For additional information, call 434-525-1806 or e-mail democracy@poplarforest.org

The Presidential Debate of 1804 presented by: Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest Blue Ridge Public Television Virginia Department of Education Virginia Satellite Educational Network

To Be Aired:

 on Blue Ridge Public Television (WBRA) at 2:00 p.m. on September 23rd

on Virginia Piedmont Public Television (WVPT) at 1:00 a.m. on September 25th

on Central Virginia Public Television (WCVE and WHTJ) at 2:00 on October 15th

during Virginia Department of Education's DOE hour on October 19th
(check local listings for times)

on Mhz at 1:15 a.m. on October 23rd

The presidential election of 1804 would be the first conducted under the 12^th Amendment which was ratified in June 1804. Previously, whichever presidential candidate received the second highest electoral vote became vice president. The new amendment mandated separate ballots for the office of president and vice president.

The pattern of political contention of 1804 was rich with current events:  a national effort to decrease the public debt; Haitian independence declared in January as residents defeat French forces trying to re-establish slavery on the island; the launch of the Lewis and Clark expedition from St. Louis in May 1804; and trade questions stemming from the war between England and France.

The Democratic-Republicans nominate Thomas Jefferson of Virginia.  Jefferson seeks his second term as president after a lengthy career in public service in which he served as governor of Virginia, vice president, Secretary of State, and Minister to France. In his first term as president, Jefferson not only doubled the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase, but he launched the first national exploration of the continent in hopes of furthering U.S. commerce and scientific knowledge. 

Jefferson’s running mate on the Democratic-Republican ticket is George Clinton, governor of New York. As a young man Clinton fought in the French and Indian War, and later became an attorney who defended members of the Sons of Liberty.  He served as a member of the Second Continental Congress before being commissioned a brigadier general during the American Revolution. 

Opposing President Jefferson is Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina, running on the Federalist ticket.  Pinckney rose to the rank of general in the Revolutionary War, and served nearly two years as a prisoner of the war after the fall of Charleston in 1780. A proponent of a strong central government, Pinckney was one of the first leaders in the National Constitutional Convention. He represented the United States briefly in the Netherlands and France, and commanded American forces in the South between 1798 and 1800 when war with France seemed imminent.

General Pinckney’s running mate is Rufus King of New York who many Republicans considered a staunch monarchist. King served briefly in the American Revolution, represented his home state of Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and during the National Constitutional Convention.  He served in the New York state legislature, the U.S. Senate and as U.S. Minister to Great Britain.

In this program Thomas Jefferson, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and their vice presidential running mates present their credentials and platform for consideration for the highest offices in the United States.  The candidates are interviewed by students from Altavista High School.

Virginia Standards of Learning

"Shaping the World: Conversations on Democracy" can assist teachers with the following Virginia Standards Of Learning objectives.  

Virginia Studies:   VS.1, VS.2, VS.3, VS.4, VS.5, VS.6

United States History to 1877:   USI.1, USI.2, USI.5, USI.6, USI.7, USI.8

Civics & Economics:   CE.1, CE.2, CE.3, CE.4, CE.5, CE.6, CE.7, CE.9, CE.10, CE.11, CE.12

World History II (Era VI: Age of Revolutions, 1650 to 1914 A.D.): WHII.6

Virginia and United States History:   VUS.1, VUS.4, VUS.5, VUS.6

Virginia & United States Government: GOVT.1, GOVT.2, GOVT.3, GOVT.4, GOVT.5, GOVT.6, GOVT.7, GOVT.9, GOVT.12, GOVT.17, GOVT.18

World Geography:  WG.1, WG.10, WG.11, WG.12

English: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 5.1, 5.3, 5.4, 5.7, 5.8, 6.2, 6.5, 6.6, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.6, 9.2, 9.4, 9.6, 9.9, 10.1, 10.7, 10.11, 11.1, 11.4, 11.7, 11.10, 12.1, 12.7, 12.8

Math:  4.20, 5.3, 5.18, 6.2, 6.4, 6.18, 7.18, 8.12

The Virginia Satellite Educational Network (VSEN) provides advanced placement and foreign language courses to K-12 students. Programs that support the Virginia Standards of Learning for students, teachers, and administrators are also delivered through VSEN. The Department of Education and VSEN are pleased to make Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest program available via satellite to students across the Commonwealth and nation.