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THE MAKING OF A NATION - US History Series: Jefferson Is Elected President in 1800, But Only on the 36th Vote
Thomas Jefferson defeated Aaron Burr. But it took three days of voting in the House of Representatives to settle on a winner.
Transcript1 of radio broadcast:
21 May 2008

Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – an American history series in VOA Special English.

The presidential election of eighteen hundred is our subject this week. The candidates included President John Adams of the Federalist Party and Vice2 President Thomas Jefferson of the Republican3 Party. Here with our story are Frank Oliver and Shep O’Neal.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:
 

John Adams, in a detail from a portrait by the 19th century artist Alonzo Chappel

As president, John Adams was head of the Federalist Party. But the power of that position belonged, in fact, to former treasury4 secretary Alexander Hamilton.

For this and other reasons, Adams did not like Hamilton. He said: "Thomas Jefferson will be a good president, if elected. I would rather be a minister to Europe under Jefferson than to be a president controlled by Hamilton."

Hamilton did not like Adams. He did everything he could to block Adams from becoming president again. He gave his support to another Federalist candidate, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina.

Under the electoral system of that time, the candidate with the most votes became president. The candidate with the second highest number of votes became vice president.

VOICE ONE:
 

Thomas Jefferson

A Federalist victory in the election of eighteen hundred would not be easy. The Republicans5 had a very strong and popular candidate -- Thomas Jefferson. So, Federalist Party leaders attempted to change the electoral system.

The Constitution said state legislatures were to choose electors to vote for president. The Federalists tried to gain control over the legislatures' decisions.

They wanted Congress to create a special committee to rule if an elector had -- or did not have -- the right to vote. The committee could say if an elector's vote should be counted or thrown away.

VOICE TWO:

The committee would have six members from the Senate and six members from the House of Representatives. The thirteenth member would be the chief justice of the United States. Creating such a committee violated6 the Constitution. Federalist leaders knew this. So, they wanted Congress to approve the committee, but keep the measure secret until after the election.

The Federalists held a majority of seats in the Senate. And the Senate voted to approve the proposal. But some Federalist members of the House of Representatives denounced7 it. They made many changes in the proposal. The Senate refused to accept the changes. Without agreement by both houses of Congress, the bill died.

Federalist leaders saw their hopes for an election victory begin to disappear.

VOICE ONE:
 

Aaron Burr

By the summer of eighteen hundred, Thomas Jefferson's Republican Party had strong leaders in every state. It had many newspapers to express party ideas. Jefferson decided8 to take a holiday at Monticello, his farm in Virginia.

The Republican Party leader in New York was a lawyer, Aaron Burr. Burr had served as an officer under General George Washington during America's war for independence from Britain. After the war, he joined the Federalist Party and was elected to the United States Senate. Later, he changed parties and became a Republican.

In eighteen hundred, a group of both Federalists and Republicans supported him as a candidate for president.

VOICE TWO:

Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were bitter enemies. When Hamilton learned of a plan by his own party to elect Burr president, instead of Jefferson, his reaction was quick and sharp.

"Anybody," he said, "even Thomas Jefferson, is better than Aaron Burr. Jefferson is not dangerous. Burr is. Jefferson's ideas of government are wrong. But at least he is an honest man. Burr is a man without honesty and character. He will destroy America."

VOICE ONE:
 

In 1800, President John Adams sent a letter to federal department heads ordering the relocation of government offices from Philadelphia to the District of Columbia

The president elected in eighteen hundred would govern in a new capital city. The national government would move from Philadelphia to Washington, a newly built city in the District of Columbia. It was on the Potomac River between the states of Maryland and Virginia.

When President Adams and his wife Abigail arrived in Washington, D.C., they found a frontier town. There were few houses or streets. Missus Adams could not believe what she saw. She wrote to her daughter:

"This is a city only because we call it a city. Our house here is very big. But the rooms are not finished. There is almost no furniture. There are not enough lamps for light."

VOICE TWO:

A street called Pennsylvania Avenue went from the president's house to the Capitol building where Congress would meet. On each side of the street -- where buildings stand today -- there were fields of mud.

This was the new federal city, the new capital of the United States. This was where the winner of the presidential election of eighteen hundred would begin his term of office.

VOICE ONE:

George Washington won America's first two presidential elections without opposition9. John Adams won the third presidential election by three votes. This time, in eighteen hundred, there was no clear winner.

When the electors' votes were counted, President Adams had sixty-five votes. But Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr each had seventy-three votes. So, under the Constitution, the House of Representatives would choose between Jefferson or Burr -- the candidates with the highest number of votes.

Each congressman10 could vote. But each state had just one vote. That vote would go to the candidate supported by a majority of congressmen from the state. A candidate had to receive a majority of the state votes to win. In eighteen hundred, that was nine of the sixteen states.

VOICE TWO:

The Federalists saw the situation as their last chance to control the presidency11. They had two plans. They would try to block the Congress from electing either Jefferson or Burr as president. Then they would try to find a way to put executive12 power in the hands of a Federalist. If that plan failed, they were prepared to elect Burr.

The Federalists tried to make people believe that Burr was working with them, against Jefferson. Burr denied this. In a letter to Jefferson, Burr wrote:

"Every Republican wants you to be president of the United States. Every good Republican wants to serve under you. I would be happy and honored to be your vice president. And, if you believe I could help you better in some other position, I would do so."

VOICE ONE:
 

Tally13 of electoral votes for the 1800 presidential election

On February eleventh, the House of Representatives began to count votes, state by state. Eight states chose Jefferson. Six chose Burr. The representatives of two states -- Maryland and Vermont -- gave each man an equal number of votes. There was no majority within those states. So neither man won the votes of those states.

The voting continued. All that day and throughout the night the representatives voted. Twenty-seven times the count remained the same. Eight states for Jefferson. Six for Burr. Two undecided.

The next morning, the representatives decided to rest for four hours. The voting began again at noon. There was no change.

The thirteenth of February passed, then the fourteenth and fifteenth. Still no change. The House voted thirty-three times. It could not elect a president.

VOICE TWO:

A change in the vote of just one congressman from Maryland or Vermont could decide the contest.

Later, after the election, the representative from Delaware said he had met with two congressmen from Maryland and one from Vermont. All were Federalists. All had voted for Aaron Burr.

The Delaware congressman said they claimed they spoke14 with a friend of Thomas Jefferson. He said they told Jefferson's friend they would change their votes, if Jefferson made certain promises.

Jefferson denied that he had made any political promises. He said many men tried to get promises from him. But he said he told them all that he would never become president with his hands tied.

VOICE ONE:

History experts do not agree on what really happened. What is sure is that the House of Representatives voted for the thirty-sixth time on February seventeenth. Ten states, including Maryland and Vermont, voted for Thomas Jefferson. Four states voted for Aaron Burr.

Two states -- Delaware and South Carolina -- did not vote. But Jefferson had the majority he needed. He would be the new president.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER:

Our program was written by Harold Braverman and Christine Johnson. The narrators were Frank Oliver and Shep O’Neal. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION, American history in VOA Special English. Our series can be found online with transcripts15 and MP3s at voaspecialenglish.com.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
2 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
3 republican wW0xw     
n.拥护共和政体的人; adj.共和政体的,(Republican)共和党人,(Republican)共和党的
参考例句:
  • Some families have been republican for generations.有些家庭世代都支持共和党。
  • A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.第三个候选人已经加入角逐共和党提名的行列。
4 treasury 7GeyP     
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库
参考例句:
  • The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
  • This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。
5 republicans 060358f4c6087ad76e0fb6fca649bd02     
拥护共和政体者,共和主义者( republican的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
  • The latest poll gives the Republicans a 5% lead. 最近的民意调查结果表明共和党领先了五个百分点。
6 violated e9bdc00380e8f8d539ac7e2a7aa6a9c8     
亵渎( violate的过去式和过去分词 ); 违反; 侵犯; 强奸
参考例句:
  • Note that thick, strong angles of tibia are not violated. 注意肥厚、结实的胫骨成角部分未受损坏。
  • The soldiers violated the church by using it as a stable. 士兵们把教堂当马厩,亵渎了教堂。
7 denounced baee838f7214b3006e7ee5267b4f557c     
公开指责( denounce的过去式和过去分词 ); 揭发; 告发; 通知废止
参考例句:
  • She publicly denounced the government's handling of the crisis. 她公开谴责政府处理这场危机的方式。
  • He was denounced as a foreign spy. 有人告发他是外国间谍。
8 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
9 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
10 Congressman TvMzt7     
n.(美)国会议员
参考例句:
  • He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
  • The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
11 presidency J1HzD     
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句:
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
12 executive Ymlxs     
adj.执行的,行政的;n.执行者,行政官,经理
参考例句:
  • A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
  • He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。
13 tally Gg1yq     
n.计数器,记分,一致,测量;vt.计算,记录,使一致;vi.计算,记分,一致
参考例句:
  • Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
  • The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。
14 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
15 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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