Thomas Jefferson was elected the third president of the United States, following a deeply divisive race against John Adams that threatened to tear apart the young nation, on this day in history, Feb. 17, 1801.
It was the first American presidential race pitting party rivals — Federalist Adams vs. Democratic-Republican Jefferson — and the first to unseat a sitting president.
“By early 1799, both parties, Republican and Federalist, were convinced of the other’s determination to subvert the government and overthrow the Constitution,” writes Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in its online account of the election.
Both men died on the same day, July 4, 1826 — 50 years to the day after pledging their “lives, fortunes and sacred honor” together in the Declaration of Independence.
“We can no longer say there is nothing new under the sun, for this whole chapter in the history of man is new,” Jefferson wrote after his election. “The momentous crisis which lately arose, really bespeak a strength of character in our nation which augurs well for the duration of our republic.”
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Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.
