14 July 1798

Sedition Act Enacted

The Federalist Congress enacted the Sedition Act, making any false, scandalous and malicious writing against the government a high misdemeanor.^{[17, p. 7]} Federalists overreached with the Alien and Sedition Acts, which contributed largely to the downfall of their party.^[18]

December 1800

Hamilton Urges Federalists to Back Jefferson

Alexander Hamilton, no friend of Jefferson, warned fellow Federalists that Burr was the more dangerous man, though many dismissed his advice.^{[2, p. 30]}

3 December 1800

Electors Cast Their Ballots

Presidential electors cast their votes in the states by 3 December 1800, each casting two votes with no distinction between president and vice president.^[19] Every Republican elector voted for both Jefferson and Burr, so the two finished level on 73 votes, ahead of John Adams with 65.^[11][20]

11 February 1801

Electoral Votes Counted and House Balloting Begins

The count of electoral votes confirmed the tie between Jefferson and Burr, and the Federalist-controlled House began voting by state during a snowstorm.^[21][22] On the first ballot Jefferson carried eight states, Burr six, and two were divided.^[23]

17 February 1801

House Elects Jefferson on the 36th Ballot

After thirty-five deadlocked ballots, Jefferson was declared elected on the thirty-sixth, winning ten states to Burr's four while Delaware and South Carolina cast blank ballots.^{[24, p. 282]} Burr's own memoirs also date the thirty-sixth ballot to 17 February.^[8] The deadlock ended after Federalists, including James Bayard of Delaware, abstained, possibly influenced by Hamilton.^[22]

4 March 1801

Jefferson's Inauguration

Jefferson took the oath of office before both houses of Congress and delivered his inaugural address, with Burr as vice president.^{[25, p. 277]} Jefferson later called the change of 1800 as real a revolution in the principles of the government as that of 1776 was in its form.^[26]

12 December 1803

Twelfth Amendment Proposed

The alarm caused by Burr's rivalry with Jefferson led Congress to propose an amendment requiring electors to name their choices for president and vice president separately.^[27] The Eighth Congress proposed it to the state legislatures on 12 December 1803.^{[12, p. 7]}

25 September 1804

Twelfth Amendment Declared Ratified

The Secretary of State proclaimed the Twelfth Amendment ratified by three-fourths of the states, ending the tie-prone double-vote system of 1800.^{[12, p. 7]} It was ratified by fourteen of the then seventeen states in 1804.^[28]