Thomas Jefferson: political compromiser

(From Morton Borden)

For twelve years the Constitution worked, after a fashion. From its

inception the new document had been subjected to severe trials and

divisive strains. A rebellion in Pennsylvania, a naval war with France,

demand for states’ rights from Virginia and Kentucky, and various

Western schemes of disunion – all had been surmounted. Had it not been

for the great prestige of George Washington and the practical moderation

of John Adams, America’s second attempt at a federal union might have

failed like the first. Partisan passions had run high in the 1790s, and any

single factor on which men disagreed – Hamilton’s financial plans or the

French Revolution or the Sedition Act – might easily have caused the

stoppage of the nation’s political machinery.

The two-party system emerged during this decade and on each important

public issue public opinion seemed to oscillate between Federalist and

Democratic-Republican. Perhaps this was to be expected of a young

nation politically adolescent. Year by year Americans were becoming

more politically alert and active; if there was little room for middle ground

between these two factions, yet opinions were hardly fixed and

irrevocable. The culmination of the partisan controversy and the test of

respective strengths took place in the monumental election of 1800.

Jefferson was feared, honestly feared, by almost all Federalists. Were he

to win the election, so they predicted, all the hard constructive gains of

those twelve years would be dissipated. Power would be returned to the

individual states; commerce would suffer; judicial power would be

lessened; and the wonderful financial system of Hamilton would be

dismantled and destroyed. Jefferson was an atheist and he would attack

the churches. Jefferson was a hypocrite, an aristocrat posing as a

democrat, appeals to the baser motives of human beings in order to obtain

votes. Jefferson was a revolutionary, a Francophile and, after ruining the

Army and Navy under the guise of economic measures, might very well

involve the nation in a war with England. In short, it was doubtful if the

Constitution could continue its successful course under such a president.

In like manner the Republicans fear another Federalist victory. To be

sure, John Adams had split with Hamilton and had earned the enmity of

the Essex Junto. But would he not continue Hamilton’s “moneyed

system?” Did not Adams share the guilt of every Federalist for the

despicable Alien and Sedition Acts? Was it not true that “His Rotundity”

so admired the British system that he was a monarchist at heart?

Republicans were not engaging in idle chatter, nor were they speaking

solely for effect, when they predicted many dire consequences if Adams

were elected. A typical rumor had Adams uniting “his house to that of the

majesty of Britain” and “the bridegroom was to be king of America.

Throughout the country popular interest in the election was intense,

intensity sustained over months of balloting. When the Republicans

carried New York City, Alexander Hamilton seriously suggested that the

results be voided. And when the breach between Adams and Hamilton

became public knowledge, Republicans nodded knowingly and quoted the

maxim: “When Thieves fall out, honest men come by their own.”

The Federalists were narrowly defeated. But the decision was

complicated by a result which many had predicted: a tied electoral vote

between the two Republican candidates, Aaron Burr and Thomas

Jefferson. (Indeed, the Twelfth Amendment was adopted in 1804 to avoid

any such recurrence.) A choice between the two would be made by the

House of Representatives. At this moment, February, 1801, the

Constitution seemed on the verge of collapse. Federalist members of the

lower house united in support of Burr; Republicans were just as adamant

for Jefferson. After thirty-five ballots, neither side had yet obtained the

necessary majority. The issue seemed hopelessly deadlocked. What would

happen on March 4, inauguration day?

One representative from Maryland, sick with a high fever, was literally

carried into Congress on a stretcher to maintain the tied vote of his state.

The Republican governor of Pennsylvania, Thomas McKean, threatened to

march on Washington with troops if the Federalists persisted in thwarting

the will of the people. Hamilton was powerless; his advice that Jefferson

was the lesser evil went unheeded. So great was their hatred of the

Virginian that most Federalists in Congress would have opposed him

regardless of the consequences. After all, they reasoned, Jefferson would

dismantle the Federal government anyway. In the end, however,

patriotism and common sense prevailed. For the choice was longer

Jefferson or Burr, but Jefferson or no president at all. A few Federalists,

led by James Bayard of Delaware, could not accept the logic of their party

and threw the election to Jefferson.

What a shock it was, then, to read Jefferson’s carefully chosen words in his

inaugural address: “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists”