10.1—The Tale of Three Elections
I. Jefferson vs. Adams (1800)
A. Federalist Party--Adams
1. President Adams was our 2nd president running for a 2nd term.
2. Following Washington was a tough one, not too popular
3. Kind of cantankerous, uppity, bi-polar
4. Believed in a strong federal government
B. Democratic Republic Party--Jefferson
1. A bit more popular
2. Influenced by French spent WAY too much money to impress
himself & others
3. Believe in stronger state rights
C. Major mudslinging in this election
1. Adams said about Jefferson
a) Jefferson was radical who supported the French and their
revolution was so nasty
b) He would murder his opponents
c) He was an atheist that would burn churches
d) He had black kids
2. Jefferson said about Adams
a) Screamed about how Adams hated immigrants with the
Sedition Act and all.
b) He wanted to be an aristocratic and be called “your
highness”
Unit 3 ~ Getting Elected
Note Set 10.1—The Tale of Three Elections Pgs. 299-304
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c) Even Hamilton of the Federalist party hated Adams and
chimed in.
D. Electoral College screw up leads to the Amendment
1. The Constitution said that #2 in an election would be VP.
2. Jefferson was #2 in to Adams when Washington quit.
3. They didn’t get along, so Jefferson campaigned A LOT to make
sure Aaron Burr was #2
4. It ended in a tie . . . because Georgia screwed up and didn’t fill out
the ballot correctly.
5. So the Constitution said the House of Reps would have to decide.
6. The House of Reps was Federalist controlled.
7. Burr gets greedy tries to convince them to choose him.
8. But Jefferson is VP, which means he is the President of the Senate
. . . and he is in charge of counting the votes and he counts Georgia’s
screwed up ballot as good.
E. So it’s Jefferson and Burr, leading to the 12th Amendment on how VPs are
picked.
II. McKinley vs. Bryan (1896)
A. McKinley
1. Republican
2. Supported by businessmen, professionals, skilled factory workers
and prosperous farmers.
3. Supported staying with the gold standard
a) Claimed going off a complete gold standard would have
paper currency’s value cut in half.
b) Printed “Bryan bucks” with the statement, “In God we Trust .
. . for the other 53 cents”.
Unit 3 ~ Getting Elected
Note Set 10.1—The Tale of Three Elections Pgs. 299-304
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4. Spent 3.5 million on election
a) Had a “front porch” campaign
b) Had thousands sent by train to his front porch to campaign
c) Just getting out of the 1893 Depression, McKinley claims
Bryan’s ideas were “radical” and ruin the economy
d) Sent famous republican speakers out by train to denounce
Bryan as a radical
B. Bryan
1. Democrat, The Populist Party, and the Silver Republicans.
2. Supported bimetallism . . . going to a gold AND silver standard.
a) Add silver to the treasury, and you could print more “soft”
dollars backed by silver.
b) "16-to-1"-- the claim that 16 silver-backed dollars could be
printed for every one dollar backed by gold)
c) This added cash would help poor farmers get out of debt.
3. Spent $700,000
a) Went on huge train tour to talk to voters directly.
b) Fiery speaker, passionate about his beliefs
c) Brought in huge crowds of supporters
C. Results?
1. McKinley wins . . . by 2 electoral votes.
2. Republicans controlled with white house for the next 16 years
Unit 3 ~ Getting Elected
Note Set 10.1—The Tale of Three Elections Pgs. 299-304
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