1796: The First Election
In September of 1796, George Washington gave his “Farewell Address, ” in which he announced that he would not seek a third term, thus opening the way for the first contested election. The campaigning that followed was not a subdued and genteel process. There were several candidates, and although most of them refrained from giving speeches, they allowed party members to engage in acrimonious debates. The two main contenders were John Adams, Washington’s Federalist Vice-President, and Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State and leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, the newly formed opposition. Jefferson supporters characterized Adams as a lover of nobility; some even called him a monarchist. Federalists portrayed Jefferson as an atheist and French sympathizer, an indecisive philosopher whose ideals and abstract reasoning would never serve the country.
The 1796 Presidential election was the first to feature personal attacks on candidates, the first to divide parties strictly according to issues, and significantly, the first election to test the Electoral College. It revealed the system’s shortcomings, which were later remedied in the twelfth amendment to the U. S. Constitution. In the 1796 election, electors cast two votes for their two favorite candidates, and the top two were elected as President and Vice-President. Because many electors cast both ballots for one candidate, Adams was elected President and his principal opponent, Jefferson, became Vice-President. The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, forced electors to cast two separate votes, one for the President and one for the Vice-President.
Washington Inauguration Items
President Washington was twice elected President without an opponent. His loyal supporters wore ornamental buttons to show their admiration for the President and to celebrate his inaugurations in 1789 and 1792. The top two images are not pins in the modern sense of campaign “buttons,” but actual buttons, meant to be sewn onto garments.
William Loughton Smith
One of many publications issued during the 1796 election season, this attack on Jefferson’s credentials was written by William Loughton Smith of South Carolina, a prominent Federalist representative to the fourth U. S. Congress. Smith published under the name Phocion, a classical reference to the ancient Athenian political leader known for his skillful political maneuvering. Readers during this era of Classical revivalism would have associated Smith’s pen name with an enlightened, educated statesman. Smith’s text criticizes Jefferson on many issues, including his French connections and fiscal policies.