AboutJames Bell Expertise I am actively involved in Revolutionary War reenacting (1775-1783). I am currently the Vice President, Quartermaster, Webmaster and Lieutenant in a Pennsylvania Line unit. Living history organizations are one way we can keep the past alive, and instill into our youth what life was like in days long gone. There are several living history organizations out there, from Mideavil Times through World War II. The Civil War and Revolutionary War are two of the most popular. I can answer questions regarding how to get in contact with a living history organization, and what would be involved in getting into the hobby, from the cost of weapons and accoutrements to what you can expect during a weekend event.
Experience I am relatively still a "young pup" in the hobby - 10 years. Many of the more seasoned ones have been in the hobby since the Bicentennial.
Question In the election of 1796, John Adams defeated Jefferson for the presidency. But can you tell me who the vice-presidential candidates were in that year and who won the vice-presidential election in 1796? Thank you very much. Al Brown
Answer Al -
This has all the makings of a homework question, which I normally don't answer. But, it is an excellent question.
Early American elections were decided differently than they are today. We did not have the "running mate" system back then. The Electoral College tallied all the votes for all the candidates for President. The person with the highest number of votes became President, and the second highest became Vice President.
In 1796, there were four main contenders for President: Vice President John Adams of Massachusetts and former Governor Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina both ran as members of the Federalist Party ticket. Former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson of Virginia along with Senator Aaron Burr of New York ran on the Democratic-Republican ticket. Nine other candidates also ran, including Samuel Adams of Massachusetts and John Jay of New York.
In the top four, the electoral votes were returned as such:
71 John Adams
68 Thomas Jefferson
59 Thomas Pinckney
30 Aaron Burr
The remaining nine candidates split another 48 votes, including George Washington, who received 2 votes even though he was not in the race.
