Milford chronicle., 1936-11-06
Machinery Set Up In 1857
For Elections Still Same
1t Has Put 27 Men Into Office, Reelected and 6
Have Come to White House From Vice
Presidency; Two Contests Decided in
House of Representatives

Dc tdEBGu EltolAeul anu tut OlueI
''Vice- President"
Originally, with each elector vOt-
ing for two persons, the candidate
getting the highest number Of votes
was President (prOVided the number
was a majority; the one getting the
second highest number was Vice
President.
George Washington had his fellow
! Federalist John Adams for Vice
/ President. But Adams drew Thomas
Jefferson, the Republican and when
Jefferson and Aaron Burr were
teamed together by the Republicans
they drew the same number OF votes
and thus were tied for President. II
took 36 ballots in the House to
straighten out the tangle and give
the presidency to Jefferson. Some
Of she Federalists preferred Burr to
Jefferson.
Arguments Arose
So in went the twelfth amend
ment to specify that a first and a
second place should be provided on
the ticket.
Arguments arose over this change, !
however. In Congress, some said
it would degrade the Vice-presidency
and invite the nomination to il of 1
men who would not be thought of /
for the presidency. One House mem I
ber put it this way:
What will be the effect of this
principle? The office of Vice -Presi-
dent will be carried to market to
purchase the votes of particular
states"
In the leginning most of the
states that had popular elections put
before the voter the choice of Just
three electors, two for the state at
large and one for his congressional
district. This gave a split electoral
vote for many states. The politicians
soon discovered that it was worth
more to a state to put it's whole cleo
oral vote on one side or the other.
Maryland, the last state to give up
he district system, did so after the
lection of 1882.
Two Decided by House
Two elections have been decided
y the House of Representatives.
hey were the JeffersOn- Burr con-
est in 1900 and that of John
luincy Adams and Andrew Jack
on in 1924. Jackson had a plurality
( both the popular and the electoral
Otes. Henry Clay. then speaker Of
he House, VISA also a candidate. No
ne had an electoral majority Clay
lrew his support to Adams and ,.
dams won. Clay later become
scretary of state under Adams. The
aeksOn men shouted trade" Clay 4
nd Adams denied it with vigor and /
holphOric words. u
The contest between Samuel T. \
ilden and Rutherford B. Hayes in I
I76 did not reach the House from a
e electoral COLLECT. In it, the vote q
several states was in dispute. A
on which were members ci
the Supreme Court, was set up r
Congress to decide the dispute. ot
here was hope that the Supreme m
'urt justices would give it a non sf
rtisan blessing. But they voted \,
Dng party lines, too. There was st
Ich talk of fraud on both sides:
lden. who had gotten a popular NJ
ljority, stayed in New York and of
yes became President. NJ
Many elections have been close In M
7eral men have gained an electoral II
jOrity and been a minority Presi- sis
lt so far as the popular vote was of
lcerned. James X. Polk did not
ye a popular majority. Nor did 10,
,hary Taylor, James Buchanan, Ro
raham Lincoln, James Garfield,
liamin Harrison, Grover Cleve-
d at his second election, William
Kinley for his first election, -
odrOw Wilson at either Of his oei Dei
,tions. "a
My once has the Senate been ss sIe.
ed upon to elect a Vive-Presi- S5Ia
{, that duty falling there when iat' s
person has a majority OF the CT
'tora1 votes for Vice President.
ed-vested Richard NJ. johnson 81, ~
kentucky, about whose personal 100 100
a great many words were said 1%SS, 100
lacked one vote of W W.
ng a majority when willy Martin " ",
Buren succeeded jackson to the SC S
idency in 1886. 80,
Ihnson and Francis Granger of ~ ~
York being the two high men, tori
went into a run-off in the tba
tie. Johnson was elected on the NJ
ballot.
lly once has a man been elected ,nar
ident without the electoral vote
ther New York or Pennsylvania
was Woodrow Wilson in 1916.