522 NATURAL AND CIVIL 



the federal electors would vote against Mr. Jef- 

 ferson, and that both the federal and republican 

 electors would vote for Mr. Burr, the vice pre- 

 sident ; and thus a considerable majority of 

 votes would be found for Mr. Burr, and place 

 him, contrary to the design of the republican 

 electors, in the president's chair. 



There did not appear to be but two ways to 

 prevent this. The one was, to render Mr. Burr 

 so unpopular, as to prevent his carrying an elec- 

 tion for either office ; the other was so to alter 

 the constitution, as that the votes of the electors 

 should designate the name of the person whom 

 they meant to vote for as president, and as vice 

 president. The leading politicians on the re- 

 publican side, concluded it would be best to 

 ^vail themselves of both methods ; and they 

 soon began to suggest that Mr. Burr's conduct 

 was marked with duplicity, ambition, and dan- 

 gerous designs. The surer method, however, 

 would be to effect an alteration in the federal 

 constitution ; and this they believed they could 

 bring about by engaging the Congress to adopt 

 the measure, and recommend it to the legisla- 

 tures of the several states. Mr. Jefferson had 

 called upon Congress to assemble at an earlier 

 period than was usual, to decide on the purchase 

 of Louisiana ; and it was understood by the 

 leading politicians, that as soon as this business 

 was complcated, the measure of altering the 

 constitution would be taken up ; that there 

 might be time for the republican states to com- 

 plete the plan, before the election of president- 

 and vice president should come on. 



In this state of political intrigue and anxiet}v 



