Simone Lawson
The 12th Amendment to the US Constitution was added in 1804 to address flaws in the original system for electing the President and Vice President. The amendment aimed to simplify the process by requiring separate votes for President and Vice President, addressing issues arising from different political alignments between the two roles. It also changed the rules for contingent elections, where no candidate received a majority, by reducing the number of candidates the House could choose from and clarifying the role of the Senate in selecting the Vice President. The 12th Amendment recognised the existence of political parties and the Electoral College's role in party-line voting.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of proposal | 6 January 1797 |
| Proposer | Federalist Representative William L. Smith of South Carolina |
| Reason | To address the issue of a vice president and president from different political alignments being unable to work together effectively |
| Previous system | Each elector voted for two candidates for president; the candidate with the most votes became president, and the candidate with the second-highest number of votes became vice president |
| Amendment | Each elector must cast one vote for president and another for vice president |
| Amendment | The House would choose the president from the top three choices of the electors, and the Senate would choose the vice president from the top two choices of the electors for that office |
| Amendment | No individual constitutionally ineligible to be president would be eligible to serve as vice president |
| Amendment | The House of Representatives must choose a president before the fourth day of March following the election, or the vice president will act as president |
| Date added | 25 September 1804 |
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What You'll Learn
- To simplify the process of electing a President and Vice President from the same party
- To avoid a President and Vice President with conflicting political views
- To prevent the election of a President and Vice President from different parties
- To prevent a tie in the Electoral College
- To prevent a corrupt bargain
To simplify the process of electing a President and Vice President from the same party
The 12th Amendment to the US Constitution was added to simplify the process of electing a President and Vice President from the same party. The original constitutional system could result in the selection of a President and Vice President with differing political alignments, as was the case with John Adams (Federalist) and Thomas Jefferson (Anti-Federalist). This led to a situation where the President and Vice President were unable to work together effectively, particularly in the context of the French Revolutionary Wars, with Adams pursuing a pro-British foreign policy, much to the disgust of the pro-French Jefferson.
The 12th Amendment addressed this issue by requiring each member of the Electoral College to cast one electoral vote for President and one electoral vote for Vice President. This prevented a scenario where the candidate with the second-highest number of votes, intended for the Vice President, would be from a different party to the President, as had happened in 1796.
The 12th Amendment also made changes to the process of a contingent election, which occurs when no candidate wins the presidential electoral vote of a majority of electors. Under the new rules, the House of Representatives still chooses the President from the top three candidates, but the Senate now chooses the Vice President from the top two candidates. This ensures that the Vice President is also from the same party as the President.
The 12th Amendment also provided that no individual constitutionally ineligible to be President could serve as Vice President. This further guaranteed that the President and Vice President would be from the same party, as it prevented an individual from becoming Vice President if they were unable to assume the Presidency due to ineligibility.
The changes introduced by the 12th Amendment simplified the process of electing a President and Vice President from the same party by addressing the issues that arose from the original constitutional system. The amendment recognised the existence of political parties and facilitated the Electoral College's role in party-line voting.
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To avoid a President and Vice President with conflicting political views
The 12th Amendment to the US Constitution was passed in 1804 to address issues with the original system of selecting the President and Vice President, which could result in the pairing of a President and Vice President with conflicting political views.
The original system, as outlined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution, stipulated that each elector would vote for two candidates for President. The candidate with the majority of votes would become President, and the person with the second-highest number of votes would become Vice President. This process could result in the President and Vice President being from different political parties, leading to conflicts and an ineffective administration.
The 12th Amendment simplified the process by requiring electors to cast separate votes for President and Vice President. This amendment ensured that the President and Vice President would be from the same political party, reducing the likelihood of conflicting political views and improving the potential for collaboration within the administration.
The amendment also changed the process in the event of a tie or no majority winner. Instead of the House of Representatives choosing the President from the top five candidates and the runner-up becoming Vice President, the House would now choose the President from the top three candidates, and the Senate would select the Vice President from the top two candidates. This change guaranteed that the Vice President would be eligible to assume the presidency if needed and maintained a coherent political alignment between the President and Vice President.
The 12th Amendment addressed the challenges of the original system, such as the 1796 election, where Federalist John Adams became President, and Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson, with opposing political views, became Vice President. The amendment aimed to prevent such instances and foster better governance through a unified executive branch.
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To prevent the election of a President and Vice President from different parties
The Twelfth Amendment was added to the US Constitution to prevent the election of a President and Vice President from different parties. The original constitutional system could result in the selection of a President and Vice President with differing political alignments, which could lead to an ineffective working relationship.
For example, in 1796, Federalist John Adams became President, with Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson as his Vice President. With the French Revolutionary Wars raging in Europe, Adams pursued a pro-British foreign policy, much to the disgust of the strongly pro-French Jefferson. This political misalignment caused significant problems.
The 1800 election further emphasised the flaws in the original system. In this election, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, both Democratic-Republicans, tied in the Electoral College. To break the tie, a contingent election was held in the House of Representatives, where Federalists cast their votes for Burr to prevent Jefferson from becoming President. This situation became known as the "Burr dilemma". Neither Burr nor Jefferson could win on the first 35 ballots, and the gridlock was only broken on the 36th ballot, with Jefferson eventually becoming President.
The Twelfth Amendment simplified the process for selecting a President and Vice President from the same political party. It required each member of the Electoral College to cast one electoral vote for President and one electoral vote for Vice President, eliminating the possibility of multiple candidates winning a majority of electoral votes for President. This amendment also guaranteed that there would always be a Vice President, who could take over the presidency if needed.
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To prevent a tie in the Electoral College
The Twelfth Amendment was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and was ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. The amendment was proposed to prevent a tie in the Electoral College.
Before the Twelfth Amendment, the Electoral College forced the House of Representatives to choose the president and vice president. In the 1800 election, the candidates they had to choose from were running mates Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. This resulted in a tie, exposing serious problems with the Electoral College. The Twelfth Amendment was proposed to prevent such an event from occurring again.
The Twelfth Amendment restructured the presidential elections by requiring electors to cast one vote for president and another for vice president. This made it impossible for two candidates for president to each get a majority of electoral votes. The amendment also gave the Senate responsibility to select the vice president if no candidate won a majority of the vice-presidential electoral vote.
The Twelfth Amendment also addressed the issue of the country being leaderless during the inter-term phase. It stipulated that the newly-elected vice president would handle the responsibilities of the president while a proper candidate was chosen by Congress.
Since its ratification, the Twelfth Amendment has been effective in eliminating most ties and deadlocks. Elections such as those in 1948, 1968, and 2000 would normally have led to the candidates being decided in the House of Representatives, but the amendment's provisions have prevented that from happening.
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To prevent a corrupt bargain
The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution was added to prevent a "corrupt bargain" and to provide a procedure for electing the president and vice president. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the requisite three-quarters of state legislatures on June 15, 1804.
The Twelfth Amendment addressed a flaw in the original Electoral College system, where each elector cast two votes with no distinction between votes for president and vice president. This led to the possibility of two candidates from the same party tying for first and second place, as happened in the 1796 election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, and again in 1800 between Jefferson and Aaron Burr.
The Twelfth Amendment requires electors to cast one vote for president and another for vice president, ensuring that a presidential candidate and their running mate cannot tie. It also established that the House of Representatives would choose the president from the top three candidates if no candidate received a majority of electoral votes, and the Senate would choose the vice president from the top two candidates.
The 1824 election was the first and only time the Twelfth Amendment was invoked to select a president. Andrew Jackson received the most electoral votes, but not a majority, so the House had to choose between him, John Quincy Adams, and William Crawford. Adams was elected, and Jackson and his supporters accused him and Henry Clay, who became Secretary of State, of making a "corrupt bargain." This led to the formation of the Democratic Party, with Jackson as its leader, and broad public frustration.
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Frequently asked questions
The 12th Amendment was added to address flaws in the original Constitution's election process, which allowed for the selection of a President and Vice President with differing political alignments.
The 12th Amendment simplified the process by requiring electors to cast separate votes for President and Vice President. It also changed the number of candidates in a contingent election from five to three and clarified the role of the House and Senate in such elections.
The original Constitution's election process led to situations like the 1796 election, where Federalist John Adams became President, and Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson, who had received the second-highest votes, became his Vice President despite their differing political views. This dynamic created significant problems in governing, especially regarding foreign policy during the French Revolutionary Wars.
The 12th Amendment altered the original process, where the House would choose the President from the top five candidates and the person with the second-highest votes would become Vice President. Now, the House selects the President from the top three candidates, and the Senate chooses the Vice President from the top two candidates for that office.
