1796 United States elections

Last updated
1796 United States elections
1794          1795         1796         1797          1798
Presidential election year
Incumbent president George Washington (Independent)
Next Congress 5th
Presidential election
Partisan controlFederalist gain
Electoral vote
John Adams (F)71
Thomas Jefferson (DR)68
ElectoralCollege1796.svg
1796 presidential election results. Green denotes states won by Jefferson, burnt orange denotes states won by Adams. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
Senate elections
Overall controlFederalist hold
Seats contested11 of 32 seats [1]
Net seat changeFederalist +1 [2]
House elections
Overall controlFederalist gain
Seats contestedAll 106 voting members
Net seat changeFederalist +10 [2]

The 1796 United States elections elected the members of the 5th United States Congress. The election took place during the beginning stages of the First Party System, as the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party clashed over the states' rights, the financial policies of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, and the recently ratified Jay Treaty. The Federalists maintained control of the Senate, and won control of the House and the presidency.

In the first contested presidential election and the first presidential election in which parties played a major role, Federalist Vice President John Adams narrowly defeated Democratic-Republican former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. [3] Adams won New England while Jefferson won the South, leaving the mid-Atlantic states to decide the election. As the election took place prior to the ratification of the 12th Amendment, Jefferson, who finished with the second most electoral votes, succeeded Adams as vice president. Federalist former Governor Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina finished with the third most electoral votes, while Democratic-Republican Senator Aaron Burr of New York finished in fourth place. This election marked the only time in American history that members of two different political parties were elected as president and vice president. Adams's election made him the first member of a political party to be elected president, as George Washington had remained unaffiliated with any political faction or party throughout his presidency. [4]

In the House, Federalists won moderate gains, taking majority control of the chamber. [5]

In the Senate, Federalists picked up one seat, maintaining a commanding majority in the chamber. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1804 amendment regulating presidential elections

The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the president and vice president. It replaced the procedure in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, under which the Electoral College originally functioned. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and was ratified by the requisite three-fourths of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. The new rules took effect for the 1804 presidential election and have governed all subsequent presidential elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic-Republican Party</span> American political party (1792–1834)

The Republican Party, retroactively called the Democratic-Republican Party, and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and James Madison in the early 1790s that championed liberalism, republicanism, individual liberty, equal rights, decentralization, free markets, free trade, agrarianism, and sympathy with the French Revolution. The party became increasingly dominant after the 1800 elections as the opposing Federalist Party collapsed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1788–89 United States presidential election</span> 1st quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1788–89 United States presidential election was the first quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Monday, December 15, 1788, to Wednesday, January 7, 1789, under the new Constitution ratified that same year. George Washington was unanimously elected for the first of his two terms as president and John Adams became the first vice president. This was the only U.S. presidential election that spanned two calendar years without a contingent election and the first national presidential election in American history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1792 United States presidential election</span> 2nd quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1792 United States presidential election was the second quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Friday, November 2, to Wednesday, December 5, 1792. Incumbent President George Washington was elected to a second term by a unanimous vote in the electoral college, while John Adams was re-elected as vice president. Washington was essentially unopposed, but Adams faced a competitive re-election against Governor George Clinton of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1796 United States presidential election</span> 3rd quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1796 United States presidential election was the third quadrennial presidential election of the United States. It was held from Friday, November 4 to Wednesday, December 7, 1796. It was the first contested American presidential election, the first presidential election in which political parties played a dominant role, and the only presidential election in which a president and vice president were elected from opposing tickets. Incumbent vice president John Adams of the Federalist Party defeated former secretary of state Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic-Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1800 United States presidential election</span> 4th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1800 United States presidential election was the fourth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from October 31 to December 3, 1800. In what is sometimes called the "Revolution of 1800", the Democratic-Republican Party candidate, Vice President Thomas Jefferson, defeated the Federalist Party candidate, incumbent president John Adams. The election was a political realignment that ushered in a generation of Democratic-Republican leadership. This was the first presidential election in American history to be a rematch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Pinckney</span> American statesman, diplomat and general (1750–1828)

Thomas Pinckney was an American statesman, diplomat, and military officer who fought in both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, achieving the rank of major general. He served as Governor of South Carolina and as the U.S. minister to Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of John Adams</span> 2nd presidential administration and cabinet of the USA (1797–1801)

The presidency of John Adams, began on March 4, 1797, when John Adams was inaugurated as the second president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1801. Adams, who had served as vice president under George Washington, took office as president after winning the 1796 presidential election. The only member of the Federalist Party to ever serve as president, his presidency ended after a single term following his defeat in the 1800 presidential election. He was succeeded by Thomas Jefferson of the opposition Democratic-Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th United States Congress</span> 1795–1797 meeting of U.S. legislature

The 4th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from March 4, 1795, to March 4, 1797, during the last two years of George Washington's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1790 United States census. The Senate had a Federalist majority, and the House had a Democratic-Republican majority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1820 United States elections</span>

The 1820 United States elections elected the members of the 17th United States Congress. The election took place during Era of Good Feelings and the First Party System. Despite the Panic of 1819, the Democratic-Republican Party maintained control of the presidency and both houses of Congress, while the Federalist Party provided only limited opposition. Missouri joined the union during the 17th Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1804 United States elections</span>

The 1804 United States elections elected the members of the 9th United States Congress. The election took place during the First Party System. The Democratic-Republican Party continued its control of the presidency and both houses of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1800 United States elections</span>

The 1800 United States elections elected the members of the 7th United States Congress. The election took place during the First Party System, and is generally considered the first realigning election in American history. It was the first peaceful transfer of power between parties in American history. The Democratic-Republican Party won control of the presidency and both houses of Congress for the first time. Conversely, the Federalist Party would never again control the presidency or either house of Congress. Ohio was admitted as a state during the 7th Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1788–89 United States elections</span> Elections for the 1st U.S. Congress

The United States elections of 1788–1789 were the first federal elections in the United States following the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788. In the elections, George Washington was elected as the first president and the members of the 1st United States Congress were selected.

In the United States, a contingent election is used to elect the president or vice president if no candidate receives a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed. A presidential contingent election is decided by a special vote of the United States House of Representatives, while a vice-presidential contingent election is decided by a vote of the United States Senate. During a contingent election in the House, each state delegation votes en bloc to choose the president instead of representatives voting individually. Senators, by contrast, cast votes individually for vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral history of John Adams</span>

Electoral history of John Adams served as the second president of the United States (1797–1801) and the first vice president of the United States (1789–1797). Prior to being president, he had diplomatic experience as the second United States envoy to France (1777–1779), the first United States minister to the Netherlands (1782–1788), and the first United States minister to the United Kingdom (1785–1788). After losing the 1800 presidential election to Thomas Jefferson, he would mostly retire from political life, with his second youngest son, John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), being elected as the sixth President of the United States (1825–1829) in the 1824 presidential election against Tennessee Senator Andrew Jackson.

References

  1. Not counting special elections.
  2. 1 2 Congressional seat gain figures only reflect the results of the regularly-scheduled elections, and do not take special elections into account.
  3. "1796 Presidential Election". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  4. Jamison, Dennis (December 31, 2014). "George Washington's views on political parties in America". The Washington Times . Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  5. "Party Divisions of the House of Representatives". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  6. "Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present". United States Senate. Retrieved 25 June 2014.