United States presidential election, 1804

Infobox Election
election_name = United States presidential election, 1804
country = United States
type = presidential
ongoing = no
previous_election = United States presidential election, 1800
previous_year = 1800
next_election = United States presidential election, 1808
next_year = 1808
election_date = 1804


nominee1 = Thomas Jefferson
party1 = Democratic-Republican Party
running_mate1 = George Clinton
home_state1 = Virginia
electoral_vote1 = 162
states_carried1 = 15
popular_vote1 = 104,110
percentage1 = 72.8%


nominee2 = Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
party2 = Federalist Party (United States)
running_mate2 = Rufus King
home_state2 = South Carolina
electoral_vote2 = 14
states_carried2 = 2
popular_vote2 = 38,919
percentage2 = 27.2%
map_

---

map_size = 350px
map_caption = Presidential election results map. Green denotes states won by Jefferson, burnt orange denotes states won by Pinckney. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.
title = President
before_election = Thomas Jefferson
before_party = Democratic-Republican Party
after_election = Thomas Jefferson
after_party = Democratic-Republican Party

The United States presidential election of 1804 pitted incumbent Democratic-Republican President Thomas Jefferson against Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. Jefferson easily defeated Pinckney in the first presidential election conducted following the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Under the rules of the Twelfth Amendment, presidential electors were required to specify in their votes their choice for President and Vice President; previously, electors voted only for President, with the person who came in second becoming the Vice President. George Clinton was elected Vice President and would go on to serve under both Jefferson and his successor, James Madison.

Jefferson's 45.6 percentage point victory margin remains the highest victory margin in a presidential election in which there were multiple major party candidates.

Background

Although the 1800 election had been close, Jefferson had steadily gained popularity during his term. American trade had boomed because the French Revolutionary Wars in Europe had been temporarily suspended. The Louisiana Purchase was heralded as a great achievement.

Nominations

Democratic-Republican Party nomination

Democratic-Republican candidates

* Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States from Virginia

Candidates gallery

Jefferson was renominated and Governor George Clinton of New York replaced Aaron Burr as his running mate.

Federalist Party nomination

Federalist candidates

* Charles C. Pinckney, former U.S. Minister to France from South Carolina

Candidates gallery

The Federalists chose Pinckney and former United States Senator Rufus King of New York to run against him.

General election

Attacks on Jefferson's policies proved fruitless; Jefferson's victory was overwhelming, even winning most of the states in the Federalist heartland of New England.

Results

Source (Popular Vote): [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=59538 U.S. President National Vote] . " [http://www.ourcampaigns.com Our Campaigns] ". (February 10, 2006).
Source (Electoral Vote): National Archives EV source| year=1804| as of=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."

Electoral college selection

See also

* History of the United States (1789-1849)
* United States House elections, 1804

References

*
* [http://dca.tufts.edu/features/aas A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825]

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