On this day in history, February 17, 1801, Jefferson is elected president as party politics divide new nation

Thomas Jefferson was elected president on this day in history, Feb. 17, 1801. He first had to defeat President John Adams, then overcome Aaron Burr in Congress.

"By early 1799, both parties, Republican and Federalist, were convinced of the other's determination to subvert the government and overthrow the Constitution," writes Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in its online account of the election.  "By early 1799 both parties … were convinced of the other's determination to subvert the government and overthrow the Constitution." — Monticello "A civil war, or a surrender of independence is not more than a twelvemonth's distance." — William Cobbett, political pundit in the 1790s Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.

The election was underscored by shocking accusations of defective ballots, politically partisan media, even ominous threats of civil war – proving that little has changed in American presidential politics in more than 200 years.