Foreign influence The French foreign minister, Charles Delacroix, wrote that France "must raise up the [American] people and at the same time conceal the lever by which we do so… I propose… to send orders and instructions to our minister plenipotentiary at Philadelphia to use all means in his power to bring about a successful revolution, and [George] Washington's replacement." The French minister (ambassador) to the United States, Pierre Adet, openly supported the Democratic-Republican Party and its presidential nominee, Thomas Jefferson, while attacking the Federalist Party and its presidential nominee, John Adams. The foreign intrigue France perpetrated was unsuccessful, as Adams won the election with an electoral vote count of 71-68. A significant factor in thwarting the French efforts was George Washington's Farewell Address, which condemned foreign meddling in America. Electoral college selection The Constitution, in Article II, Section 1, provided that the state legislatures should decide the manner in which their Electors were chosen. Different state legislatures chose different methods: See also Inauguration of John Adams Bibliography of Thomas Jefferson History of the United States (1789–1849) First Party System 1796–97 United States House of Representatives elections 1796–97 United States Senate elections Notes References Web references A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825 Primary sources Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. ed. The Making of the American Party System 1789 to 1809 (1965), short excerpts from primary sources Cunningham, Noble E., Jr., ed. Circular Letters of Congressmen to Their Constituents 1789-1829 (1978), 3 vol; political reports sent by Congressmen to local newspapers Further reading Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, 1754–1829 ed. by Paul Finkelman (2005), 1600 pp. Banning, Lance. The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology (1978) Chambers, William Nisbet, ed. The First Party System (1972) Chambers, William Nisbet. Political Parties in a New Nation: The American Experience, 1776–1809 (1963) Charles, Joseph. The Origins of the American Party System (1956), reprints articles in William and Mary Quarterly Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. Jeffersonian Republicans: The Formation of Party Organization: 1789–1801 (1957) Cunningham, Noble E., Jr., "John Beckley: An Early American Party Manager," William and Mary Quarterly, 13 (Jan. 1956), 40–52, in JSTOR Dawson, Matthew Q. Partisanship and the Birth of America's Second Party, 1796-1800: Stop the Wheels of Government. Greenwood, (2000) online version DeConde, Alexander. "Washington's Farewell, the French Alliance, and the Election of 1796," Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Mar. 1957), pp. 641–658 in JSTOR Dinkin,