Part 6: Get Out the Vote
John Adams was weary. “Eight years is doable for younger men, but I do not want to be in this office when I am 73 years old.” He thought for a moment. “The Senate, perhaps. It suited me well, and I did not have an entire nation on my shoulders.”
With that declaration early in 1804, he set abuzz a flurry of declarations. First was Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton actively opposed Aaron Burr for governor – Federalists were still popular in New York, and George Clinton had only won when John Jay left the seat in 1801 because of his immense popularity. Hamilton had wholeheartedly supported the Louisiana Purchase, claiming that it would “make America great.” Hamilton thought he had a good shot at the Presidency; indeed, many said this was the best time for him.
Indeeed, Federalists had done well in 1800 and 1802 after their 1798 triumphs; it was the power of the Northerners that had allowed the Louisiana Purchase to pass without slavery in any of it, something which had upset D-R supporters who believed in the rights of states to determine laws for themselves; of course, as was noted by a number of Federalists, territories aren’t states. Still, it was a bone of contention.
Once the election for New York Governor was over (in spring of ’04), Burr – having lost - jumped in, hoping to be the D-R candidate for President. Burr began rolling over old affairs – which Hamilton had admitted to; and, while nobody is certain Burr was responsible, someone dared to start rumors that Hamilton couldn’t run, having been born in the West Indies?
One historian later wrote, “That challenge never stood up, and Hamilton made an excellent demonstration of why he was eligible. He’d been a U.S. resident at independence, and that clause had been placed in the Constitution specifically for him. This marked the start of much partisan bickering. Of course, some speculate that Jefferson, were he in the minority in 1796, might have sparred with Adams much more in 1800. However, this marked a watershed year. Hamilton’s party was in power – so it is possible he didn’t battle as viciously as he might have. Still, the two men battled for the Presidency in one state, and for that state’s electors, with such ferocity that it’s hard to imagine how they could have dueled more forcefully.”
The Federalists and Democratic-Republicans were each considering alternatives. Though Jefferson had supported Burr as a Vice Presidential candidate, he and Burr had lost the 1800 election. Madison considered asking Burr to be Vice President, but Burr’s mind was set on the Presidency or on the Senate, and he feared that the extremely negative campaign in New York made Burr too controversial for the V.P. position, even if he would accept.
Madison decided a New Englander was best, anyway. However, one possibility, Elbridge Gerry, was between the two parties. While that would potentially draw New England votes, he preferred someone who would more clearly represent their party. So, in the end, Madison asked John Langdon of New Hampshire,(1) whom he hoped would bring New England in. Langdon had a wealth of experience as both a senator and governor, and unlike Gerry, his service under John Paul Jones could convince people that, unlike Jefferson, Madison would support more military preparedness, thus dampening an issue on which Adams had won in 1800.
Burr insisted that he should still be in the discussion as a D-R, and planned to use his political patronage (what would become Tammany Hall in decades to come) to try to get a key position. And, he said if Hamilton ran, he would oppose him, too.
The Federalists, meanwhile, after being unable to coax John Jay out of retirement, and finding John Adams refusing to run (Though a couple Federalist electors would vote for him), decided that it was either Hamilton or Charles C. Pinckney. John Adams then caused a stir by saying that he couldn’t support Hamilton, and supported Burr in his concerns about Hamilton’s radicalness.
The craziness produced a political cartoon which became very famous. States were represented by people having a pleasant discussion as they walked down a scenic, country road. Several people represented New York - these people were engaged in a very loud brawl, with shouts, punching, and so on that the others glanced at with disdain.
Federalists began to warm to Hamilton, especially the New Englanders. Hamilton was an expansionist leader who would do a lot of good and ease their fears over the war fervor by expanding the military. These fears were dying down, but they could spring up again. After all, the British were still impressing American sailors at that date, and Spain was also a possible target. If Burr tried to throw support behind Madison, so what? Burr was a Democratic-Republican. Hamilton was from New York anyway, and he would carry it much more easily than Charles C. Pinckney.
Yes, there was Pinckney, one of the main Federalist leaders. With President Adams ensuring that slavery would not exist in Louisiana, it drew excited cheers from the most boisterous anti-slavery voices in New England. This caused those opposed to Hamilton to label him an abolitionist thanks to Hamilton’s ardent support of the Purchase. (He was actually somewhat ambivalent on the issue – though for blacks who were free, he believed an integrated society was possible. Either way; many Southerners considered Pinckney to be the only choice.)
Hamilton’s VP choice was Robert Goodlee Harper, known for saying, “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.” They emphasized a strong defensive mindset. Burr, to try to take votes from Hamilton and give them hopefully to Madison, tried to draw attention away from that and spread rumors – copied by Hamilton’s other opposition – that he planned to ban slavery. When this had little effect, he added to those stories of a plan to fight the British by invading Canada to increase Northeastern power; never mind that Hamilton was very pro-British. In the days before the end of impressment, it seemed possible.
Burr, meanwhile, was still on a Presidential kick, promising that he would protect Georgian farmers from the Spanish in Florida. Hamilton tried to reassure people by stating he’d love to have Florida himself – as a place with “no Republicans.” However, Burr used this to make him seem like a tyrant. Burr was seen by those in the South as the one candidate who would protect plantation owners’ interests. In reality, such Southern beliefs helped to create one of the more ironic twists in American political history, given Burr’s later actions in Louisiana, even if they were based partly on political expedience on Burr’s part..
Such feelings on Burr’s part riled up the Federalists even more – they feared that a Burr run – or even Burr’s support of Madison – would doom them in the South.
Suddenly the same factions that saw the Constitutional Convention divided on this matter flared up again. Jefferson wrote poignantly in a letter to the editor of his local paper, “This is exactly why the state, and not the Federal government, must reign supreme in all things….Had we chosen to allow slavery in Louisiana, it would have been the individual settlers who made that choice…. A strong central government is not only the antithesis of a true democracy as we have ordained, its inherent weakness is made evident in debates such as this.”
Madison tried to remain above the fray. He managed to some extent, but he couldn’t help but reminisce about the Constitutional Convention to one reporter:
“We decided on the 3/5 compromise, and the extension of the slave trade for only twenty years, because in doing so, we sought to please all sides,” he said, “to create a document which would stand the test of time. It was very, very hard to do so….We can, and shall, have a strong military, especially our navy, under a Democratic-Republican administration. At the same time, though, we shall not allow the country to become dominated by one section or the other, nor will we ever allow a strong military to gain a foothold with which it could squash our freedom.”
Adams’ move to prohibit slavery in Louisiana had passed by summer. This caused Southerners, concerned about their own livelihoods, to consider Florida as a potential target, through purchase or otherwise. Hamilton might be able to get them that, but on the other hand, Pinckney could, too. And, Hamilton had some major negatives. The first was his very sordid affair, what some thought was one of several, in 1795. The second was that Hamilton had never held an elected office. Aaron Burr had at least done that, though Burr seemed marked more by self-interest than anything. Burr had already begun to buy some land in Louisiana, something which would go fast with slaveholders moving out.
With an eye toward reconciling the two sections of the country, the Democratic-Republicans chose Madison and Langdon. Madison hoped people would remember his work on the Constitution, and believe therefore that he could help resolve this sectional conflict, too.
Federalists were divided. However, swayed by the New England delegates – several of whom threatened to march off and support Hamilton anyway if Pinckney was nominated – they chose Hamilton and Harper. The phrase, “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute” would become a prominent campaign slogan for them.
This troubled the Southern Federalists, who felt Pinckney was much more viable – he’d held office and he’d never had the kind of affair Hamilton had! The debate had become so intense that they decided to nominate Pinckney in a separate ballot, hoping to get enough delegates on their side to get him elected. As one noted, “We felt like we were being run by the New Englanders, and we wanted to put a stop to it.”
It wouldn’t have mattered if they had remained together behind either candidate.
Madison, in selecting Langdon, had found a man who would support a navy and who understood New Englanders. Pinckney’s choice of a Northerner, but Hamilton was well known enough he drew Massachusetts and New York anyway, as well as Maryland (save for the two Adams electors) and Connecticut. Delaware (won by Pinckney) would have been a tossup had only Hamilton and Madison run, but Madison took New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania easily. Hamilton would not have won a majority even if Pinckney had not run.
Not only that, but had only Hamilton run, Madison would have won Tennessee, if not South Carolina, both of which Pinckney won. And, Pinckney may have won Georgia were it not for Hamilton, but he surely wouldn’t have won New York, and even Massachusetts and his own South Carolina are questionable.
So, Pinckney won Tennessee, South Carolina, and Delaware, as well as two of Maryland’s electors, for 20 electoral votes. Adams was given 2 Maryland electors, while Hamilton won Maryland’s other 7 electors, as well as New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, for 54 electoral votes. Madison took all the other states, and received 100 electoral votes. Even without Georgia, he would have had a majority.
A noted historian later pointed out two keys to Madison’s campaign. “He grew from following Jefferson’s footsteps to learning from Jefferson’s mistakes and agreeing on just enough of the Federalists’ goals that he was able to win some over. People could see this wasn’t a repeat of Jefferson. But, also, his choice of Langdon showed that he understood the need to have the rich base of New England represented,” he wrote.
As for the Federalists, they’d learned from their mistakes. Hamilton was a very good candidate, but he was still hurt by the scandalous affair. More importantly, he was viewed by some as more of a sectional candidate who still hadn’t won an election. “It’s too bad,” the same historian wrote, “because Hamilton had a brilliant mind. His work on the Federalist papers, his work in the Treasury, his military service all point to him as an excellent choice….if Adams hadn’t run in 1800 he would have, and he might have won, but Adams’ near miss of ’96 meant most Federalists felt it was “his turn.” Yes, there was concern about war, but Madison had answered that satisfactorily to enough people that Madison wound up as the fourth President.”
From his home in Mount Vernon, George Washington, now 72, was quoted as saying, “I remember when Mr. Franklin said we have a Republic if we can keep it; we have seen many scenarios lately, and I believe it is a testimony to our system of government that we have met every test and passed it.”
The Federalists felt they had to reinvent themselves somehow. They would slowly evolve and do this, but it would take a war to help unite the sections of the nation as one first.
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To enlist the support of some Federalists in Congress, Madison had crossed party lines and appointed a couple to key positions, though men like Jefferson’s Treasury Secretary, Gallatin, were placed in key positions to support D-R ideals.
Madison would serve two terms, including being part of one very confused war.
War did not come with Britain, as Madison continued attempts to make peace with them. In one effort to reach across the aisle, Madison used John Adams’ son, John Quincy Adams, at times to help with treaty negotiations with Great Britain. As tensions rose with Spain, he knew it was best to secure a treaty with Britain, though he also kept Adams’ ambassador to Britain.
The fact that the Danish were in the war on the Coalition side helped; the British had a few more Naval supporters, though they and the Danes squabbled a little over who should have control. However, another incident shamed the British – in early 1807, they chased a ship to the U.S. because they claimed the U.S. ship held British sailors, but in fact the sailors were U.S. ones who had previously been impressed by the British but escaped! It had no British sailors on it! (2)
The British Parliament voted to end impressment, partly because of the embarrassing debacle that had come out of the Chesapeake Affair, mostly because the United States was at war with an enemy – Spain. Madison had signed a treaty with the British in 1806, and the Senate passed it, but he’d insisted on something further. Now, he would receive it.
The treaty corollary in August of 1807 called for the Great Lakes to be totally free of weapons and warships, officially ended impressment, and also ended British support for natives harassing settlers in the Midwest. Madison proudly proclaimed that, “Today, we can finally say that the British recognize us as their equals in the community of nations, as we have truthfully been since we declared our independence.”
Jefferson had been against the extension of Jays’ Treaty, but with the corollary having been signed late in 1807, he wrote to Adams that, now that the British were finally accepting them as equals, he could grudgingly accept it, given the war which had erupted with Spain, . However, he truly hoped that once the present war was over, “America would settle down and become the small, isolationist, agrarian nation it was meant to be.”
The war which Jefferson wrote of, had come because of greatly increased tensions between Spain and America. Antagonism had reached a fever pitch earlier.
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(1) Langdon was asked in 1812 but he declined; he was over 70 at the time. It’s also possible the stir raised by the war made him decline in 1812, another factor which wouldn’t be present here.
(2) Whether this Chesapeake Affair analogue is the same ship but without the British sailor who was found, or a different ship, isn’t as important as the fact that relations were better, and something like this could have happened. Plus, as noted, the British don’t quite feel as much need to impress with another navy on its side.
The important part is that the Federalists choose Adams over Hamilton, partly because of Hamilton’s ambition and morals, partly because Senator Adams has done well, earning a reputation as a leader, one who they say “should have won” in 1796.
