1804 United States presidential election

1804 United States presidential election
176 members of the Electoral College; 89 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout	23.8% 8.5 pp
	Presidential election results map. Green denotes states won by Jefferson and burnt orange denotes states won by Pinckney. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes cast by each state.
President before election; Thomas Jefferson; Democratic-Republican	Elected President ; Thomas Jefferson; Democratic-Republican

The 1804 United States presidential election was the fifth quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, November 2, to Wednesday, December 5, 1804. Incumbent Democratic-Republican President Thomas Jefferson defeated Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina. It was the first presidential election conducted following the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reformed procedures for electing presidents and vice presidents.

Jefferson was re-nominated by his party's congressional nominating caucus without opposition, and the party nominated Governor George Clinton of New York to replace Aaron Burr as Jefferson's running mate. With former President John Adams in retirement, the Federalists turned to Pinckney, a former ambassador and Revolutionary War hero who had been Adams's running mate in the 1800 election.

Though Jefferson had only narrowly defeated Adams in 1800, he was widely popular due to the Louisiana Purchase and a strong economy. He carried almost every state, including most states in the Federalist stronghold of New England. Several states did not hold a popular vote for president, but Jefferson dominated the popular vote in the states that did. Jefferson's 45.6 percentage point victory margin in the popular vote remains the highest victory margin in a presidential election in which there were multiple major party candidates.

Background[]

Although the presidential election of 1800 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[]

Thomas Jefferson	George Clinton
Democratic-Republican Party Ticket, 1804
for President	for Vice President

3rd President of the United States (1801–1809)	1st Governor of New York (1777–1795 & 1801–1804)

The February 1804 Democratic-Republican congressional nominating caucus selected the ticket. Unlike the previous election, the nominating caucus did not meet in secret. Jefferson's re-nomination was never in any real doubt, with the real issue being seen as who the party would nominate to replace Vice President Aaron Burr, whose relationship with Jefferson had soured. Governor George Clinton of New York was chosen as Jefferson's running mate, continuing the party's tradition of nominating a ticket consisting of a Virginian and a New Yorker.^[2]

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

Senator
John Breckinridge
from Kentucky
Governor
George Clinton
of New York
Postmaster General
Gideon Granger
from Connecticut
Former Senator
John Langdon
from New Hampshire
Attorney General
Levi Lincoln
from Massachusetts
Former Senator
William Maclay
from Pennsylvania

Balloting[]

Presidential ballot	Total	Vice-presidential ballot	Total
Thomas Jefferson	108	George Clinton	67
		John Breckinridge	20
		Levi Lincoln	9
		John Langdon	7
		Gideon Granger	4
		William Maclay	1

Federalist Party nomination[]

Charles C. Pinckney	Rufus King
Federalist Party Ticket, 1804
for President	for Vice President

Former U.S. Minister to France (1796–1797)	Former U.S. Minister to Great Britain (1796–1803)

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.^[2]

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. This was the last time that Massachusetts voted for the Democratic-Republicans until 1820.

Results[]

Electoral results
Presidential candidate	Party	Home state	Popular vote^{(a), (b)}		Electoral vote	Running mate
Presidential candidate	Party	Home state	Count	Percentage	Electoral vote	Vice-presidential candidate	Home state	Electoral vote
Thomas Jefferson (incumbent)	Democratic-Republican	Virginia	104,110	72.8%	162	George Clinton	New York	162
Charles C. Pinckney	Federalist	South Carolina	38,919	27.2%	14	Rufus King	New York	14
Total			143,029	100%	176			176
Needed to win					89			89

Source (popular vote): U.S. President National Vote. Our Campaigns. (February 10, 2006).
Source (Popular Vote): A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825^[4]
Source (electoral vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 30, 2005.

^(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.


State	Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican		Charles C. Pinckney Federalist		Margin		Citation
	#	%	#	%	#	%
	5,080	100.00%	No ballots		5,080	100.00%	^[5]
	7,304	76.09%	2,295	23.91%	5,009	52.18%	^[6]
	29,599	53.58%	25,644	46.42%	3,955	7.16%	^[7]
	9,088	52.01%	8,386	47.99%	702	4.02%	^[8]
New Jersey	13,119	99.86%	19	0.14%	13,100	99.72%	^[9]
^[i]	1,024		1,154				^[10]
	2,593	87.69%	364	12.31%	2,229	75.38%	^[11]
Pennsylvania	22,081	94.69%	1,239	5.31%	20,842	89.38%	^[12]
	1,312	100.00%	No ballots		1,312	100.00%	^[13]
^[ii]	778		No ballots				^[14]
	12,926	99.42%	75	0.58%	12,851	98.84%	^[15]

^ Only the results for Districts 8 and 10 are shown, as the tallies for the other twelve appear to be lost
^ Only the results for District 5 is shown, as the tallies for the other four appear to be lost

Popular vote

Jefferson			72.8%
Pinckney			27.2%

Electoral vote

Jefferson			92.0%
Pinckney			8.0%

Close states[]

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

New Hampshire, 4.02% (702 votes)

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

Massachusetts, 7.16% (3,955 votes)

Electoral College selection[]

Results by county explicitly indicating the percentage of the winning candidate in each county. Shades of blue are for Jefferson (Democratic-Republican) and shades of yellow are for Pinckney (Federalist).

Method of choosing electors	State(s)
Each elector appointed by state legislature	Connecticut Delaware Georgia New York South Carolina Vermont
Each elector chosen by voters statewide	New Hampshire New Jersey Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Virginia
State is divided into electoral districts, with one elector chosen per district by the voters of that district	Kentucky Maryland North Carolina Tennessee
Two electors chosen by voters statewide One elector chosen per Congressional district in a statewide vote	Massachusetts

References[]

^ "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". United States Election Project. CQ Press.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Deskins, Donald Richard; Walton, Hanes; Puckett, Sherman (2010). Presidential Elections, 1789-2008: County, State, and National Mapping of Election Data. University of Michigan Press. pp. 41–42.
^ Zahniser, Marvin (1967). Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Founding Father. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 243–246.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

"A Historical Analysis of the Electoral College". The Green Papers. Retrieved March 20, 2005.
A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825
Presidential Election of 1804: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress

External links[]

Election of 1804 in Counting the Votes Archived September 30, 2019, at the Wayback Machine

[10] Only the results for Districts 8 and 10 are shown, as the tallies for the other twelve appear to be lost

[15] Only the results for District 5 is shown, as the tallies for the other four appear to be lost

[1] "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". United States Election Project. CQ Press.

[deskins1-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Deskins, Donald Richard; Walton, Hanes; Puckett, Sherman (2010). Presidential Elections, 1789-2008: County, State, and National Mapping of Election Data. University of Michigan Press. pp. 41–42.

[3] Zahniser, Marvin (1967). Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Founding Father. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 243–246.

[4] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu.

[5] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[6] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[7] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[8] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[9] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[11] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[12] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[13] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[14] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[16] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[17] "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

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show v t Thomas Jefferson
3rd President of the United States (1801–1809) 2nd Vice President of the United States (1797–1801) 1st U.S. Secretary of State (1790–1793) U.S. Minister to France (1785–1789) Delegate, Congress of the Confederation (1783-1784) 2nd Governor of Virginia (1779–1781) Delegate, Second Continental Congress (1775–1776)
Founding documents of the United States	A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774) Olive Branch Petition (initial draft; 1775) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (1775) Declaration of Independence (1776) Committee of Five authored physical history "All men are created equal" "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" "Consent of the governed" Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1777 draft and 1786 passage Freedom of religion Land Ordinance of 1784 Land Ordinance of 1785 Northwest Ordinance (1787)
French Revolution	Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)
Presidency	Inaugural addresses 1801 1805 Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery timeline Empire of Liberty Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake–Leopard affair Non-Intercourse Act First Barbary War Native American policy Marbury v. Madison West Point Military Academy State of the Union Addresses 1801 1802 1805 Cabinet Federal judicial appointments
Other noted accomplishments	Early life and career Franco-American alliance Founder, University of Virginia history Ratification Day Anti-Administration party Democratic-Republican Party Jeffersonian democracy First Party System republicanism Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measures of the United States (1790) Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions A Manual of Parliamentary Practice (1801) American Creed Jefferson disk Swivel chair
Jeffersonian architecture	Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Jefferson Hall Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades
Other writings	Notes on the State of Virginia (1785) European journey memorandums (1787) Indian removal letters Jefferson Bible (c. 1819) Jefferson manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society The Papers of Thomas Jefferson
Related	Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Member, Virginia Committee of Correspondence Committee of the States Founding Fathers of the United States Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Sally Hemings Jefferson–Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty
Elections	Presidential elections 1796 1800 1804
Legacy and memorials	Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Jefferson Territory Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Karl Bitter statues Columbia University statue Louisville statue University of Virginia statue U.S. Capitol statue Jefferson Literary and Debating Society Thomas Jefferson Foundation Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Peaks and mountains Jefferson Rock Other placenames Jefferson–Jackson Day Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two-dollar bill Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollar 250th Anniversary silver dollar U.S. postage stamps Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Popular culture	Ben and Me (1953 short) 1776 1969 musical 1972 film Jefferson in Paris (1995 film) Thomas Jefferson (1997 film) Liberty! (1997 documentary series) Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series) John Adams (2008 miniseries) Jefferson's Garden (2015 play) Hamilton 2015 musical 2020 film Washington (2020 miniseries) Wine bottles controversy
Family	Martha Jefferson (wife) Martha Jefferson Randolph (daughter) Mary Jefferson Eppes (daughter) Harriet Hemings (daughter) Madison Hemings (son) Eston Hemings (son) Thomas J. Randolph (grandson) Francis Eppes (grandson) George W. Randolph (grandson) John Wayles Jefferson (grandson) Frederick Madison Roberts (great-grandson) Peter Jefferson (father) Jane Randolph Jefferson (mother) Lucy Jefferson Lewis (sister) Randolph Jefferson (brother) Isham Randolph (grandfather) William Randolph (great-grandfather)
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Candidates	Thomas Jefferson Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
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