The Newtown bee., 1888-11-02
PAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.
How the Ballots Have Been Cast.

For the 26th time in the history of this republic, the people of the United States are about to decide the question of the presidency. There was no contest, to be sure, when Washington was made Presi- dent in 17s9 and again in 1792, for the Father of the Republic was too master ful and prudent to call for opposition and the young republic was too unsteady on its feet to allow of much internal dissen- sion. The candidate having the greatest number of electoral votes was made Pres ident then and the candidate next in strength vice president. Our national capital was at New York when Wash ington was first inaugurated, for it is not generally known that Congress met at eight different places before it settled down in Washington in 1900; it had met at Philadelphia, Lancaster, York, Penn sylvania; Baltimore, Annapolis, Mary land; Princeton, Trenton, New Jersey and at New York. John Adams, twice Washington's vice president, was the Federalist who defeated Thomas Jeffer- son, Republican, at our first contested election in 1796, but, four years later, Jefferson turned the tables on Adams, 73 to 65, owing to dissatisfaction with laws passed by Congress to give the President the power of turning aliens out of the country for conspiring against it's peace and to punish seditious writers against the government. Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied the Republican vote and Con- gress took 36 ballots before Jefferson won. This led to the 12th constitutional amendment, which requires the electors to signify who is voted for as president and who as vice president. Jefferson's administration was so successful that he received 162 electoral votes in 1904, Pinckney receiving only the IA votes of Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland in opposition. James Madison, Jefferson's Secretary of State, received 122 electoral votes in 1908, Pinckney, the Federal can didate, 47. Madison was reelected in 1872 to finish out our war with Mother Britain. This war, which left us over SS0,000, 900 in debt, was exceedingly un- popular in New England. James Mon- roe, Madison's Secretary of State, carried the day in 1916, 1S3 to 34 for Rufus King, the Federal and was reelected in 1920, receiving every electoral vote but one. The slavery question now began to ap- pear in national politics and, though An drew Jackson received more electoral votes than any of the four candidates of 1924, and l55,S72 of the 352 ,062 votes, the election was thrown into the House, which elected John Quincy Adams, Mon roe's Secretary of State, who had only l05,32l votes. "Old Hickory" swept the field, however, in 1928, IFS electoral votes to S3 for Adams and was reelected by 2lo to 49 for Henry Clay, having in the meantime laid his heavy hand on the South Carolina nullifiers who kicked against duties on foreign goods. Secre- tary of States were still in fashion and Martin Van Buren, Jackson's first choice for that office, won in 1886, TO electoral votes to 73 for William Henry Harrison, grandfather of the present Republican candidate. The financial crisis of 1887, in which the failures in New York alone amounted to $100,000, ,000, gave the day to Harrison in 1s40, 234 electoral votes to 60 for Van Buren. The annexation of Texas was the Democratic issue in 1S44, which gave James K. Polk TO electors to l05 for Henry Clay, the Whig. We annexed Texas and whipped Mexico and at this time, the tariff was revised Zachary Taylor, a successful general of the Mexican war, was taken up by the Wings in 1s4s and entered the White House by l63 electoral votes to l27 for Lewis Cass, Democrat. The Free Soil CTS, who began with 7059 votes in 1s40 gave Van Buren and Adams 291 ,263 votes but did not get a single electoral vote Slavery grew to be more of a burning question with each national campaign satisfactory to the South, defeated Ger Winfield Scott in 1852, 1,601 ,474 to l., 3S6,57S, 254 to 42 electoral votes. The fugitive slave law and kindred measures began to intensity public opinion, bu matters drifted on past 1856, when James II ceived 1,s3S, ,169 votes to 1,341, ,264 fol Fremont, the Republican heir of the olt Wings, the electors standing IA for Blu chanan, IA for Fremont and for Fill more, the Know Nothing candidate Kansas, John Brown, the Dred Scott de cision hastened the crisis, which was pre- cipitated by the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln by 1866, ,452 votes, tn, slavery question dividing the Democrat between Douglass, Breckenridge ant Bell. The war developed Lincoln's op ponent in 1864, Gen George B. McClel Ian, who was defeated, PIP to 21 electors 2,213,865 to 1,s02,2 ,237 votes. Anothe warrior, Gen U. s. Grant, the younges President eyer inaugurated, twice led tn Republicans to victory, 3,0l3,1sS to ?, 703,600 for Horatio Seymour in 1868 am
 3,525, ,469 to 2,777, ,096, for Horace Creole
 in 1872. Four years later, Samuel J Tilden received 4, ,2S4, ,265 to 4,033, ,295 fo Rutherford B. Hayes, but, after a lega struggle over Louisiana, Hayes receives
 1855 electoral votes to 184 for Tilden James A. Garfield and Gen Winfield Hancock had close fight in 1880, 4 ,45O
 921 to 4,447 1888, though Garfield receive
 214 electoral uotes to 155 for Hancock The contest of 1884 was about as close 4,s74,4s6 for s. Grover Cleveland to 4
 s51,9sl for James c. Blaine, thoug