Adams Family Correspondence, volume 14
by1801
I arrived here about half after Six, without any
accident, but beat and bang’d enough I do not wish for the present, a
severer punishment to the Jacobins & half feds who have sent me home at
this Season, than to travel the Roads in the san culot stile just now; the
Roads were hard frozen points up, all the way. we were 4 hours making our
first stage, and then commenced a voilent snow storm. when we made our 2d Stage which was spurriers, we found ourselves
so late that we could not stop but to change our Horses, and came through
without taking a mouthfull of refreshment.1 poor little susan streachd herself
upon the floor as soon as she got in and fell fast asslepe—
I am not so weary however as to have lost my curiosity about the fate of the Election, and would give something to know the result2
I shall rest here tomorrow, and the next day pursue my journey. I wish however mr Cranch could overtake me, which he might do if he sits out on sunday. I shall have some difficulty in crossing the Susquahannah— I think I ought to have a Gentleman with me. it is too bad to travel these Roads without—
hoping you will find them much men[ded] by the 4th March— I conclude / ever Yours
RC (Adams Papers); endorsed: “Mrs A.” Some loss of text due to wear at the
edge.
Spurrier’s Tavern was located about 21 miles north of
Washington, D.C., near Elkridge, Md., and was a frequent resting point
for travelers between Washington and Baltimore (Morris, Diaries
, 2:144).
On 11 Feb. Thomas Jefferson read the results of the
electoral votes for president and vice president before a joint
Congress. The final tally, for which see
TBA to JQA, 6
Dec. 1800, and note 5, above, resulted in JA’s
defeat and a tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. In the event of a
tie, the U.S. Constitution reserved to the House of Representatives the
power to elect a president and vice president with each state allocated
one vote as determined by a majority poll of its congressional
delegation, and with nine states needed to win the presidency. On 11
Feb. 1801 the first ballot awarded eight states to Jefferson, six to
Burr, and two were divided. Thirty-four subsequent ballots between 11
and 17 Feb. failed to break the deadlock. Finally on the 36th ballot the
tie was broken with ten states for Jefferson, four for Burr, and two
entered as blank, thereby securing the presidency for Jefferson and the
vice presidency for Burr (Freeman, Affairs
of Honor
, p. 199–200, 241–242;
Annals of Congress
, 6th Cong., 2d
sess., p. 1022–1033).