The Election of 1796

The Election of 1796

The Election of 1796
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 7
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	8.11

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		atheist, mudslinging, lining, opposite, presidential, photo, record, whom, member, beginning, campaign, vote, however, lead, since, between
	content words:		United States, George Washington, Electoral College, John Adams, Thomas Pinckney, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr

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The Election of 1796
By Sharon Fabian

¹     It happens once every four years! The stages decked out in red white and blue, the TV advertisements, the speeches, the bus tours, the hand shaking, and the photo opportunities. And that's just the beginning of the serious and silly events that lead up to the presidential election. There are also the debates, the campaign promises, and the insults, also called mudslinging. These are some of the things each candidate for president does as he tries to prove to the American people that he is the perfect person to be the next president. At the same time, he also tries to convince you that the other candidate is someone for whom no one in his right mind would vote.

²     Elections in the United States have been that way almost since the beginning. George Washington didn't really have any competition; he was elected unanimously. However, by the time Washington was ready to step down, a contest was lining up between two sides. Both sides wanted one of their people to be president.

³     In 1796, the two sides were the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Each side chose two candidates for president, since the members of the Electoral College would each vote for two people. Whoever won the most votes would be the new president. Whoever came in second would be the new vice-president.

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