Who Should Be President Aaron Burr or Thomas Jefferson?

In the election of 1800, although Thomas Jefferson won the popular vote the electoral vote was evenly split between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson.

Developed by Barbara Kane

Overview

There has been tremendous media coverage in the past few weeks regarding who should be President. Al Gore has the greater number of popular votes and George Bush, after the recount appears to be carrying Florida. So who should be President?

Introduction

Deciding who will be the President of the United States in the year 2001 is no less complicated than the decision that was made in the 1800 election. Some feel that there has been a breakdown in the functioning of our democratic process. Others claim that there has been no breakdown but rather a set of circumstances that our Constitution has been set up to handle. Ultimately, the United States will have one president. Who will it be, and what factors will have brought about that decision?

The Task and Questions to Follow

You will use the election of 1800 as a point of comparison for today’s election. You will answer the controversial questions based on the information you find in the resources offered in this webquest. You will then share your viewpoint with the members of your group and try to persuade them to see the solution to the problem as you see it. After a given amount of time you will present your answer or let your teacher know that you cannot come to a consensus.

There will be four people in a group. Two of the members will be working on collecting the information regarding the election of 1800. The other two will be working on answering the questions related to the 2000 election and the way our government is supposed to work.

Persons 1&2 – Answer the following questions:

1. Who were the candidates in the election of 1800 (Name all of them)?

2. What political parties were each affiliated with?

3. What were the circumstances after the vote was counted?

4. How was this resolved?

5. Did the government realize that there was a problem with the way Americans were expected to vote?

6. What amendment was passed and what did it do?

Persons 3&4

1. Tell what happened in the most recent election and explain why we don’t yet know who will be the President of the United States in 2001.

2. What is the Electoral College?

3. How and why was it formed?

4. What do we mean by the popular vote?

5. Is the Electoral College still a valid means for choosing our president?

6. If the Electoral College is no longer used what must first be done to change the process?

7. How then would we decide who would be president?

Everyone must answer the following questions (Do this as best you can without regard to the specific candidate. In other words be objective. What is done in this election goes beyond the choice of which of the two will become president. It will set a precedent for future elections and your answers should be based on the best process not the best candidate):

1. Does our Constitution adequately handle this circumstance?

2. Should we have an Electoral College?

3. Should the process be changed in any other way?

Resources (persons 1&2)

Resources (persons 3&4)

Everyone view the following sites:

http://www.wikman.com/eric/electoralcollege.html

http://www.fec.gov/pages/elecvote.htm

Resources (persons 1&2)

The United States Constitution (12^th Amendment)

http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/constitution/amdt12.html

On Thomas Jefferson & Aaron Burr