1. Runkle school 7th grade simulation
The Election of 1800
Runkle school 7th grade simulation

2. The Players and Their Parts
Candidate
7-A
7-B
Thomas Jefferson
Lanie, Emma, Henry M., Skye
Jordon, Maya M., Gideon, Patrick
Charles Pinckney
Giliana, Alex, Sam, Wolf
Patricia, Maya W., Adri, Loren, Wilkania
John Adams
Josh, Isaac, Brian, Jasmine
Elyana, Nicholas, Maddie, Fiona
John Jay
Matthew, Ruby, Conor, Katie S.
Carson, Kayla, Anita, Anna
Aaron Burr
Henry S., Thomas, Phoebe, Devin
Pablo, Evan, Justin, Sofi, Katie B.

3. The Steps for the Simulation
Register to vote
Campaign prep for primaries in groups
Hold Primaries (Select a candidate from each political party)
Hold National Conventions for both parties (Candidates announced)
Eighth graders will “register to vote” and choose political party
General/Popular Election (Eighth grade will vote within their political party based on posters and pamphlets)
Electoral College Votes (7/8 teachers will represent the Electoral College- each of the 16 states will be weighted based on how many Electoral Votes those states had in 1800)
Each party will prepare an Inaugural Address for its candidate (choose one member from the group to read the speech)
Inauguration Day (January 6 in real life) where the certificates will be handed in by the Electoral College to the President (Ms. Hubert!) and I will read them aloud.
New President Elect (the winner!) will read their Inaugural Address to the class
We will discuss and compare and contrast our results to what really happened historically- in other words who was the real third president!

4. Register to Vote
Each state has a different set of directions for registering to vote and participating in Primaries
In Massachusetts you do not need to declare a political party when you register
If you do declare a political party to align with, you can only vote in the Primary Election of that political party (If you register as a Democrat, you can only vote in the Democratic Primary)
The system of only being able to vote in the Primary of your registered party is called a “Closed Primary” and it is the system used by most states
Eighth graders in this simulation MUST choose a political party before voting and may ONLY vote in the Primary Election of that political party (This is a “Closed Primary”)

5. The Primaries
There are many people who would like to become President. Each of these people has their own ideas about how our government should work. Some of these people can belong to the same political party. That's where primaries and caucuses come in.
In these elections, party members get to vote for the candidate that will represent their party in the upcoming general election.

6. Primaries Preparation
Your goal is to get your candidate chosen- FIRST to represent their political party and SECOND- to become the third president of the United States.
As a group please complete the following steps for this initial phase of the process:
Identify political party of candidate (Use your book this needs to be accurate)
Find relevant personal information about candidate:
Family, religion, political history, etc.
Things that would be good publicity
Things opponents might say that you should be prepared to defend or rebut
Identify position of candidate on key issues of the election:
The desire to have a closer relationship with France or Britain
The legality of the Alien and Sedition Acts
States rights versus Federal power
Identify advantages of your candidate over other candidates in your political party (think what the American people would want)
Create a campaign poster or pamphlet that may include some or all of the above.
Write a speech for your candidate that may include some or all of the above.
** REMEMBER that the above should be COMPELLING pieces of campaign material as well as informative.

7. Democratic-Republican Primary
Who’s Voting and When
General Election
All 8th Graders will vote
Democratic-Republican Primary
Only 8th Graders who chose this political party will vote
One winner will be chosen
Federalist Primary
Electoral College
Teachers representing the 16 states will vote

8. The Primaries- Choosing a Political Party
Less Central Government, more States Rights
Support of France, who helped us in our Revolution, and is going through a similar Revolution
The Alien and Sedition Acts are Wrong
Rebellions are a good thing
Democratic-Republican Platform
Strong Central Government
Support of Great Britain, our Mother country and financial partner
The Alien and Sedition Acts are Right
Rebellions weaken our country and create divisions
Federalist Platform

9. The Primaries There are 53 8th graders voting in our election
According to the very first census (organized by Secretary of State at the time Thomas Jefferson: The population in 1800 was just under 4,000,000 people
How many people do you think voted in the real election of 1800?
What percentage of the population votes today?
After the 8th graders vote, we will have one Democratic-Republican candidate and one Federalist candidate

10. National Conventions
At our National Conventions the candidates that won in the Primaries should:
Give a speech accepting the nomination and declaring what the party platform is and what you would do as president
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11. Democratic-Republican National Convention
Winner of the 7-A Group: Thomas Jefferson
The 7-B Group had a tie in their Democratic-Republican Primary. (Thomas Jefferson OR Charles Pinckney)
When there is a tie SUPER DELEGATES DECIDE the candidate
Super Delegates in our simulation will be members of the team whose candidate was not nominated.
Super Delegates are simply "unpledged voters." Their vote represents their own choice, rather than the wishes of the voters, and these unpledged delegates can pledge their votes as they see fit.
Super Delegates have to consider how to use their votes carefully. They may:
Vote in step with how the voters in the majority of states voted
Vote in line with Democratic voters nationwide
Vote in favor of the candidate with the most pledged delegates, even if it is just a slim majority.

12. Democratic-Republic Tie Results
After the Super Delegates voted, the winner of the Democratic-Republican Primaries was Charles Pinckney

13. Federalist National Convention
Winner of the 7-A Group: John Adams
Winner of the 7-B Group: John Adams

14. The General Election
Now all of the 8th graders will vote for one of the two candidates
In the General Election, it doesn’t matter what political party you align with, you can vote for either candidate
Your campaign prep should include
Selling your candidate and all of their positive things
Showing why the other candidate is not what’s best for the country
The ELECTORAL COLLEGE WILL CONSIDER THE OPINION OF THE MAJORITY WHEN MAKING THEIR DECISION

15. The States and Their Representation in the Electoral College
The number of Electors each state sends to the Electoral College is based on the number of Representatives they have in the House plus their 2 Senators in Congress
The number of Representatives in the House is determined by the state’s population
The higher the number of Electoral Votes a state has the more important it is in the overall outcome of the election
In 1800 there were 138 Electoral Votes, in our election there are 16
Based on the Electoral Votes from 1800 each state in our simulation has been assigned a certain number of Electoral Votes
In order to win our election you have to get at least 9 Electoral Votes (the majority)
The Electors must consider the following to decide their vote:
The outcome of the popular election
The campaigns of each candidate

16. The Math Behind the Simulated Electoral College
VT- had 4/138 Electoral Votes in 1800=3%; 3% of the 16 Electoral Votes in our simulation is 0.5
NH-6/138=4%; 4% of 16=0.75
MA-16/138=12%; 2
RI- 4/138=3%; 0.5
NY- 12/138=9%; 1.5
CT-9/138=7%; 1
PA- 15/138=11%; 1.75
NJ- 7/138=5%; 0.75
DE- 3/138=2%; 0.25
MD- 10/138=7%; 1
VA-21/138=15%; 2.5
KY-4/138=3%; 0.25
TN-3/138=2%; 0.25
NC-12/138=8%; 1.25
SC-8/138=6%; 1
GA-4/138=3%; 0.5

17. Electoral Votes of 2012

18. Electoral Votes of 1800

19. General/Popular Elections Results to be Considered by Electoral College
7-A Election: John Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson
Popular Vote Winner: Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson: 21 Votes
Adams: 13 Votes
7-B Election: John Adams vs. Charles Pinckney
Popular Vote Winner: John Adams
Pinckney: 6 Votes

20. The States and the Electoral College
Vermont
Brady
0.5 Electoral Votes
New Hampshire
Weiss
0.75 Electoral Votes
Massachusetts
Pelton
2 Electoral Votes
Rhode Island
Lown
New York
Murphy
1.5 Electoral Votes
Connecticut
Sneider
1 Electoral Votes
Pennsylvania
Boyle
1.75 Electoral Votes
New Jersey
Brown
Delaware
Gaston
0.25 Electoral Votes
Maryland
Ortiz
Virginia
Lass
2.5 Electoral Votes
Kentucky
McTaggart
Tennessee
Hubert
North Carolina
Schultz
1.25 Electoral Votes
South Carolina
Snyder
Georgia
Galanopoulos

21. Electoral College
The winner needs to obtain at least 9 of the 16 Electoral Votes to win the Presidency
Each state is weighted differently and some are worth more than others

22. Winner Announced 7-A Electoral College Votes:
Jefferson 12.25
Adams 3.75
7-B Electoral College Votes:
Pinckney
Adams

23. Inauguration Day