1808 United States Presidential Election

The 1808 United States presidential election was the 6th quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, November 4, to Wednesday, December 7, 1808. Federalist President Alexander Hamilton was able to win re-election, defeating a divided opposition which was split between the Democratic-Republicans led by James Madison and the Bucktails led by former Vice President Aaron Burr.

Hamilton had a controversial term, but most Federalists were still with him in his support. The Democratic-Republicans, however, were split. Former Secretary of State James Madison won the Democratic-Republican nomination, but former Vice President Aaron Burr, with the support of his supporters, bolted from the party and formed the Bucktail Party.

In an extremely close election, Hamilton was able to narrowly clinch the election. He won 47% of the popular vote with just a extremely slim majority of only one electoral vote. Madison won 29% of the popular vote and 60 electoral votes, and Burr won 23% and 26 electoral votes.

Federalist Party nomination
Since President Hamilton's re-nomination was never in doubt, few Federalists bothered to attend the convention in September of 1808. Both Hamilton and Pickney like expected were re-nominated.

Presidential candidates
The two main contenders for the Presidency were former Secretary of State James Madison and former Vice President Aaron Burr, though the former Governor of New York, George Clinton, had a small backing by some New York Republicans. Madison swiftly won the nomination, with Clinton as his running mate. Burr and his supporters would soon ditch the party, and create the Bucktail party in support of himself.
 * James Madison (Virginia), Former Secretary of State
 * Aaron Burr (New York), Former Vice President
 * George Clinton (New York), Former Governor of New York

Results
In an extremely close election, Hamilton was able to narrowly clinch the election. He won 47% of the popular vote with just a extremely slim majority of only one electoral vote. Madison won 29% of the popular vote and 60 electoral votes, and Burr won 23% and 26 electoral votes. Burr was able to carry the states of Ohio, New Jersey, and New Hampshire in a surprise, but also caused the Democratic-Republican vote to split between him and Madison, essentially giving Hamilton the victory. Madison preformed generally poorly across the nation, as Hamilton was able to capitalize on the Democratic-Republican split and was able to win South Carolina, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.