Details
[JEFFERSON, THOMAS]. SEDGEWICK, THEODORE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Autograph letter signed ("Theodore Sedgewick") to "My friend" W. Williams, Washington, D.C., 11 February 1801. 1 page, 4to, evenly browned.
THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE IN THE MIDST OF THE JEFFERSON-BURR ELECTION CRISIS: "15 BALLOTS HAVE BEEN TAKEN & NO ELECTION"
An expectional letter written during the heat of the Constitutional crisis over the Presidential election of 1801, by the Speaker, as he presided over the balloting: "I have this moment rec[eive]d in the chair [the presiding chair of the House of Representatives] your letter...It is now 9. o clock -- 15 ballots have already been taken & no election. Jefferson has 8, Burr 6 states and two are divided. There is no prospect of an election this evening -- should it prove otherwise I will write you again before 4. o clock to which time I have requested the poetmaster Genl. to suspend closing the mail..."
The 1801 election pitted President against Vice-President: John Adams against Thomas Jefferson with Aaron Burr the acknowledged candidate for Vice-President Jefferson's ticket. But when the electoral votes were tallied, Jefferson and Burr each received 73, throwing the election into the House. Since electoral votes had not been specifically marked to distinguish votes for President from votes for Vice-President, die-hard Federalists attempted to promote Burr's election as President, in disregard of the electorate's intent. Each state cast a single vote based on a polling of that state's delegation. A total of 36 ballots were cast between 11 and 17 February (Sedgewick here writes on the first day of the crisis). Finally Alexander Hamilton -- who thought Burr unacceptable -- swung Federalist support to Jefferson, who was finally declared President-elect on February 17th. The crisis prompted the passage of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804.
THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE IN THE MIDST OF THE JEFFERSON-BURR ELECTION CRISIS: "15 BALLOTS HAVE BEEN TAKEN & NO ELECTION"
An expectional letter written during the heat of the Constitutional crisis over the Presidential election of 1801, by the Speaker, as he presided over the balloting: "I have this moment rec[eive]d in the chair [the presiding chair of the House of Representatives] your letter...It is now 9. o clock -- 15 ballots have already been taken & no election. Jefferson has 8, Burr 6 states and two are divided. There is no prospect of an election this evening -- should it prove otherwise I will write you again before 4. o clock to which time I have requested the poetmaster Genl. to suspend closing the mail..."
The 1801 election pitted President against Vice-President: John Adams against Thomas Jefferson with Aaron Burr the acknowledged candidate for Vice-President Jefferson's ticket. But when the electoral votes were tallied, Jefferson and Burr each received 73, throwing the election into the House. Since electoral votes had not been specifically marked to distinguish votes for President from votes for Vice-President, die-hard Federalists attempted to promote Burr's election as President, in disregard of the electorate's intent. Each state cast a single vote based on a polling of that state's delegation. A total of 36 ballots were cast between 11 and 17 February (Sedgewick here writes on the first day of the crisis). Finally Alexander Hamilton -- who thought Burr unacceptable -- swung Federalist support to Jefferson, who was finally declared President-elect on February 17th. The crisis prompted the passage of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804.