The election of 1796 was the first to have a president and a vice president both of opposing sides. The reason for this is because at the time, the way the president was chose was by who held the most electoral votes and the person in 2nd would become the vice president. Due to this process; Adam, a federalist, became president, and Jefferson, a democratic-republican, became vice president which caused a tense and unproductive partnership between the two.