A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign June 6, 2008

Host: American Enterprise Institute. The 1800 presidential contest, one of the most spirited in our nation’s history, is the subject of Edward Larson’s book A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America’s First Presidential Campaign (Free Press, 2007). Pulitzer Prize winner Larson, now the Hugh & Hazel Darling Professor of Law at Pepperdine, will appear to discuss the book. Under an earlier Electoral College system, Democrats Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr were running on the same ticket but ended up with the same number of electors. The tie led to an extended dispute in Congress with Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists finally coming to the aid of Jefferson. The electoral crisis led to the passage of the Twelfth Amendment. Today’s highly partisan, polarized politics pale in comparison to the level of bitterness and intrigue in the spirited intraparty battle of 1800.

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