LITR 4326 Early American Literature Research Posts 2016 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Burgundy Anderson

Race to the White House: 1800

Political elections for the United States are nothing new in 2016. We are all familiar with the race to the Office of President; the glitz, the glam, and the mudslinging. The race is seen as a normal part of our lives every 4 years. Yet my whole life I have heard that presidential elections were never something intended by the Founders. Religion was not supposed to play a role in politics, but the Founders didn’t want Science playing a major role either. I wanted to know if this was true, how our political parties began, and how the first presidential race developed.

Our first president, George Washington, hated the idea of political parties. In his mind, parties were nothing more than “factions” of the United States’ populace. According to many of the other Founders, including James Madison, political parties were necessary to maintain a democratic union. Alexander Hamilton considered political parties necessary but recognized there was a slippery slope: “Give all power to the many and they will oppress the few. Give all power to the few and they will oppress the many. Both therefore ought to have power, that each may defend itself against the other.” For the first few elections of the United States’ union, Washington had his way, with no parties, and a fairly simple democratic process (although it was not all-inclusive).

By the election of 1800, however, we had two political parties going head to head for the presidency. In 1794 the politicians of the day began to separate themselves based on ideas of government size, the economy, and desired social structures. The “Federalist” party was formed by Alexander Hamilton while Thomas Jefferson’s sympathizers were known as the “Democratic Republicans.” The defining difference in the parties was the main belief about the size of the federal government. Jefferson argued strongly against a large central government, and believed that agrarian values would keep the country independent and peaceful. Hamilton, of course, held that a strong central government was the only way for the system “to work for all the people and to counter self-interest and greed” (Hakim).

Thomas Jefferson ran on the Democratic Republican ticket and John Adams ran on the Federalist Ticket. The two men had been spending time together since they had written the Declaration of Independence. As the 13 colonies, under the Articles of Confederation, waged a Revolt against the tyrannical rule of Great Britain, John Adams spent his time in France, negotiating for help alongside Benjamin Franklin. As the war drew to a close, Jefferson joined Franklin in France as an ambassador of the newly founded country. They also worked together to create the Constitution of the United States after the Articles of Confederation failed.  Despite having extremely different stances on most aspects of government, the two were able to come together to create basic laws to guide the nation. Unfortunately, this good will between the two did not last long.

When the two men ran against each other for the office of president, they hurled accusations about one another around. The country itself was in the midst of extreme turmoil “reeling from the terrors of the French Revolution, and on the brink of war with France” (Larson). The political party lines were still forming when Jefferson said Adams and his Federalists would squelch liberty for the average American citizen and elevate the upper-class into governing, which he saw as a potential for the birth of a British-like monarchy. Adams countered that the Republican-Democrats, with Jefferson’s aide, would further throw the country into chaos by giving too much power to everybody, and that Jefferson would debase the role religion played in American lives.

It is very easy to see how this race to the White House has shaped our modern politics. The massive split in ideas of how to best take care of the American populace is an issue which still rages on in debates. The question of big government or small government has always haunted the nation. Even the race itself has not changed very much, two candidates running against one another for the masses’ votes. I do not think it was ever the intention of the Founders for the office of the President to have as much power as it does or to be fought over as much as it is, but when passions get caught up, it is difficult to separate oneself from the politics of the situation.

Works Cited

"1800 Presidential Election." Archives.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.

"The Election of 1800." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.

Hakim, Joy. "Revolution." Freedom: A History of US. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003. 41-45. Print.

Larson, Edward J. A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign. New York City: Simon and Schuster, 2007. Print.