Question

At the end of Jefferson's second term it seems that the political situation should have made Jefferson's party very vulnerable in the next presidential election. Yet despite serious problems James Madison won the Presidency. How did Jefferson's popularity, the political ineptitude of the Federalists, and other factors help explain these results?

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is: It helped: That the Federalist Party was weakening, and was practically the only one of the opposition. While Jefferson's popularity had the majority of his support among southern planters and poor farmers in the south and west; however, he also found a good electoral fishing ground between grain growers in New England and the mid-Atlantic states.

Explanation:

The fact was labeled "Revolution" at the time, which meant a break with the previous political order as it initiated the first bipartisan system in the United States; That is why it is known as the "Revolution of 1800". Upon taking office in March 1801 Jefferson became the third president of the United States; starting the long period of predominance of the Democratic-Republican Party.

Jefferson would be reelected in 1804 for a second term that began in 1805; In 1808 the Democratic-Republican candidate James Madison was elected President, who at that time was Jefferson's Secretary of State.

The Democratic-Republican Party, like all parties of the time, was dominated by a select elite of leaders; the consultation to the bases of the party by means of internal primary elections was an idea absolutely unknown then. The election of the presidential candidate of the party was made by the Democratic-Republican Caucus in Congress.

But from the election of Madison a kind of unwritten rule or custom was imposed that the candidate should be the Secretary of State of the outgoing Government; in this way the congressmen elected Madison, Jefferson's Secretary of State.

As a result, when a Democratic-Republican president appointed his Secretary of State, he was also naming the future presidential candidate of his party; and since the victory was almost assured, he was actually naming his presidential successor.

The ease with which the Democratic-Republican Party won the elections was due to the growing weakness of the Federalist Party, which was practically the only one of the opposition.

The Democratic-Republican Party had the majority of its support among southern planters and poor farmers in the south and west; nevertheless, he also found a good electoral fishing ground between the grain growers of New England and the Mid-Atlantic States, "being the New York-Virginia axis that sustained the victory of the Republican Party in 1800."  

The answer is: It helped: That the Federalist Party was weakening, and was practically the only one of the opposition. While Jefferson's popularity had the majority of his support among southern planters and poor farmers in the south and west; however, he also found a good electoral fishing ground between grain growers in New England and the mid-Atlantic states.

Answer 2

The correct answer to this open question is the following.

We are talking about the US Presidential election of 1808, where James Madison (Republican-Democratic candidate) defeated Charles Cotesworth Pickney (Federalist candidate).

Despite the difficult decisions Jefferson had to take such as the Embargo Act of 1807 that was not well accepted by many Americans, James Madison -as a Secretary of the State in both Jefferson's tenures- had enough acceptance among American citizens. Madison had overseen the Louisiana Purchase with major success and people knew he was an honorable, capable man to conduct the US government. His reputation as a good negotiator and author of the Bill of Rights included in the US Constitution were important factors in his victory.