To What Extent Was The Election Of 1800 By Thomas Jefferson

"Writing to the Virginia jurist and essayist Spencer Roane in September 1819, Thomas Jefferson described his election to the presidency as "the revolution of 1800 . . . as real a revolution in the principles of our government as that of 1776 was in its form." He believed that it had been a revolution, not because of a dramatic event ridden with violence, but a revolution “by the rational and peaceable instrument of reform, the suffrage of the people". The intense and seemingly critical election of 1800 was preceded by several years of increasing political unrest, during which, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans attacked each other with no mercy. The election was a race between Adams for the Federalists and Jefferson for the Republicans.

He minimized the military, cut many taxes, and reduced public spending significantly. He hoped for an agriculture-based economy with many small farms that would help to pay off the country’s debt. John Ferling points out the way in which "Jefferson consciously set out to banish every trace of monarchy and aristocracy that he believed had defiled Federalist rule”. He was surprisingly modest, as he preferred riding horseback to a carriage and casual attire to the powdered wigs of his predecessors. He wanted to reduce any aristocratic image the people had of him that could be reminiscent of the Federalist style. Jefferson believed that “Every man, at the call of the law, would fly to the standard of the law, and meet invasions of the public order as his own personal concern.” He advocated for militia power over military strength as well. The republican government also drastically reduced the prices of farmland with acts such as the Land Act of 1820. The republican government also reduced some of the distinctions between social classes. Most people felt that all Americans were treated as equals under Jefferson’s power. Many states began to remove voting restrictions such as property qualifications so poor farmers could also vote and have a voice in their government. Prior to the election of 1800, property qualifications restricted voting rights in most states, but by 1825, only a third of those states still maintained those laws, only with higher tax rates in those states. The republican government also rewrote the way the electoral college was put together. In 1800, state legislators voted for electors, but it was soon changed to a popular vote. Jefferson passed the Twelfth Amendment, which changed the way electors voted by allowing each elector one vote for the presidency and a separate vote for the vice