In editing the manuscripts in this booklet, we have followed the practice of modernizing punctuation, capitalization, and spelling only when necessary to make the selections clear. We have silently corrected misspelled words and typographical errors. Wherever possible we have used complete selections, but occasionally space limitations have made necessary cuts in the original documents. Such cuts are indicated by spaced periods. In general, the selections appear as the authors wrote them. Richard B. Morris James Woodress Jefferson’s Administration, 1801-1809 [Illustration: The Lewis and Clark expedition] The Election and Inauguration On election day in 1800, Thomas Jefferson won a clear victory over John Adams but almost did not became President. The Constitution required that presidential electors cast two ballots; the winner became President and the runner-up became Vice-President. Jefferson’s running mate, Aaron Burr, who had been nominated for Vice-President, received 73 electoral votes, the same number as Jefferson. This strange situation occurred because the Constitutional Convention had not anticipated the rise of party politics. When John Adams had defeated Jefferson in 1796, Jefferson, as the runner-up, was elected Vice-President. If parties had not developed by 1800, Adams, as Jefferson’s opponent, would surely have become Vice-President. But because parties had arisen, all of Jefferson’s electors gave Burr their second vote. (A repetition of this kind of deadlock was avoided for future elections by the Twelfth Amendment.) The Constitution stated that if the two leading candidates were tied, the election should be decided by the House of Representatives. The trouble was that in 1800 the House was controlled by the Federalists and not by Jefferson’s party. The Federalists nearly elected Burr President because they disliked him less than they disliked Jefferson. Margaret Bayard Smith Describes the Election and Inauguration Fortunately for the country, Federalist Alexander Hamilton, who knew Burr was unfit to be President, opposed his party’s plan to defeat Jefferson. But while this crucial decision was being made, the nation waited breathlessly. The excitement in Washington is recorded in the following selection from the notebook of Margaret Bayard Smith, wife of the editor of the _National Intelligencer_.