The electoral tie for the presidency between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson is a forgotten piece of history that still affects us today. It resulted in the adoption of the 12th Amendment in 1804, which changed the requirements for presidential and vice-presidential elections, and it created several precedents for the two later electoral ties (including Bush v. Gore -- which, however, the Supreme Court unconstitutionally took out of the hands of Congress).
Aaron Burr enjoyed over twenty-five years of popularity and renown before the election of 1800 and the electoral tie for the presidency with Thomas Jefferson. Burr's refusal to agree to Republican requests that he resign if the Federalist-dominated House elected him was viewed by Jeffersonians as virtual treason. This was the start of Burr's fall from grace, much of which was engineered by or through Jefferson.
This article deals with the complex events leading up to and during the tie. The tie went from the electoral college to the House of Representatives and was eventually broken only when Jefferson met privately with Federalist leaders and made a deal.
The article identifies for the first time a unique relational situation between Burr and Jefferson which offers a clear reason for the cause of the falling out between the two political allies.
Article available electronically HERE.
This article is important today for several additional reasons which are barely touched upon in it. FIRST: It reveals a new insight into Jefferson that explains much about him. The internal evidence of his 12/15/1800 letter to Burr and Burr's 12/23/1800 response suggests a latent homosexual drive in Jefferson and an offer on his part to Burr to participate in a homosexual relationship, albeit not overt. It is my view that Jefferson, himself, was not consciously aware of his latent homosexuality and therefore not aware of his offer to Burr. Probably Burr was not fully aware of it either.
Nonetheless, if Jefferson was a latent homosexual and if he did offer such a relationship to Burr, Burr's rejection explains much about Jefferson's sense of betrayal by Burr. He had confided a deep secret to Burr, which made Burr a dangerous man to Jefferson.
(Later evidence points to Jefferson's efforts to have Burr assassinated. Nor would that have been the first assassination Jefferson was involved in with Burr's associate General James Wilkinson. That history has not yet been written.)
SECOND: Jefferson set a precedent by his backroom dealings to secure the presidency. His place in American history needs reassessment.