The 2016 Election isn’t the first time votes in the Electoral College determined the winner despite the popular vote going to the other candidate. Last week we looked at what the Electoral College is. You can access the discussion and a look at early electoral controversies here. Each state’s Electoral Votes is the tally of its Congressional Delegation. The image on the left is a 2016 map showing the number of Electoral Votes each state cast.

In 1860 four political parties advanced candidates for the presidency at a time when the nation was breaking apart over the issues of Slavery and State’s Rights. The Democratic Party split. The Southern Democratic Party (Green) and Constitutional Union Party (Orange) were the only parties on the ballot in the southern states. The northern states split between the Republican Party (Red) and the Northern Democratic Party (Teal).

Abraham Lincoln — Republican — 180 Electoral Votes, 59.4% — 1,865,908 Popular Votes, 39.9%
John Breckenridge — Southern Democratic — 72 Electoral Votes, 23.8% — 848,019 Popular Votes, 18.1%
John Bell — Constitutional Union — 39 Electoral Votes, 12.9% — 590,901 Popular Votes, 12.6%
Stephen Douglas — Northern Democratic — 12 Electoral Votes, 4% — 1,280,202 Popular Votes, 29.5%

It’s as if each section had a separate election. However, the bulk of the popular and electoral votes were in the northern section. The northern states had 192 Electoral Votes, and a popular vote of 3,146,110. The southern states had 111 Electoral Votes and a popular vote of 1,438,920. The southern states didn’t accept the results, and the nation embarked on four years of civil war. The victorious United States abolished slavery, and established the principle that states may not secede from the nation.

1932

The 1932 Election wasn’t controversial, but the years of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency changed the nation. Americans elected FDR to an unprecedented four terms. In fact, Roosevelt was the first president to run for a third and then a fourth term. FDR instituted an unprecedented number of social and economic programs in his efforts to lead Americans out of the Great Depression. Frances Perkins, the first female Cabinet member, encouraged Roosevelt’s support for Social Security which became law in 1935.

The Roosevelt presidency extended into World War II. Americans elected their commander-in-chief to a fourth term of office in 1944. The president died in 1945, and Vice President Harry S. Truman took office.

1948

As the 1948 Election approached many Americans wanted change. In 1946 Americans elected a Republican Congress. Truman’s approval rating was low at 35 percent. At the Democratic Convention, Truman supported a Civil Rights plank in the party platform. The entire Mississippi Delegation and part of the Alabama Delegation walked out of the convention. Two weeks later, Truman issued Executive Order 9981 to racially integrate the Armed Services and Executive Order 9980 to integrate all federal agencies.

The Republicans ran Thomas E. Dewey, governor of New York, who lost to FDR in the 1944 Election. Despite his strong credentials, Dewey was unexciting. Alice Roosevelt Longworth (Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter) famously described Dewey as the Little Man on the Wedding Cake.

Dissenting Democrats formed the States’ Rights Party and nominated Strom Thurmond for the presidency.

It was a hard fought election campaign. Truman embarked on a “whistle stop” tour, shook hands with voters and reminded them the Democrats saved Americans from the Depression. Dewey spoke to larger crowds. Polls indicated he had a comfortable lead. When Truman went to bed the night of the election, Dewey was the projected victor. Secret Service agents woke the president at 4:00 a.m. the next day, and told him to turn on the radio. Truman was ahead by two million votes.

The Chicago Tribune posted its headline before the results were in. “Dewey Defeats Truman” it erroneously proclaimed.

Harry S. Truman — Democratic — 303 Electoral Votes, 57.1% — 24,105,810 Popular Votes, 49.5%
Thomas E. Dewey — Republican — 189 Electoral Votes, 35.6% — 21,970,064 Popular Votes, 45.1%
Strom Thurmond — States’ Rights — 39 Electoral Votes, 7.3% — 1,169,114 Popular Votes, 2.4%

1960

In 1960 the United States was deeply involved in the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Richard Nixon was well known as Dwight Eisenhower’s vice-president. John Kennedy needed to introduce himself to the American public. He challenged Nixon to four televised debates.

The results were close with less than 120,000 popular votes separating the candidates. There were charges of voting irregularities, but Americans accepted the outcome. In 1968 Richard Nixon ran again and was elected to two terms. He became the only American president to resign his office.

John F. Kennedy — Democratic — 303 Electoral Votes, 56.4% — 34,226,731, Popular Votes, 49.7%
Richard M. Nixon — Republican — 219 Electoral Votes, 40.8% — 34,108,157 Popular Votes, 49.5%

The 2000 Presidential Election was the first close election of the 21st Century. Officially, George W. Bush had 537,179 fewer popular votes than Al Gore, but he had five more Electoral Votes. The key battleground state turned out to be Florida where Bush held the lead by 1,1784 votes. The small margin triggered an automatic recount. The recount of machine votes reduced Bush’s lead to just over 900 votes.

Al Gore requested a manual recount in four counties. The Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gore’s request.

Bush’s legal team argued that recounting votes in only four counties was a violation of the 14th Amendment, and also that punched ballots could be tabulated differently because Florida had no standards to hand count the votes.

As the American public watched with increasing anxiety, Bush appealed to the United States Supreme Court. In the case of Bush v. Gore the Supreme Court ruled Florida’s recount process was inconsistent and violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The Court further ruled there was no fair way to recount Florida votes before the state’s Electors were required to cast their votes.

Therefore, the initial election results remained and Florida’s electoral votes went to George W. Bush.

George W. Bush — Republican — 271 Electoral Votes, 50.4% — 50,455,156 Popular Votes, 47.9%
Albert Gore, Jr. — Democratic — 266 Electoral Votes, 49.4% — 50,992,335 Popular Votes, 48.4%

THE PEACEFUL TRANSITION OF POWER

With one exception Americans have always respected the electoral process even if they haven’t agreed with the result. Our elections aren’t always close. We’ve had many landslide victories. But it’s the close elections that are the most troublesome, because they make us wonder who we really are.

Congressional Elections take place November 6, 2018.

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Images from Wikimedia Commons

2016 Electoral College map by Gage. Creative Commons Attribution.

1860 Electoral College map. Public Domain.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Leon A. Perskie. Creative Commons Attribution.

“Truman Defeats Dewey.” Public Domain.

1960 Nixon-Kennedy Debate. Public Domain.

Bush-Gore 2000 Electoral College map. Public Domain.

Data Taken From:

American Presidency Project.
The Miller Center.
U.S. Electoral College

The post Controversial Elections – Part 2 first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

This past Friday, January 20, Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States. The election was close. The popular vote went to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, but the Electoral Vote – the vote that actually elects the president went to Donald Trump.

Donald Trump — Republican — 304 Electoral Votes — 62,980,160 Popular Vote,  45.9% Pop. Vote
Hillary Clinton — Democrat — 227 Electoral Votes — 65,845,063 Popular Vote,  48% Pop. Vote

Not only was the election close, but many Americans find it impossible to comprehend how the candidate with a majority of the popular vote could possibly lose the presidential election.

So where did the Electoral College come from?

The ELECTORAL COLLEGE is the result of substantial debate at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 — a time of very different sensibilities. Delegates couldn’t envision of time when the United States would have either political parties or universal voting rights. Most states restricted the vote to those citizens who held property.

Everyone at the Constitutional Convention assumed George Washington would be the first president – as indeed he was. Washington was the only name most Americans knew. The delegates worried that after Washington, people wouldn’t know of viable candidates outside of their own state. They thought of the Electors as a special type of Congress named by each state. A state’s number of Electors would be determined by the total number of senators and representatives elected by each state. This would allow each state’s population to be a factor.

Current Electoral College Map

Originally, the Elector could vote for any two candidates as long as one was not from their home state. The man with the most votes would be president. The first runner-up would be vice-president. If no one held a winning majority, the election would go into the House of Representatives (the only body directly elected by the voters). Each state would have one vote. The Founders expected the Electoral College to function more as a nominating body with the House making the actual selection of president.

TODAY each political party within a state presents a slate of Electors. When voters cast their ballots for President, they also elect the Electors.* The Electors aren’t required to vote according to a state’s popular vote, but they usually do.

The tension between the numbers in the voting population and the total number of a state’s congressional delegation is meant to prevent more populous states from dominating smaller states.

CONTROVERISAL ELECTIONS

The Trump-Clinton Election is the most recent in a long line of controversial, closely-fought elections. I count eight such elections, though others might point to more or less. These elections demonstrate the changing electorate as Americans debate the future of the nation. I propose to look at four this week and four next week.

1796 ELECTION

George Washington served two terms as president, which he thought was enough for any man. Since Washington took office in 1790, factions had developed in the electorate. Americans didn’t have formal political parties, but they were beginning to coalesce around key political figures.

Since it wasn’t appropriate then for candidates to openly campaign, their friends and allies did the job. Each state chose Electors in a different way and Electors could vote how they wished – even for candidates of opposing “parties.” Candidates John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had widely differing views on almost everything and could hardly stand each other.

John Adams — Federalist — 71 Electoral Votes, 51.1%
Thomas Jefferson — Democratic-Republican — 68 Electoral Votes 48.9%
Charles Pinckney — Federalist — 59 Electoral Votes
Aaron Burr — Democratic-Republican — 30 Electoral Votes

1800 ELECTION – THE REVOLUTION OF 1800

The Founders thought that once a candidate was elected to office, everyone would put aside their differences in favor of the “greater good.” This proved not to be the case. By 1800 Federalists and Democratic-Republicans were clearly in opposition. The Federalist party also split between Adams and Alexander Hamilton.
The campaign became decidedly uncivil. Federalists attacked Jefferson as a godless supporter of the French Revolution who would unleash bloody terror on the country. Democratic-Republicans charged Adams was a fool and a tyrant who wanted people to call him “Your Excellency.”

Thomas Jefferson — Democratic-Republican — 73 Electoral Votes
Aaron Burr — Democratic-Republican — 73 Electoral Votes
John Adams — Federalist — 65 Electoral Votes
Charles Pinckney — Federalist — 64 Electoral Votes

ELECTORAL VOTE TIED – THE HOUSE VOTES

Jefferson and Burr tied at 73 Electoral Votes each which threw the election into the Federalist controlled House of Representatives. This presents an interesting situation since the tied vote was between Democratic-Republicans. Thirty-five ballots were cast without result. Finally Alexander Hamilton convinced a few delegations who refused to vote for a Democratic-Republican to turn in blank ballots. This allowed the victory to go to Jefferson. Burr was enraged. In 1804 Burr killed Hamilton in a duel.

1804 Burr-Hamilton Duel

1824 ELECTION – THE CORRUPT BARGAIN

Politics changed after 1800. More people had voting rights. The 12th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1804. This required that the president and vice-president be from the same political party. It also stipulated that when an election was thrown into the House of Representatives, only the top three candidates would be considered.

There were four candidates in 1824. John Quincy Adams, son of the second president, would become the last president to wear knee-breeches. Adams’ primary rival was Andrew Jackson, known as the victor at the Battle of New Orleans. There were two other candidates: William Crawford and Henry Clay.

Andrew Jackson — Democratic-Republican — 99 Electoral Votes, 37.9% — 151,271 Popular Votes 41.3%

John Quincy Adams — Democratic-Republican — 84 Electoral Votes, 37.9% — 113,122 Popular Votes, 30.9%

William Crawford — Democratic-Republican — 41 Electoral Votes, 15.7% — 40,856 Popular Votes, 11.2%

Henry Clay — Democratic-Republican — 37 Electoral Votes, 14.2% — 47,531 Popular Votes, 13%

Jackson had a majority of Electoral Votes and popular votes, but his percentage of Electoral Votes tied with those of John Quincy Adams. The election went to the House of Representatives. Henry Clay was eliminated and told his supporters to give their votes to John Quincy Adams. Jackson supporters believed Clay had stolen Jackson’s election. Their suspicions were confirmed when Adams named Clay as his Secretary of State.

1828 ELECTION

Jackson supporters immediately began their campaign for the 1828 election. Campaign Manager Martin van Buren put together a political coalition that held until 1860. Jackson’s party became the Democratic Party on a platform of States Rights and Popular Democracy.

Jackson supporters made much of their candidate’s nickname – Old Hickory. Jackson, they said, was tough as hickory wood. Supporters put up hickory poles. They distributed hickory toothpicks and held barbecues fired by hickory chips. They attacked Adams for his legalism, for marrying a foreign-born wife, and spread the rumor that during his diplomatic career Adams procured American virgins for the Russian czar.

Adams’ supporters accused Jackson of murders, personal violence, and living with his wife before her divorce was final.

Andrew Jackson — Democratic — 178 Electoral Votes, 68.2% — 642,553 Popular Votes, 56.1%
John Quincy Adams — National-Republican — 83 Electoral Votes, 31.8% — 500,897 Popular Votes, 43.6%

Between 1796 and 1828 the United States moved from a largely agrarian economy to one of booming commerce and expansion. The electorate expanded to include most white males. The physical geography of the country grew from a boundary at the Mississippi River to one that extended that reached westward into the Northwest Territories. An increasing number of Americans concluded that slavery was not compatible with the concept that “all men are created equal.” Elections became more volatile. The 1860 presidential election would trigger what some historians call the Second American Revolution.

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*Nebraska and Maine have a proportional distribution of Electors.

Images from Wikimedia Commons:

George Washington by Edward Savage. U.S. Public Domain

Electoral College Map for 2012, 2016, and 2020. U.S. Public Domain

John Adams by John Trumbull. U.S. Public Domain

Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale. U.S. Public Domain

Aaron Burr Drawing. U.S. Public Domain

John Quincy Adams by George Peter Alexander Healy. U.S. Public Domain

Andrew Jackson by Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl. U.S. Public Domain

Data Taken From:

American Presidency Project.
The Miller Center.
U.S. Electoral College 

The post The Electoral College & Historic Controversy first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.