Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. He ran against John Adams twice. The first time, he came in second, making him vice president. He then ran against him in the election of 1800, which had turned into a battle of Federalist and Democratic Republicans. He had defeated Adams due to a flaw in the electrical system. Then, he tied against Aaron Burr, so the House of Representatives had voted Jefferson into office. They created a 12th amendment changing the way of electing a president to avoid this problem from occurring again. Thomas was a delegate of the Second Continental Congress, and became the first secretary of state, although he never fought in the American Revolution because he was in France. He was also asked