THOMAS JEFFERSON, VICE-PRESIDENT.

HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS.
Thomas Pickering,Pennsylvania,(continued in office),Secretaries of State.
John Marshall,Virginia,May 13,1800,
Oliver Wolcott,Connecticut,(continued in office),Secretaries of Treasury.
Samuel Dexter,Massachusetts,December 31,1800,
James M'Henry,Maryland,(continued in office),Secretaries of War.
Samuel Dexter,Massachusetts,May 13,1800,
Roger Griswold,Connecticut,February 3,1801,
Benjamin Stoddert,Maryland,May 21,1798,Secretary of the Navy.
Joseph Habersham,Georgia,(continued in office),Postmaster General.
Charles Lee,Virginia,(continued in office),Attorney General.
SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Jonathan Dayton,New Jersey,Fifth Congress,1797.
Theodore Sedgwick,Massachusetts,Sixth do.1799.

On the 1st of March, Washington, now about to retire from the presidency, addressed a communication to the senate, desiring them to attend in their chamber, on Saturday, the 4th, at ten o'clock, "to receive any communication which the new president might lay before them, touching their interests." In conformity with this summons, the senate assembled at the time and place appointed. The oath of office was administered by Mr. Bingham to Mr. Jefferson, the vice-president elect. The customary oath was next administered by the vice-president to the new senate; which preliminary forms being finished, the senate, preceded by their presiding officer, repaired to the chamber of the house of representatives, to witness the ceremonies of the inauguration of the new president.

Mr. Adams entered, accompanied by the heads of departments, the marshal of the district and his officers, and took his seat in the speaker's chair; the vice-president and secretary of the senate were seated in advance on his right, and the late speaker and clerk on the left; the justices of the supreme court sat before the president, and the foreign ministers and members of the house in their usual seats. The venerable Washington himself also appeared. As he entered, all eyes were turned towards him with admiration, and every heart beat with joy at the complacency and delight which he manifested at seeing another about to be clothed with the authority he had laid aside.

In his inaugural address, Mr. Adams expressed his preference, upon principle, to a free republican government—his attachment to the constitution of the United States—an impartial regard to the rights, interests, honor, and happiness of all the states of the Union, without preference to a Northern or Southern, an Eastern or Western position—a love of equal laws and exact justice—an inflexible determination to maintain peace and inviolable faith with all nations—his regard for the institutions of religion, and the propagation of knowledge and virtue among all classes, &c.; and, finally, he invoked the care and blessing of that Almighty Being, who in all ages had been the Patron of order, the Fountain of justice, and the Protector of virtuous liberty.

Having concluded his address, the oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Ellsworth. Washington was the first to tender to the new president his heartfelt congratulations; which having done, he bade adieu to the seat of government, and hastened to the enjoyment of that peace and quiet which he had long desired, and which he now anticipated in his own beloved Mount Vernon.

The condition of the country, on the accession of Mr. Adams, was highly prosperous. The constitution had been tested through the vicissitudes of eight years, and had stood, and continued to stand, as a monument of the political wisdom of its framers. Fortunately, several of those sages had borne conspicuous stations in the government from the time of its organization. The president himself had been the president of the convention which formed the constitution. The true intent, therefore, of that instrument, both in its general and special provisions, had become well understood; its great principles had been applied, and found to answer the most sanguine expectations of its patriotic projectors.

In relation to particular measures, Washington had shown himself to be as skillful a statesman as he had proved himself sagacious as a general. A credit had been established for the country, whose soundness no capitalist doubted—an immense floating debt had been funded in a manner perfectly satisfactory to the creditors, and a revenue had been secured sufficiently ample for the national demands.

Funds also had been provided for the gradual extinction of the national debt; a considerable portion of it had, indeed, been actually discharged, and that system devised which did in fact, in the lapse of some years, extinguish the whole. The agricultural and commercial thrift of the nation had been beyond all former example, and beyond all anticipation. The numerous and powerful tribes of Indians at the West, had been taught by arms and by good faith to respect the United States, and to desire their friendship.

The principal events which distinguished the administration of Mr. Adams, were,

Difficulties with FranceDeath of Washington.
Treaty with that Power.Removal of the Seat of Government.
Election of Mr. Jefferson.

Difficulties with France.—The misunderstanding between France and the United States, which had commenced during the administration of Washington, not only extended into that of Mr. Adams, but, soon after his accession, assumed a still more formidable and even warlike aspect.

The seditious conduct of Mr. Genet, the French minister, and his rëcall, were noticed when reciting the prominent events of Washington's administration. He was succeeded by Mr. Fauchet, who arrived in the United States in February, 1794. The conduct of this functionary, if less exceptionable than his predecessor, was by no means calculated to restore the harmony of the two governments. Fauchet, believing that a large party in the United States sympathized with him and his government, insulted the administration by accusing them of partiality to the English, enmity to his nation, and indifference to the cause of liberty.

With a desire to restore the peace of the two governments, General Washington, in 1794, rëcalled Mr. Morris, our then minister to France, and appointed Mr. Monroe to succeed him, a gentleman belonging to the republican party, and, therefore, more acceptable to the French government, and the more likely to succeed in a satisfactory adjustment of existing difficulties. Mr. Monroe was received with distinguished consideration, and as an evidence of his kind reception, the flags of the two republics were entwined and suspended in the legislative hall.

Mr. Adet soon after succeeded Mr. Fauchet. He brought with him the colors of France, which were presented to the government of the United States as a token of her sympathy and affection for her sister republic. But when the former discovered that the United States continued rigidly to maintain their neutrality, her sympathy and affection suddenly declined. Measures were adopted highly injurious to American commerce. Her cruisers were let loose upon our commerce, and hundreds of vessels pursuing a lawful trade were captured and confiscated.

The favorable results anticipated from Mr. Monroe's embassy to France signally failed. Whether this failure proceeded from an impossibility of making terms with the French government, or from a want of firmness and decision on the part of Mr. Monroe, it may be difficult to decide. But, dissatisfied with the tardy and unsatisfactory manner in which the negotiation was conducted, the president decided to rëcall Mr. Monroe. This was accordingly done, and Mr. Pinckney was appointed to succeed him.

The object of Mr. Pinckney's mission was stated in his letter of credence to be "to maintain that good understanding which, from the commencement of the alliance, had subsisted between the two nations; and to efface unfavorable impressions, banish suspicions, and restore that cordiality which was at once the evidence and pledge of a friendly union." The French directory, however, refused to acknowledge Mr. Pinckney in his official capacity; and, at length, by a written mandate, ordered him to quit the territory of the French republic.

Intelligence of these facts having been communicated to Mr. Adams, he summoned congress by proclamation, to assemble on the 15th of May, when, in a fine and dignified speech, he stated the great and unprovoked outrages of the French government. He expressed, however, his wish for an accommodation, and his purpose of attempting it. Meanwhile, he earnestly recommended the adoption of measures of defence.

Accordingly, to prevent war, if practicable, Mr. Adams appointed three envoys extraordinary to the French republic. General Pinckney, then at Amsterdam, whither he had retired on being ordered to leave France, Mr. Marshall and Mr. Gerry. These, also, the directory refused to receive. They were, however, addressed by persons verbally instructed by Talleyrand, the minister of foreign relations, and invited to make proposals. In explicit terms, these unofficial agents demanded a large sum of money before any negotiations could be opened. To this insulting demand, a decided negative was given. A compliance was, nevertheless, repeatedly urged, until, at length, the envoys refused to hold with them any further communications.

These matters becoming known in America, excited general indignation. The spirit of party appeared to be extinct. "Millions for defence, not a cent for tribute," the language of Mr. Pinckney to the French government, resounded from every quarter of the Union. The treaty of alliance with France was declared by congress to be annulled; and authority was given for capturing armed French vessels. Provision was made for raising a regular army, and in case events should render it expedient, for augmenting it. A direct tax and additional internal duties were laid. To the command of the armies of the United States, President Adams, with the unanimous advice of the senate, appointed George Washington, with the rank of lieutenant-general and commander-in-chief. Washington reluctantly accepted the office, declaring, however, that he cordially approved the measures of the government.

The first act of hostility between the two nations, appears to have been committed by the Insurgente, which captured the American schooner Retaliation, and carried her into Guadaloupe. Soon after, the Constellation, under the command of Captain Truxton, went to sea, and in February, 1799, he encountered the Insurgente, which, after a close action of about an hour and a half, he compelled to strike. The rate of the Constellation was thirty-two guns; that of the Insurgente, forty. The former had three men wounded, one of whom shortly after died, and none killed; the latter had forty-one wounded, and twenty-nine killed. This victory, so brilliant and so decisive, with such a wonderful disparity of loss, gave great eclat to the victor and to the navy.

Treaty with France.—The bold and decided tone of the Americans, added to their preparations for prosecuting a war with vigor—and, perhaps, more than all, the success of the American navy in various engagements, had the desired effect. Overtures for renewing the negotiations were received from the French directory, which were immediately responded to by the president, by the appointment of Oliver Ellsworth, chief justice of the United States, Patrick Henry,[65] then late governor of Virginia, and William Vans Murray, minister at the Hague, envoys extraordinary for concluding a peace. On their arrival at Paris, they found the directory overthrown, and the government in the hands of Napoleon Buonaparte, as first consul. By him they were promptly received, and a treaty was concluded on the 30th of September, 1800; soon after which, the provisional army in America was, by order of congress, disbanded.

Death of Washington.—The good and the great must die, and, at length, America was called to mourn the departure of the good and illustrious Washington. He did not live, much as he desired that event, to witness the restoration of peace.

On Friday, December 13th, while attending to some improvements upon his estate, he was exposed to a light rain, which that same night induced an inflammatory affection of the windpipe. In the morning his family physician, Dr. Craik, was called in; but the utmost exertions of medical skill were applied in vain. Believing, from the commencement of his complaint, that it would prove fatal, Washington succeeded, though with difficulty, in expressing a desire that he might be permitted to die without being disquieted by unavailing attempts to rescue him from his fate. When no longer able to swallow, undressing himself, he retired to his bed, there to await his dissolution. To his friend and physician he said, with difficulty, "Doctor, I am dying, and have been dying for a long time; but I am not afraid to die." Respiration became more and more contracted and imperfect, until half-past eleven on Saturday night, when, retaining the full possession of his intellect, he expired without a struggle. Thus, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, died the "Father of his country." Intelligence of this event, as it rapidly spread, produced spontaneous, deep, and unaffected grief, suspending every other thought, and absorbing every different feeling.

Congress unanimously resolved upon a funeral procession in memory of Washington. On the appointed day the procession moved from the legislative hall to the German Lutheran church, where an oration was delivered by General Lee, a representative from Virginia. The procession was grand and solemn; the oration, eloquent and impressive: throughout the Union, similar marks of affection were exhibited—the whole nation appeared in mourning. Funeral orations, commemorative of his virtues, were pronounced in almost every city and town, and many were the tears shed by young and old, as the excellencies of his character were portrayed, and the services which he had rendered in achieving the independence, and contributing to the happiness of his country, were reviewed.

Washington deserved all the public honors which were paid him, and yet he needed none of them to add to the celebrity of his name, or the glory of his achievements. Wherever the story of his greatness, and of his patriotic services, has travelled, it has elicited the admiration and homage of mankind. Indeed, among civilized people of all countries, his name has become a household word, and is identified with all that is wise, and pious, and patriotic. By the aged warriors of our Western tribes—now indeed few and far between—he is still remembered as "our Father:" his name is familiar to the wandering Bedouin, and his fame has penetrated to the mountain fastnesses of the roving Tartar. And in all future time—at least while the American republic has a name and a place on the earth—or while the record of her Revolution, and the establishment of her government shall last—the name of Washington will be remembered with gratitude and joy. "His country is his monument, and her history his epitaph."

The character of Washington has been so often portrayed, that we shall not deem it necessary to enter upon a formal review of it in these pages. It may be, perhaps, a more grateful service which we render, to garner up some "tributes" to his exalted worth, which have been paid him by some of the most distinguished men in other countries.

Said Mr. Fox, in the British parliament, in a speech delivered during Washington's second presidential term: "Illustrious man! deriving less honor from the splendor of his situation than the dignity of his mind: before whom all borrowed greatness sinks into insignificance, and all the potentates of Europe (excepting the members of our own royal family) become little and contemptible!"—Said Napoleon—a man not wont to lavish his praises—and yet a man who understood and could appreciate noble qualities existing in others—said Napoleon—"Washington is dead! The great man fought against tyranny; he established the liberty of his country. His memory will always be dear to the French people, as it will to all freemen of the two worlds."

Byron has added his testimony to the excellency and glory of Washington—a tribute of praise which, it is said, he has no where in any of his writings paid to a British hero, not even to Wellington himself. "After taxing his misanthropy for the bitterest forms of speech, to be applied to the fallen Napoleon, and to mock at the fearful reverses of the French emperor's fortune, he, by some strange impulses, winds up his scorching lyric with these few lines:"

"Where shall the weary eye repose
When gazing on the great—
Where neither guilty glory glows,
Nor despicable state?
Yes—one—the first—the last—the best—
The Cincinnatus of the West,
Bequeathed the name of Washington,
To make men blush there was but one."

Beautiful is the tribute—and as just as beautiful—which the Professor of Modern History, in the English University of Cambridge (William Smith, Esq.), pays to the sage of Mount Vernon. "Instances may be found," says he, "when perhaps it may be thought that he was decisive to a degree that partook of severity and harshness, or even more; but how innumerable were the decisions which he had to make! How difficult and how important through the eventful series of twenty years of command in the cabinet or the field! Let it be considered what it is to have the management of a revolution and afterwards the maintenance of order. Where is the man that, in the history of our race, has ever succeeded in attempting successively the one and the other? The plaudits of his country were continually sounding in his ears, and neither the judgment or the virtues of the man were ever disturbed. Armies were led to the field with all the enterprise of a hero, and then dismissed with all the equanimity of a philosopher. Power was accepted—was exercised—was resigned precisely at the moment and in the way that patriotism directed. Whatever was the difficulty, the trial, the temptation, or the danger, there stood the soldier and the citizen, eternally the same, without fear and without reproach, and there was the man who was not only at all times virtuous, but at all times wise.

"As a ruler of mankind, he may be proposed as a model. Deeply impressed with the original rights of human nature, he never forgot that the end and aim of all just government was the happiness of the people, and he never exercised authority till he had first taken care to put himself clearly in the right. His candor, his patience, his love of justice, were unexampled; and this, though naturally he was not patient—much otherwise, highly irritable."

"Of all great men"—such is the declaration of Mr. Guizot, one of the ministers of the late king of the French—"of all great men, Washington was the most virtuous and the most fortunate. In this world, God has no higher favors to bestow."

A writer in the Edinburgh Review, expresses himself in terms equally honorable to the American Fabius: "If profound sagacity, unshaken steadiness of purpose, the entire subjugation of all the passions, which carry havoc through ordinary minds, and oftentimes lay waste the fairest prospects of greatness—nay the discipline of those feelings that are wont to lull or seduce genius, and to mar and to cloud over the aspect of virtue herself—joined with, or rather leading to, the most absolute self-denial, the most habitual and exclusive devotion to principle—if these things can constitute a great character, without either quickness of apprehension or resources of information, or circumventive powers, or any brilliant quality that might dazzle the vulgar—then Washington was the greatest man that ever lived in this world, uninspired by divine wisdom, and unsustained by supernatural virtue."

To the foregoing, we may add an extract from the eloquent peroration of Lord Brougham, in his masterly essay on "Public Characters." "This is the consummate glory of the great American; a triumphant warrior, where the most sanguine had a right to despair; a successful ruler, in all the difficulties of a course wholly untried; but a warrior, whose sword only left its sheath when the first law of our nature commanded it to be drawn; and a ruler who, having tasted of supreme power, greatly and unostentatiously desired that the cup might pass from him, nor would he suffer more to wet his lips than the most solemn and sacred duty to his country and his God required." "It will be the duty of the historian and the sage in all ages to omit no occasion of commemorating this illustrious man; and until time shall be no more, will a test of the progress which our race has made in wisdom and in virtue be derived from the veneration paid to the immortal name of Washington!"

Such were some of the attributes, the virtues, the services of Washington, and such the tribute paid to his greatness, his worth, and his unequalled glory, as a man, a military chieftain, and a ruler. More might be added, but it is unnecessary, unless it be, that Washington was a Christian. Every where—in seasons of trial, peril, and almost of hopeless despondency—he placed his reliance upon that Great Being who holds in his hand the fate of men and of nations. His hopes for his country were founded more on the righteousness of her cause, and on the blessing of Heaven, than on the number or strength of his army. Of his religion, he made no parade—of his virtues, no boast—but he was ever more true to the dictates of piety, and observant of the forms and institutions of the Gospel. And it was this reliance upon that Gospel, which enabled him to say, in the closing moments of life, "I am not afraid to die."

In conclusion, we may add, in the highly laudatory and just language of another, "Washington stands almost alone in the world. He occupies a region where there are, unhappily for mankind, but few inhabitants. The Grecian biographer could easily find parallels for Alexander and Cæsar; but, were he living now, he would meet with great difficulty in selecting one for Washington. There seems to be an elevation of moral excellence, which, though possible to attain to, few ever approach. As, in ascending the lofty peaks of the Andes, we at length arrive at a line where vegetation ceases, and the principle of life seems extinct; so, in the gradations of human character, there is an elevation which is never attained by mortal man. A few have approached it, but none nearer than Washington.

"He is eminently conspicuous as one of the great benefactors of the human race; for he not only gave liberty to millions, but his name now stands, and will for ever stand, a noble example to high and low. He is a great work of the Almighty Artist, which none can study without receiving purer ideas and more lofty conceptions of the grace and beauty of the human character. He is one that all may copy at different distances, and whom none can contemplate without receiving lasting and salutary impressions of the sterling value, the inexpressible beauty of piety, integrity, courage, and patriotism, associated with a clear, vigorous, and well-poised intellect.

"Pure and widely disseminated as is the fame of this great and good man, it is yet in its infancy. It is every day taking deeper root in the hearts of his countrymen and the estimation of strangers, and spreading its branches wider and wider to the air and the skies. He is already become the saint of liberty, which has gathered new honors by being associated with his name; and when men aspire to free nations, they must take him for their model. It is, then, not without ample reason that the suffrages of mankind have combined to place Washington at the head of his race. If we estimate him by the examples recorded in history, he stands without a parallel in the virtues exhibited, and the most unprecedented consequences resulting from their exercise. The whole world was the theatre of his actions, and all mankind are destined to partake, sooner or later, in their results. He is the hero of a new species; he had no model. Will he have any imitators? Time, which bears the thousands and thousands of common cut-throats to the ocean of oblivion, only adds new lustre to his fame, new fame to his example, and new strength to the reverential affection of all good men. What a glorious fame is his, to be acquired without guilt, and enjoyed without envy! to be cherished by millions living, hundreds of millions yet unborn! Let the children of my country prove themselves worthy of his virtues, his labors, his sacrifices, by reverencing his name, and imitating his piety, integrity, industry, fortitude, patience, forbearance, and patriotism. So shall they become fitted to enjoy the blessings of freedom and the bounties of Heaven."[66]

Removal of the Seat of Government.—In the year 1800, the seat of government, agreeably to a law passed by congress in 1790, was removed to Washington, in the District of Columbia. This territory, ten miles square, had been granted to the general government by the states of Virginia and Maryland. Public buildings had been erected, and in November of this year, congress, for the first time, held their session in that place. After congratulating the people of the United States on the assembling of congress, on the prospect of a residence not to be changed, the president said: "It would be unbecoming the representatives of this nation to assemble, for the first time, in this solemn temple, without looking up to the Supreme Ruler of the universe, and imploring his blessing. May this territory be the residence of virtue and happiness! In this city, may that piety and virtue, that wisdom and magnanimity, that constancy and self-government, which adorned the great character whose name it bears, be for ever held in veneration. Here, and throughout our country, may simple manners, pure morals, and true religion, flourish for ever."

Election of Mr. Jefferson.—At this period, a presidential election recurred. From the time of the adoption of the constitution, the republican party had been gradually gathering strength, and, in anticipation of success, great preparations were made by them to elect their candidates, Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Burr. The candidates of the federal party were Mr. Adams and General Pinckney.

Unfortunately for the federal party, the administration of Mr. Adams had not been generally acceptable. "In the early part of it, the acts by which the army and navy were strengthened, and eighty thousand of the militia subjected to his order, were represented, by the republicans, as proofs that, however he might have been a friend to the constitution of his country, he now either wished to subvert it, or was led blindfold into the views of those who did. The republicans scrupled the policy of a war with France, and denied the necessity, even in case of such a war, of a large land force. They believed that spirits were at work to produce this war, or to make the most of a disturbance, in order to lull the people, while they raised an army, which they intended as the instrument of subverting the republican, and establishing a monarchical government."

These insinuations—or, more properly, charges—were doubtless utterly groundless; but they served to bring Mr. Adams' administration into disrepute, and to strengthen the republican party, which were boastful of their superior regard to the constitution, and friendship to the rights and liberty of the people.

Other measures of the administration served to increase the party odium against it, and, in the sequel, to overthrow it. We allude particularly to two acts of congress—the alien and sedition laws, of July, 1798.

The alien law empowered the president "to order all such aliens as he should judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or should have reasonable grounds to suspect were concerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof, to depart out of the territory of the United States, within such time as should be expressed in such order." In case of disobedience, such aliens, on conviction before the circuit or district courts of the United States, were subjected to imprisonment for not more than three years, and incapacitated from becoming citizens. The subsequent law, respecting alien enemies, enabled the president, on a declaration of war, to cause the subjects of the belligerent nation "to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as alien enemies." Under both these acts, they were permitted to remove their property, and under the latter, if not chargeable with crimes against the United States, to defend themselves.

Of the two measures, the sedition act was by far the most unpopular. "The other," says Mr. Tucker, "was condemned by most Americans, like the stork in the fable, for the society in which he was found, and for the sake of soothing the great class of foreigners who were not yet naturalized, the greater part of whom, particularly the Irish and French, were attached to the republican party."[67]

The sedition law, in some of its provisions, went still further. It imposed fine and imprisonment for unlawfully combining and conspiring with intent to oppose the measures of government, when directed by the proper authority: for impeding the operation of any law of the United States; intimidating an officer from the performance of his duty, or counselling or advising, with similar intent, insurrections, riots, or unlawful combinations. It also imposed similar, but lighter penalties, for the publication of false, scandalous, and malicious writings against the government of the United States, either house of congress, or the president, with intent to bring them into contempt, &c. The act was limited to two years.

Such were the measures which at this most critical period of our history were adopted, when the United States, if not carrying on, were undergoing a war with France; and when the country swarmed with secret spies and agents. These laws have been condemned, and President Adams and his government severely censured for having secured their enactment. They were denounced at the time by the republican party in no measured terms. They were claimed to be unnecessary, cruel, and despotic.

But, while it is not our province to enter into a justification of these laws, it may be proper to say, by way of palliation, to use the language of another, "that the laws themselves sprung from existing facts, and self-preservation demanded that the power of providing for the public safety, vested in every government by the very objects of government, should now be used."[68]

The sedition law was never enforced, except against a few—Callender was one—an alien and a fugitive from justice, who would have overthrown the government, in his zeal to build up the republican party.

The necessity for the laws regarding aliens, was more apparent. The Frenchmen in the United States, at that era, were estimated at thirty thousand. Many of them were associated together in clubs, which had for their object the furtherance of French interests. The number of British subjects was still greater. Other foreigners were numerous, and all were attached to France. They were restless, feverish, factious. Whatever may be thought of the expediency or justice of the law in question, no reasonable doubt can be entertained of the necessity of some restrictive measures in a time of such excitement as then prevailed. And yet it must be admitted that no man was actuated by a loftier patriotism than Mr. Adams; nor was any one ever more ready to make sacrifices for his country's good. It is sometimes urged that he was vain, self-willed, impulsive. But these imperfections were relieved by noble virtues. His political opponent—the man who supplanted him—declared that he was the ablest advocate of independence. In days when others desponded, he hoped.

The acts secured the object sought—they secured, if not the peace, the safety of the country; for even while they were in the process of enactment, not a few of the more "notorious of the incendiaries" left the country. But they largely contributed to the overthrow of the existing administration, and the triumph of the democratic party.

As the constitution then existed, each elector gave his vote for two persons, without designating which was to be president—the one having the largest number being entitled to the presidency, and the other to the vice-presidency. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr were the two candidates of the republican party. Each of these having seventy-three votes, it devolved upon the house of representatives to decide between them. The federal party having been defeated in respect to their candidates, sided with the friends of Colonel Burr, in opposition to Mr. Jefferson.

As this was the first time that the election of a president had thus devolved upon the house of representatives, a general interest was taken in the subject. But that interest was greatly increased by the then existing state of political parties. On the arrival of the time for the election, it was decided that, after the balloting had commenced, no adjournment should be had until a choice was made—that during the balloting, the doors of the house should be closed—that the delegation from each state should be seated together—that the latter should first ballot among themselves, and that duplicates of these ballots should be made, and placed in separate boxes. When all the states had thus voted, the ballot-boxes were to be carried by the sergeant-at-arms to two separate tables. The ballots were then to be counted by tellers, eight in number, at each table. When counted, the reports were to be announced from each table; if these reports agreed, they were to be accepted, as the true votes of the states; but, if they differed, a new balloting was to be made.

On Wednesday, the 11th of February, 1801, the balloting commenced. On the first ballot, eight states voted for Mr. Jefferson, six states for Mr. Burr, and the votes of two states were divided. Unexpectedly, no choice was effected during the first day, and an adjournment became necessary. The balloting was continued on the following day, and, indeed, until Tuesday, the 17th of February, when the thirty-fifth ballot, as had all the previous ballots, resulted the same as the first. The excitement of members, and of citizens attracted from various parts of the country to see the issue of a novel political contest, had now become intense. Every possible influence was exerted by the respective parties. Mr. Nicholson, of Maryland, being too unwell to sit during the protracted ballotings, had a bed prepared for him in one of the committee-rooms, to which the ballot-box was carried by the tellers on the part of the state. For several days, the members ate little, and slept still less. At length, however, the long contest was terminated by the thirty-sixth ballot, which resulted in the election of Mr. Jefferson—ten states having voted for him, four for Mr. Burr, and two in blank. The following table exhibits the final result:

Key: A.Thos. Jefferson, of Virginia.
B.Aaron Burr, of New York.
C.John Adams, of Massa'tts.
D.C. C. Pinckney, of S. Carolina.
E.John Jay, of New York.
Number of Electors from each State.STATES.A.B.C.D.E.
6New Hampshire,66
16Massachusetts,1616
4Rhode Island,431
9Connecticut,99
4Vermont,44
12New York,1212
7New Jersey,77
15Pennsylvania,8877
3Delaware,33
10Maryland,5555
21Virginia,2121
4Kentucky,44
12North Carolina,8844
3Tennessee,33
8South Carolina,88
4Georgia,44
138Whole No. of Electors, Majority, 70737365641

[VIII. THOMAS JEFFERSON, PRESIDENT.]