When Democracy Almost Broke - February 17, 1801

On February 17, 1801, the House of Representatives finally elected Thomas Jefferson president after thirty-six ballots and a constitutional crisis that nearly destroyed the young republic. Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr had tied at 73 electoral votes each due to a flaw in the original Constitution. The deadlock exposed how badly the Electoral College could fail, leading to the 12th Amendment yet we're still debating the same fundamental questions about how we choose presidents today.