United States presidential election, 1812
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The United States presidential election of 1812 took place in the shadow of the War of 1812. It featured an intriguing competition between incumbent Democratic-Republican President James Madison and a dissident Democratic-Republican, DeWitt Clinton, nephew of Madison's late Vice President. The Federalist opposition threw their support behind Clinton. Nonetheless, Madison was re-elected handily.
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[edit] Background
The spillover from the Napoleonic Wars had been steadily worsening throughout James Madison's first term, with the British and the French both ignoring the United States' neutral rights at sea and seizing American ships. The British provided additional provocations by impressing American seamen, by maintaining forts within United States territory in the Northwest, and by supporting American Indians at war with the United States in both the Northwest and Southwest.
Meanwhile, expansionists in the South and West of the United States coveted both British Canada and Spanish Florida, and wanted to use the provocations as a pretext to seize both areas. The pressure steadily built, and, on June 12, 1812, after Madison had been nominated by the Democratic-Republicans but before the Federalists had made their nomination, the United States declared war on Great Britain.
[edit] Nominations
[edit] Democratic-Republican Party nomination
On May 18, a Democratic-Republican Congressional nominating caucus nominated President James Madison of Virginia. The same caucus later nominated Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts for the Vice Presidency, which had been vacant since George Clinton's death a month earlier.
[edit] Federalist Party nomination
On May 29, a caucus of dissident Democratic-Republicans in the New York legislature nominated former Senator and current Mayor Dewitt Clinton of New York City, the nephew of the late Vice President. Clinton's campaign tailored their pamphlets and speeches by region. In the Northeast, Clinton was portrayed as the anti-War candidate. Meanwhile, in the South and West, where there were few people opposed to the war, Clinton ran on the basis of a more vigorous prosecution of the war.
In September, after fierce debate, a Federalist nominating caucus in New York City decided to support Clinton as their best chance to defeat the Democratic-Republicans since the "Revolution of 1800". The caucus then picked former United States Attorney Jared Ingersoll of Pennsylvania as his running mate.
[edit] General election
[edit] Campaign
Clinton continued his regional campaigning, anti-war in a Northeast most harmed by the war, and pro-war in the South and West. Although the Federalists made gains in Congress and although Clinton did better than any Federalist candidate since Adams, taking New York and New Jersey, Madison still won the Presidency by a comfortable margin.
[edit] Results
| Presidential Candidate | Party | Home State | Popular Vote(a), (b) | Electoral Vote(c) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | Percentage | ||||
| James Madison | Democratic-Republican | Virginia | 140,431 | 50.4% | 128 |
| DeWitt Clinton | Federalist | New York | 132,781 | 47.6% | 89 |
| Rufus King | Federalist | New York | 5,574 | 2.0% | 0 |
| Total | 278,786 | 100.0% | 217 | ||
| Needed to win | 109 | ||||
Source (Popular Vote): U.S. President National Vote. Our Campaigns. (February 10, 2006).
Source (Electoral Vote): Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996. Official website of the National Archives. (July 30, 2005).
(a) Only 9 of the 18 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.
(c) One Elector from Ohio did not vote.
| Vice Presidential Candidate | Party | State | Electoral Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elbridge Gerry | Democratic-Republican | Massachusetts | 131 |
| Jared Ingersoll | Federalist | Pennsylvania | 86 |
| Total | 217 | ||
| Needed to win | 109 | ||
Source: Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996. Official website of the National Archives. (July 30, 2005).
[edit] Breakdown by ticket
| Presidential Candidate | Running Mate | Electoral Vote |
|---|---|---|
| James Madison | Elbridge Gerry | 128 |
| DeWitt Clinton | Jared Ingersoll | 86 |
| DeWitt Clinton | Elbridge Gerry | 3 |
The split-party ticket of the Federalist DeWitt Clinton and the Democratic-Republican Elbridge Gerry was the result of three Federalist Electors in Gerry's home state of Massachusetts.
[edit] Electoral college selection
| Method of choosing Electors | State(s) |
|---|---|
| each Elector appointed by state legislature | Connecticut Delaware Georgia Louisiana New Jersey New York North Carolina South Carolina Vermont |
| each Elector chosen by voters statewide | New Hampshire Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Virginia |
| state is divided into electoral districts, with one Elector chosen per district by the voters of that district | Kentucky Maryland Tennessee |
|
Massachusetts |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Books
-
- Boller, Paul F., Jr. (2004). Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 26–28. ISBN 0-19-516716-3.
- Web
-
- A Historical Analysis of the Electoral College. The Green Papers. Retrieved on March 20, 2005.
-
- DeWitt Clinton Candidacy. OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved on February 16, 2007.
[edit] Navigation
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