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The Design Flaw That Almost Broke the Presidency in 1800
A tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr sent the choice of president to a hostile lame-duck House—and exposed a problem in the Constitution’s original election rules.
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied in the Electoral College in 1800, sending the presidency to a Federalist-influenced lame-duck House—and exposing a flaw in the Constitution’s original election rules.
When Congress counted the electoral votes in February 1801, Thomas Jefferson’s problem was no longer John Adams. Jefferson had tied with his own running mate, Aaron Burr.
The two Democratic-Republicans had received 73 electoral votes apiece. Adams received 65, Charles C. Pinckney 64, and John Jay one. With no winner, the choice moved to the House of Representatives, where the outgoing, Federalist-influenced Sixth Congress would decide the presidency. [2]
For six days, the House could not do it. Thirty-five ballots produced the same result: Jefferson carried eight state delegations, Burr six, and two were divided. The episode exposed a basic problem in the Constitution’s original rules for choosing a president.
A Rule That Did Not Anticipate Party Tickets
The original Constitution gave each presidential elector two votes without requiring the elector to identify one choice for president and the other for vice president. The candidate with the most votes became president; the runner-up became vice president. [4]
That arrangement became hazardous once national parties began running coordinated tickets. Jefferson was the Democratic-Republican candidate for president, and Burr was intended for vice president. But their electors gave both men the same number of votes.
The tie was not between the leaders of opposing parties. Adams had lost the electoral vote. Jefferson and Burr, nominal running mates, were now constitutional rivals for the same office. [2]
Thirty-Five Ballots Without a Result
Congress counted the electoral votes on February 11, 1801, and the House began voting that day. Each of the 16 state delegations cast one ballot, no matter how many representatives the state had. A candidate needed nine state votes to win. [1][2]
That gave individual members unusual leverage. Delaware had one representative, Federalist James A. Bayard, so he alone controlled the state’s vote. In larger delegations, an even split meant the state could not cast a vote at all.
The first 35 ballots, held from February 11 through February 16, left the contest unchanged: eight states for Jefferson, six for Burr, and two divided. [1]
Federalists had lost the national election but still had influence in the lame-duck House. Some distrusted Jefferson deeply and considered Burr an alternative or a bargaining position. Yet selecting Burr over Jefferson risked appearing to overturn the apparent intent of the voters.
The deadlock also raised an unsettling question. The existing presidential term would end on March 4. The Constitution prescribed a House vote in the event of a tie, but it did not settle the anxiety created by a House that could not reach a decision.
Hamilton’s Campaign Against Burr
Alexander Hamilton had no vote in the House. A private citizen by 1801, he nevertheless worked through letters and political connections to discourage Federalists from choosing Burr.
Hamilton disagreed sharply with Jefferson, but he regarded Burr as the more dangerous man. His lobbying was one part of the pressure on Federalists looking for a way to end the stalemate without elevating Burr. [5]
Concern spread beyond the Capitol. Republican leaders feared that Federalists might try to retain executive power outside the constitutional process if the House did not choose a president. Virginia Governor James Monroe prepared the state’s defenses, while Republican leaders in Pennsylvania made similar preparations. [2][5]
The impasse ended before those fears became a wider conflict. Both parties remained within the formal constitutional process, but the preparations showed that many Americans saw more at stake than a procedural dispute. [3]
The Abstentions That Opened the Way
On February 17, Bayard cast a blank ballot rather than vote for Burr. Delaware no longer counted for Burr, opening a path to a decision. [1]
Federalist abstentions also changed the balance in Maryland and Vermont, allowing those delegations to vote for Jefferson. On the 36th ballot, Jefferson carried 10 states, Burr four, and two remained divided. Jefferson had the majority he needed. [1]
Those Federalists did not have to vote affirmatively for Jefferson. By withholding their votes, they allowed the House to elect a president while preserving their opposition to him.
Jefferson took office on March 4 as the nation’s third president. Adams’s administration ended, Jefferson was inaugurated, and the government continued under a new party. The transfer became an early example of an organized political faction yielding the presidency to its rival through the constitutional system. [3]
The Twelfth Amendment’s Fix
The crisis made the original electoral arrangement difficult to defend. It assumed that the top two vote-getters would naturally be suited to serve as president and vice president. Party tickets had made that assumption untenable.
Congress proposed the Twelfth Amendment on December 9, 1803. Ratified on June 15, 1804, it required electors to cast distinct votes for president and vice president. It also set the basic framework for a House contingent election when no presidential candidate receives an Electoral College majority. [4]
The amendment did not end contested elections or partisan conflict. It addressed the specific hazard exposed in 1800: a party could run candidates for president and vice president without risking a tie between them.
The election of 1800 therefore changed more than the occupant of the presidency. It showed that a constitutional rule written before organized party tickets could produce a dangerous deadlock once parties became central to American politics. The remedy was a constitutional amendment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tie in the Electoral College?
Under the original Constitution, electors cast two undifferentiated votes. They did not designate one candidate for president and the other for vice president. Democratic-Republican electors gave Jefferson and Burr 73 votes each. [2][4]
Who broke the 36-ballot deadlock in the House?
Delaware Federalist James A. Bayard cast a blank ballot on February 17. Federalist abstentions in Maryland and Vermont then allowed those delegations to vote for Jefferson, giving him 10 states. [1]
How did the election of 1800 lead to the Twelfth Amendment?
The tie demonstrated that the original Electoral College rules did not work well with party tickets. The Twelfth Amendment, proposed in 1803 and ratified in 1804, required separate electoral votes for president and vice president. [4]
TIMELINE
Key moments
Sources
- Today in History - February 17: The House Elects Jefferson — Library of Congress
- Tally of Electoral Votes for the 1800 Presidential Election — National Archives
- Peaceful Transition - Creating the United States — Library of Congress
- Overview of Twelfth Amendment, Election of President — Library of Congress / Congress.gov
- Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr and the Election of 1800 — Smithsonian Magazine
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