1804 United States presidential election

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.

1804 United States presidential election
November 2 – December 5, 1804
176 members of the Electoral College
89 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout23.8%[1] Decrease 8.5 pp
 
Nominee Thomas Jefferson Charles C. Pinckney
Party Democratic-Republican Federalist
Home state Virginia South Carolina
Running mate George Clinton Rufus King
Electoral vote 162 14
States carried 15 2
Popular vote 104,110 38,919
Percentage 72.8% 27.2%
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

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.

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
Democratic-Republican Party
Democratic-Republican Party
Democratic-Republican Party Ticket, 1804
Thomas Jefferson George Clinton
for President for Vice President
3rd
President of the United States
(1801–1809)		 1st
Governor of New York
(1777–1795, 1801–1804)

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.[2][3]

Vice-presidential candidates

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
Federalist Party
Federalist Party
Federalist Party Ticket, 1804
Charles C. Pinckney Rufus King
for President for Vice President
6th

U.S. Minister to France
(1796–1797)

 3rd

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.[4]

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.

As of 2023, Jefferson was the first of seven 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, and Richard Nixon. Of these, Jackson, Cleveland, and Roosevelt also won the popular vote in at least three elections. Jefferson, Cleveland, and Roosevelt were also their respective party's nominees for three consecutive elections.

Results

Electoral results
Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote(a), (b) Electoral
vote		 Running mate
Count Percentage 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): A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825[5]
 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.

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
# % # % # %
Kentucky 5,080 100.00% No ballots 5,080 100.00% [6]
Maryland 7,304 76.09% 2,295 23.91% 5,009 52.18% [7]
Massachusetts 29,599 53.58% 25,644 46.42% 3,955 7.16% [8]
New Hampshire 9,088 52.01% 8,386 47.99% 702 4.02% [9]
New Jersey 13,119 99.86% 19 0.14% 13,100 99.72% [10]
North Carolina[lower-roman 1] 1,024 1,154 [11]
Ohio 2,593 87.69% 364 12.31% 2,229 75.38% [12]
Pennsylvania 22,081 94.69% 1,239 5.31% 20,842 89.38% [13]
Rhode Island 1,312 100.00% No ballots 1,312 100.00% [14]
Tennessee[lower-roman 2] 778 No ballots [15]
Virginia 12,926 99.42% 75 0.58% 12,851 98.84% [16]
  1. Only the results for Districts 8 and 10 are shown, as the tallies for the other twelve appear to be lost
  2. 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%:

  1. New Hampshire, 4.02% (702 votes)

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

  1. 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
Each elector chosen by voters statewide
State is divided into electoral districts, with one elector chosen per district by the voters of that district

State is divided into two electoral districts and half the electors are chosen from each district.

 Kentucky
  • Two electors chosen by voters statewide
  • One elector chosen per Congressional district in a statewide vote
 Massachusetts

See also

References
  1. "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present". United States Election Project. CQ Press.
  2. 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. National Party Conventions, 1831-1976. Congressional Quarterly. 1979.
  4. Zahniser, Marvin (1967). Charles Cotesworth Pinckney: Founding Father. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 243–246.
  5. "A New Nation Votes". elections.lib.tufts.edu.
  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.
  10. "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.
  15. "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.
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