Election of 1800
With the impending election of 1800, the American people had a crucial decision to make—re-elect President Adams and keep him in office, or look for new leadership. Unfortunately for Adams, he found himself campaigning against Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was eagerly competing for the presidency. Although Jefferson won the popular vote, he failed to secure the majority of votes needed from the Electoral College. So, the House of Representatives would have to decide the outcome. On February 17, 1801, President Jefferson was elected as the third President of the United States.
Historians speculate several theories as to why Jefferson defeated Adams. Most believe that Adams was not aggressive enough in attacking non-supporters, which led to feelings of resentment from his fellow party members. Meanwhile, Jefferson was able to gain additional support from those who continued to believe that less government was better. Regardless of theories, it was clear that a new president was in office and change would be inevitable.
The Two Party Political System
When George Washington became the first President of the United States he did not belong to a political party. However, even before there was a first President, supporters of the new nation differed on the role of government, and political parties began to take shape. Concerns over maintaining a democracy and finding ways to pay for their new independence loomed large in the forefathers’ minds. The need to stay as far away as possible from a monarchy, yet keep alive the ideals of the Enlightenment, led to many arguments as to how a successful democratic government should be run. This can be seen by looking at the debate over the Great Compromise discussed in the previous section.
Two political views emerged from the Constitutional Convention. The Democrat-Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, favored a decentralized government. A decentralized government grants more power to the individual states than to the federal government. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, firmly believed that a strong central government was required in order for the country to be financially sound and politically successful. Jefferson promoted the interests of the farming community, while Hamilton was more aligned with the merchants. Also, Jefferson opposed a national bank and Hamilton felt a national bank was a necessity to pay off debt from the Revolution as well as secure a solid financial future for the new nation.