Recent Articles

U.S. presidential election, 1796

Summary

The election of 1796 was the first to expose potential flaws in the U.S. Electoral College system.

Thomas Jefferson was a candidate for the presidency as part of a ticket, with Aaron Burr as his Vice Presidential running mate. Meanwhile, incumbent John Adams was joined by Thomas Pinckney on the Federalist Party ticket.

Under the system in place, electors had two votes, but both were for President. With no way to distinguish between their intended Presidential and Vice Presidential choices, Adams would be elected President while his opponent - Jefferson, would be chosen as Vice President. Rumors that southern electors pledged to Jefferson were coerced to give their second vote to Pinckney in hope of electing him President instead of Adams. As a consequence many Adams electors refused to cast their second vote, giving Jefferson the Vice Presidency.

The problems arising from this election, and from the election of 1800, were to lead to the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Election Results

Presidential Candidate	Party	State	Popular Vote:	Electoral Vote:
John Adams	Federalist	Massachusetts	Unknown	71
Thomas Jefferson	Democratic-Republican	Virginia	Unknown	68
Thomas Pinckney	Democratic-Republican	South Carolina	Unknown	59
Aaron Burr	Democratic-Republican	New York	Unknown	30
Samuel Adams	Federalist	Massachusetts	Unknown	15
Oliver Ellsworth	Federalist	Connecticut	Unknown	11
George Clinton	Democratic-Republican	New York	Unknown	7
John Jay	None	New York	Unknown	5
James Iredell	None	North Carolina	Unknown	3
Samuel Johnston	None	North Carolina	Unknown	2
George Washington	Federalist	Virginia	Unknown	2
John Henry	None	Maryland	Unknown	2
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney	None	South Carolina	Unknown	1

For More Information

See also: President of the United States, U.S. presidential election, 1796, History of the United States (1776-1865)