1804 United States presidential election

Background

Although the 1800 presidential election was a close one, Jefferson steadily gained popularity during his term. American trade boomed due to the temporary suspension of hostilities during the French Revolutionary Wars in Europe, and the Louisiana Purchase was heralded as a great achievement.

Nominations

Democratic-Republican Party nomination

The congressional nominating caucus of the Democratic-Republican Party was held in February 1804, with 108 members of the United States Congress in attendance and Senator Stephen R. Bradley as its chair. Jefferson was renominated by acclamation while Vice President Aaron Burr was not considered for renomination. The caucus selected to give the vice-presidential nomination to Governor George Clinton whose main opponent was Senator John Breckinridge. A thirteen-member committee was selected to manage Jefferson's presidential campaign.

Vice-presidential candidates

• John Breckinridge (Kentucky), U.S. Senator
• George Clinton (New York), Governor
• Gideon Granger (Connecticut), Postmaster General
• John Langdon (New Hampshire), former U.S. Senator
• Levi Lincoln (Massachusetts), U.S. Attorney General
• William Maclay (Pennsylvania), former U.S. Senator

File:John Breckinridge as Attorney General (cropped).jpg|Senator John Breckinridge from Kentucky File:George Clinton by Ezra Ames (3x4 cropped).jpg|Governor George Clinton of New York File:Gideon Granger (3x4 cropped).jpg|Postmaster General Gideon Granger from Connecticut File:John langdon (cropped2).jpg|Former Senator John Langdon from New Hampshire File:Levi Lincoln Sr. (Cropped1).jpg|Attorney General Levi Lincoln from Massachusetts File:William Maclay Portrait (3x4 cropped).jpg|Former Senator William Maclay from Pennsylvania

Balloting

Federalist Party nomination

The Federalists did not hold a nominating caucus, but Federalist congressional leaders informally agreed to nominate a ticket consisting of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina and former Senator Rufus King of New York. Pinckney's public service during and after the American Revolutionary War had won him national stature, and Federalists hoped that Pinckney would win some Southern votes away from Jefferson, who had dominated the Southern vote in the previous election.

General election

Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton's death in July 1804 following the Burr–Hamilton duel destroyed whatever hope the Federalists had of defeating the popular Jefferson. Leaderless and disorganized, the Federalists failed to attract much support outside of New England. The Federalists attacked the Louisiana Purchase as unconstitutional, criticized Jefferson's gunboat navy, and alleged that Jefferson had fathered children with his slave, Sally Hemings, but the party failed to galvanize opposition to Jefferson. Jefferson's policies of expansionism and reduced government spending were widely popular. Jefferson was aided by an effective Democratic-Republican party organization, which had continued to develop since 1800, especially in the Federalist stronghold of New England.

Jefferson's victory was overwhelming, and he even won four of the five New England states. Pinckney won only two states, Connecticut and Delaware. This was the first election where the Democratic-Republicans won in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

As of 2024, Jefferson was the first of eight presidential nominees to win a significant number of electoral votes in at least three elections, the others being Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, William Jennings Bryan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and Donald Trump. Of these, Jackson, Cleveland, and Roosevelt also won the popular vote in at least three elections. Jefferson, Cleveland, Roosevelt, and Trump were also their respective party's nominees for three consecutive elections. Jefferson is also the first President to receive at least 100,000 votes.

Results

Source (Popular Vote): A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825

Source (electoral vote):

(a) Only 11 of the 17 states chose electors by popular vote.

(b) Those states that did choose electors by popular vote had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements.

Popular vote by state

The popular vote totals used are the elector from each party with the highest total of votes. The vote totals of North Carolina and Tennessee appear to be incomplete.

States that flipped from Federalist to Democratic-Republican

• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• Rhode Island
• Vermont

Close states

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

1. New Hampshire, 4.02% (702 votes)

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. Massachusetts, 7.16% (3,953 votes)

Maps

ElectoralCollege1804-Large.png|Electoral College map 1804 United States presidential election by county.svg|Map of presidential election results by county, shaded according to the vote share of the highest result for an elector of any given candidate (includes rejected votes) 1804 United States presidential election by electoral district.svg|Map of presidential election results by electoral district, shaded according to the vote share of the highest result for an elector of any given candidate. Electoral boundaries for Maryland could not be found (includes rejected votes)

Electoral College selection

• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Georgia
• New York
• South Carolina
• Vermont}}}}
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Virginia}}}}
• North Carolina
• Maryland
• Tennessee}}}} State is divided into two electoral districts and half the electors are chosen from each district.
• Two electors chosen by voters statewide
• One elector chosen per congressional district in a statewide vote

Notes

References

• A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825
• Presidential Election of 1804: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress

References

1. "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". [[CQ Press]].
2. (2010). "Presidential Elections, 1789-2008: County, State, and National Mapping of Election Data". University of Michigan Press.
3. (1979). "National Party Conventions, 1831-1976". [[Congressional Quarterly]].
4. (1967). "Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Founding Father". University of North Carolina Press.
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