200 years ago today:
May the blessing of God rest upon the event of this day—
The second Wednesday in February; when the Election of a President of the United States for the term of four years from the 4th. of March next was consummated. Of the votes in the electoral Colleges there were 99. for Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, 84 for John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, 41. for William Harris Crawford of Georgia, and 37 for Henry Clay of Kentucky. In all 261.
This result having been announced on opening and counting the votes in joint meeting of the two Houses, the House of Representatives immediately proceeded to the vote by ballot from the three highest Candidates, when John Quincy Adams received the votes of 13, Andrew Jackson of 7. and William H. Crawford of 4. States
— The election was thus completed, very unexpectedly by a single ballot—
Alexander H. Everett gave me the first notice, both of the issue of the votes of the electoral colleges, as announced in the joint meeting, and of the final vote as declared. Wyer followed him a few minutes afterwards— Mr Bolton and Mr Thomas the Naval Architect succeeded; and B. W. Crowninshield, calling on his return from the House to his lodgings at my house, confirmed the reports—
Congratulations from several of the Officers of the Department of State ensued—from D. Brent, G. Ironside, W. Slade, and Josias W. King—
Those of my wife, children, and family were cordial, and affecting; and I received an affectionate note from Mr Rufus King of New-York, written in the Senate chamber after the event.
Historian and biographer, John T Morse, Jr, wrote about 60 years later:
No President since Washington had ever come into office so entirely free from any manner of personal obligations or partisan entanglements, express or implied, as did Mr. Adams. Throughout the campaign he had not himself, or by any agent, held out any manner of tacit inducement to any person whomsoever, contingent upon his election. He entered upon the Presidency under no indebtedness. He at once nominated his Cabinet...
The entire absence of chicanery or the use of influence in the distribution of offices is well illustrated by the following incident: On the afternoon following the day of inauguration President Adams called upon Rufus King, whose term of service as Senator from New York had just expired, and who was preparing to leave Washington on the next day. In the course of a conversation concerning the nominations which had been sent to the Senate that forenoon the President said that he had nominated no minister to the English court...
The result was an acceptance by Mr. King, his nomination by the President, and confirmation by the Senate. He was an old Federalist, to whom Mr. Adams owed no favors. With such directness and simplicity were the affairs of the Republic conducted. It is a quaint and pleasing scene from the period of our forefathers.
Adams - at this point a Democratic-Republican - made his case to the old Federalist thus:
I urged upon him a variety of considerations to induce his acceptance of it—
The general importance of the Mission, in my estimation not inferior to that of any one of the Departments—
The special importance to the States of New-York and of Maine; of certain interests in Negotiation with Great-Britain—
His peculiar qualifications for the conduct of those Negotiations. His duty to the Country; not to refuse Services so important, and for which perhaps no other individual would be so well suited—
The Satisfaction which the appointment and his acceptance of it would give to the federal party throughout the Union—
The tendency that it would have to heal our divisions, and harmonize the feelings of the People—
The opportunity which he would afford me of promoting this reconciliation of parties, and at the same time of proving by my example the sincerity of the Sentiments avowed in my address—
I dwelt with earnestness upon all these motives, and apparently not without effect...
To this day, Democrats are expected to appoint the opposition party to key roles in government, while Trump can just stick with his fellow Nazis.
Selah.