The House of Representatives broke an electoral tie, resulting in the election of Thomas Jefferson as President and Aaron Burr as Vice President in 1801.

Because members of the Electoral College failed to designate each of their two votes as for either the President or Vice President, presidential candidate Thomas Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr each received 73 votes. After six days of campaigning, and 30 separate vote tallies, a Federalist-dominated House of Representatives broke the tie.

Three years later, the 12th Amendment to the Constitution was passed, requiring electors to "name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President."

EDSITEment 
A letter from Jefferson concerning his inauguration is among the primary source materials used in the EDSITEment unit I Do Solemnly Swear: Presidential Inaugurations (3-5). In this unit, students explore archival materials to learn more about presidential inaugurations.

Jefferson held the first inaugural open house at the White House and opened it to the pubic for tours. In A President’s Home and the President’s House (3-5), students look closely at what Jefferson did at his personal home, Monticello, in contrast to what Presidents have done in the White House.

In Thomas Jefferson on the Sedition Act (9-12), students examine arguments put forth by Thomas Jefferson and others in opposition to the Sedition Act. They discuss Jefferson's opinion on how constitutional questions about the Sedition Act could be resolved.

Illuminations 
Analyze the election process from a mathematical perspective in the Illuminations lesson Will the Best Candidate Win? (9-12). In this lesson students use mathematical reasoning to explore alternative voting methods.

ReadWriteThink 
The election of 1801 was decided in the House of Representatives, but most U.S. elections are decided by the voters. In the ReadWriteThink lesson Propaganda Techniques in Literature and Online Political Ads (9-12), students identify examples of propaganda techniques used in clips of online political advertisements and explain how the techniques are used to persuade voters.

ARTSEDGE 
In The US Presidential Election Process and the Campaign Trail (5-8), students research the process used to elect a U.S. president and plan a campaign.

Smithsonian's History Explore
The Jefferson Banner (9-12), celebrates the electoral victory of Thomas Jefferson over John Adams in the presidential election of 1800.