Jefferson was renominated by acclamation while Vice President Aaron Burr was not considered for renomination. The caucus selected to give the vice-presidential nomination to Governor George Clinton whose main opponent was Senator John Breckinridge. A thirteen-member committee was selected to manage Jefferson's presidential campaign.<ref name="deskins1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Vice-presidential candidates
[edit]- John Breckinridge (Kentucky), U.S. Senator
- George Clinton (New York), Governor
- Gideon Granger (Connecticut), Postmaster General
- John Langdon (New Hampshire), former U.S. Senator
- Levi Lincoln (Massachusetts), U.S. Attorney General
- William Maclay (Pennsylvania), former U.S. Senator
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Balloting
[edit]| Presidential ballot | Total | Vice-presidential ballot | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Jefferson | 108 | George Clinton | 67 |
| John Breckinridge | 20 | ||
| Levi Lincoln | 9 | ||
| John Langdon | 7 | ||
| Gideon Granger | 4 | ||
| William Maclay | 1 |
Federalist Party nomination
[edit]| [[Charles Cotesworth Pinckney|Template:Color]] | [[Rufus King|Template:Color]] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th
U.S. Minister to France |
3rd
U.S. Minister to Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Federalists did not hold a nominating caucus, but Federalist congressional leaders informally agreed to nominate a ticket consisting of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina and former Senator Rufus King of New York.<ref name="deskins1"/> Pinckney's public service during and after the American Revolutionary War had won him national stature, and Federalists hoped that Pinckney would win some Southern votes away from Jefferson, who had dominated the Southern vote in the previous election.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
General election
[edit]Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton's death in July 1804 following the Burr–Hamilton duel destroyed whatever hope the Federalists had of defeating the popular Jefferson. Leaderless and disorganized, the Federalists failed to attract much support outside of New England. The Federalists attacked the Louisiana Purchase as unconstitutional, criticized Jefferson's gunboat navy, and alleged that Jefferson had fathered children with his slave, Sally Hemings, but the party failed to galvanize opposition to Jefferson. Jefferson's policies of expansionism and reduced government spending were widely popular. Jefferson was aided by an effective Democratic-Republican party organization, which had continued to develop since 1800, especially in the Federalist stronghold of New England.<ref name="deskins1"/>
Jefferson's victory was overwhelming, and he even won four of the five New England states. Pinckney won only two states, Connecticut and Delaware. This was the first election where the Democratic-Republicans won in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
As of 2024, Jefferson was the first of eight presidential nominees to win a significant number of electoral votes in at least three elections, the others being Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, William Jennings Bryan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and Donald Trump. Of these, Jackson, Cleveland, and Roosevelt also won the popular vote in at least three elections. Jefferson, Cleveland, Roosevelt, and Trump were also their respective party's nominees for three consecutive elections.
Results
[edit]File:United States Electoral College 1804.svg Template:Start U.S. presidential ticket box Template:U.S. presidential ticket box row Template:U.S. presidential ticket box row Template:U.S. presidential ticket box row Template:End U.S. presidential ticket box
Source (Popular Vote): A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Source (electoral vote): Template:National Archives EV source
(a) Only 11 of the 17 states chose electors by popular vote.
(b) Those states that did choose electors by popular vote had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements.
Popular vote by state
[edit]The popular vote totals used are the elector from each party with the highest total of votes. The vote totals of North Carolina and Tennessee appear to be incomplete.
| State | Thomas Jefferson
Democratic-Republican |
Charles C. Pinckney
Federalist |
Other | Margin | Citation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Kentucky | 5,080 | 100.00% | No ballots | No ballots | 5,080 | 100.00% | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Maryland | 7,304 | 75.92% | 2,306 | 23.97% | 11 | 0.11% | 4,987 | 51.84% | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Massachusetts | 29,599 | 53.58% | 25,644 | 46.42% | 2 | <0.01% | 3,953 | 7.16% | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| New Hampshire | 9,088 | 52.01% | 8,386 | 47.99% | 0Template:Efn | 0.00% | 702 | 4.02% | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| New Jersey | 13,119 | 99.79% | 19 | 0.14% | 8 | 0.06% | 13,092 | 99.59% | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| North Carolina | 1,644Template:EfnTemplate:Efn | 486Template:EfnTemplate:Efn | No ballots | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||||
| Ohio | 2,593 | 87.69% | 364 | 12.31% | No ballots | 2,229 | 75.38% | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Pennsylvania | 22,081 | 94.69% | 1,239 | 5.31% | No ballots | 20,842 | 89.38% | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Rhode Island | 1,312 | 100.00% | No ballots | No ballots | 1,312 | 100.00% | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Tennessee | 778Template:Efn | 100.00% | No ballots | No ballots | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||||
| Virginia | 12,926 | 98.86% | 75 | 0.57% | 74 | 0.57% | 12777 | 97.72% | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Template:Bar box Template:Bar box
States that flipped from Federalist to Democratic-Republican
[edit]Close states
[edit]States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
- New Hampshire, 4.02% (702 votes)
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
- Massachusetts, 7.16% (3,953 votes)
Maps
[edit]-
Electoral College map
-
Map of presidential election results by county, shaded according to the vote share of the highest result for an elector of any given candidate (includes rejected votes)
-
Map of presidential election results by electoral district, shaded according to the vote share of the highest result for an elector of any given candidate. Electoral boundaries for Maryland could not be found (includes rejected votes)
Electoral College selection
[edit]Template:Start electoral college selection Template:Electoral college selection row Template:Electoral college selection row Template:Electoral college selection row Template:Electoral college selection row Template:Electoral college selection row Template:End electoral college selection
See also
[edit]- Bibliography of Thomas Jefferson
- History of the United States (1789–1849)
- Second inauguration of Thomas Jefferson
- 1804–05 United States House of Representatives elections
- 1804–05 United States Senate elections
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- Template:Cite web
- A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825
- Presidential Election of 1804: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
External links
[edit]Template:Thomas Jefferson Template:1804 United States presidential election Template:USPresidentialElections Template:State results of the 1804 U.S. presidential election Template:Federalist Party Template:Democratic-Republican Party Template:Authority control