So, you think this year's election is a mess? I agree. No matter what side of the argument you're on, this year's election is a unique one, to say the least. But in my opinion, it's nothing compared to the election of 1800.
Prior to 1800, there had only been two presidents. George Washington, who stepped down after his first term, and John Adams, who had been Washington's vice-president. In many people's opinion at the time, Adams did a pretty shotty job as president. Adams ran again in 1800, but there were two other people who really wanted the presidency. Thomas Jefferson was Adams' vice-president, and Aaron Burr had been a senator for quite a while. They were both part of the same party, but Jefferson was a bit more extreme in his beliefs.
Now, voting was a lot different back then. The people voted for electors (which was the start of today's Electoral College) and the electors came together to "vote." The participated in "secret elections," where each elector wrote down two names as candidates for the presidency. Whoever had the most names won the presidency, and the runner-up was vice-president. When it came time for the election, both Jefferson and Burr received 73 electoral votes. This meant that the election would be fought in the House of Representatives between the two of them. Approximately a week before they House would convene, Alexander Hamilton, who had not said anything publicly about the election up to this point, came out and said that he was supporting Jefferson. This came as a shock to almost everyone. Jefferson and Hamilton were polar opposites, having disagreed on almost every issue. However, Hamilton had known Burr for a very long time. Hamilton urged the public to be wary of Burr, and that he had no real beliefs of his own. The House listened to Hamilton, and awarded the Presidency to Jefferson, and Burr got the vice-presidency.
Burr was angry, to say the least. He challenged Hamilton to a duel (which was illegal at this time.) Hamilton, being a man of honor, agreed to the duel. Burr shot Hamilton and won the duel. Since he did this, Burr has been painted as a huge villain in modern history retellings.
Meanwhile, Jefferson truly did not like Burr. He hated working with him, and every decision they tried making was kept in a deadlock since they could never agree on anything. Jefferson decided to propose the 12th amendment to the Constitution, which says that the president and vice-president must be voted for on the same ballot. This was ratified by congress in 1804, which was the final year of Jefferson's first term. Jefferson was re-elected, and George Clinton was elected vice-president.
So, next time you're thinking that this year's election is a mess, realize that you're probably right. But it could be a whole lot worse.
