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The Election of 1800

Introduction

Today, we take for granted that there will be a smooth and peaceful transition of power from one presidential administration to the next. In 1800, however, Americans were not confident of such an occurrence. The United States was weak and still learning how to govern itself. It was experiencing deteriorating relations with its former ally, France, and continual harassment from its former ruler, Great Britain. Party divisions and partisanship had crept into the nation’s political psyche, clouding discussion on the issues with rhetoric and negativity. In fact, many people predicted that the election would be disastrous for the nation, with the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans fighting for control of the government . . . or even secession by states that had grown discontent with the power of the national government.

In this lesson, students will examine two primary source images related to election campaigns. They will explore the election of 1800 and the resulting peaceful transfer of power from one political party to the other, chronicle the 1800 election results on an electoral map, and write an essay describing how each party appealed to different segments of society.

Materials

Strategy

Opening Activity: Political Imagery, Then and Now
Political cartoons have been around for hundreds of years. Though they don't always convey humor, they feature illustrations that are arranged and/or captioned to make a comment about politics, social issues, or life in general. In this activity, students work in small groups to examine two illustrated forms of political commentary and analyze their content, message, and audience impact. The first image is a cloth banner celebrating the Thomas Jefferson's electoral victory over John Adams in the election of 1800. The second image is a contemporary cartoon commenting on the 2004 election between George W. Bush and John Kerry.

  1. Divide students in to small groups.
  2. Give each group a copy of the student handout Political Imagery, Then and Now. If preferred, you can write the questions on the board and display the two illustrations on an overhead projector.
  3. Review the directions on the handout with the class. Have student groups examine the two images and discuss the questions on the handout.
Facilitate a whole-class discussion in which students share their thoughts and findings.

Slide Presentation
You may either present the The Election of 1800 QuickTime Slide Presentation on a computer projector or introduce the information yourself. Before beginning the lesson:

  1. If your computer does not have QuickTime Player software, download and install the free QuickTime Player.
  2. Download the The Election of 1800 QuickTime Slide Presentation (file size 2.8 MB) to your computer. Connect your computer to an LCD projector or a television screen in the classroom.
  3. Show students the The Election of 1800 QuickTime Slide Presentation. Pause each slide for as long as necessary and share the related information from the The Election of 1800 QuickTime Slide Presentation—Teacher Notes.

Main Activity: Party Rivalries
In this activity, students construct an electoral map documenting the results of the election of 1800. Students then discuss the reasons why each candidate appealed to different regions of the country and why the election of 1800 was a pivotal event for the United States. 

  1. Divide students into small groups.
  2. Give each group a copy of the Electoral College Map Activity handout. Review the student directions with the class.
  3. Have students complete the electoral map first. Then, as a class, review the Federalist/Democratic-Republicans chart (below step 3 on the electoral College Map Activity handout). [Note: For a completed version of the map, see the Map of Electoral Votes 1800—Teacher Reference.]
  4. Using the discussion questions in step 4 on the Electoral Colleg Map Activity handout, conduct a whole-class discussion on the election of 1800.
  5. Have students write an essay as outlined in step 5 on the Electoral College Map Activity handout.

Lesson Extension

Have students create political cartoons for the presidential campaign of 1800 featuring caricatures of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and possibly Alexander Hamilton or Aaron Burr.


This lesson was written by Greg Timmons, freelance writer and education consultant, Missoula, Montana.