A History of Presidential Elections ... Second edition, revised

Preface

TO FIRST EDITION. PT^HIS History of Presidential Elections professes to be little more than a record of the circumstances of such elections, and of whatever had an appreciable influence upon the result of each election. But as in this category is comprehended almost every important inci dent of the domestic and foreign relations of the United States, the book will be found to contain references, with or without comment, to most of the events in American political history. The materials have been gathered from a great variety of sources. The newspapers, — for the long period from 1812 until 1848, chiefly Niles's " Register," — the political almanacs, Mr. Greeley's " Political Text-Book," published in 1860, and Mr. Edward McPherson's biennial " Political Hand-books," have been drawn upon freely for facts and documents ; but in all cases the author has endeavored to verify each fact, and to correct the text of documents, particularly of party platforms, by a comparison of au thorities.

E. S. Bsookline, Mass., September, 1881. CONTENTS. Chapter page I. The Electoral System 1 II. The First Election 8 III. Washington's Second Election 17 IV. JonN Adams 24 V. Jefferson and Burr 30 VI. Jefferson Re-elected 45 VII. James Madison 51 VIII. An Election in War Time 57 IX. The Fourth Virginia President 04 X. The Era of Good Feelings 70 XI. The Second Adams 79 XII. Jackson's Triumph 96 XIII. Jackson's Second Election 102 XIV. Van Buren 113 XV. The Harrison Campaign 123 XVI. The First "Dark Horse" 140 XVII. The Second Whig Victory 101 XVIII. The Democrats Reunited 17S XIX. The Kansas-Nehraska Contest 192 XX. The Last Struggle for Slavery .... 214 XXI. The War Election 2:J0 XXII. General Grant 253 XXIII. The " Greeley Campaign" 276 XXIV. The Disputed Election 302 XXV. Garfield 345 XXVI.

Cleveland 375 XXVII. Two Great Questions Settled 412 Appendix, Conventions of 1888 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. I. THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM. " The mode of appointment of the chief magistrate of the United States," wrote Alexander Hamilton, in No. 67 of the " Federalist," " is almost the only part of the system of any consequence which has escaped without some cen sure, or which has received the slightest mark of appro bation from its opponents." And it was also true, as was said by James Wilson, in advocating the Constitution be fore the Pennsylvania Convention, " The Convention, sir, were perplexed with no part of the plan so much as with the mode of choosing the President of the United States." To these assertions must be added, after a century of practice under the Constitution, that no other part of the great charter of the country has failed so completely to fulfil the intentions of the fathers ; has, by its ambiguity of language, given rise to more, or more perplexing, disputes ; or has been the occasion of more numerous and varied at> tempts at amendment.

It is, however, not the purpose of this work to criticise, but to record, — to exhibit the electoral clauses of the Constitution in their practical working, without the slight est attempt to cause the events of twenty-four presiden- PE,ESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. 2 tial elections to emphasize the need of a change of system, nor even to indicate where, in the opinion of the writer, the failures have occurred. The people of the country have grown fully accustomed to the plan, and their patriotism has, on occasions quite as perilous as are likely to occur in the future, been equal to the demands upon it. The system has not ended in anarchy, as more than once it logically should have done, simply because the people did not wish for anarchy. That it is the part of statesman ship fully to consider the numerous evils which have been developed by a part of the Constitution faulty in what it enjoins and in its omissions, and unsatisfactory in its results, no one can deny ; but that a failure to take up the question and to settle it will result in civil war or other disaster, past experience at all events contradicts.

The history of presidential elections begins with the evolution of the system by the Convention of 1787. On the 29th of May, Edmund Randolph submitted a plan of a national government, in which he proposed "a national executive to be chosen by the national legislature for the term of years," " and to be ineligible a second time." Charles Pinckney, at the same time, proposed "that the executive power be vested in a 'President of the United States of America,' which shall be his style ; and his title shall be ' His Excellency.' He shall be elected for years, and shall be re-eligible." The first decision of the Convention was that the term of the Executive should be seven years. On the 2d of June, James Wilson proposed that there should be " certain districts in each State which should appoint electors to elect outside of their own body."

In these three propositions were the germs of nearly all the features of the plan ultimately adopted. The Convention first adopted a resolution that the Ex ecutive should be chosen by Congress ; next that the exec- THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM. 3 utive power should be vested in one person. A few days later Elbridge Gerry proposed that the Executive should be elected by the governors of the several States. This was negatived. On the 18th of June, Hamilton presented his draft of a constitution, according to which the choice of a single executive officer, a President, was to be made by electors chosen by the people very much as they are now actually chosen ; and iu case there was no choice by a majority of sucli electors, then an election from among the three highest candidates was to be made by a body of " second electors," two for each State, to be chosen by the first electors at the time of voting for a Presi dent, — who were to meet in one place and to be presided over by the Chief Justice.

The perplexity of the Con vention upon this subject is shown by the long discussions and the frequent reversals of decision. Having already de cided that Congress should choose the President, the Con vention rejected, on the 17th of July, an amendment providing for his selection " by electors appointed by the legislatures of the several States," and two days later adopted one almost in the same words : " to be chosen by electors appointed for that purpose by the legislatures of the States." Moreover, having fully determined that the term of office should be seven years, it voted, on the 19th of July, to make the term six years ; and rejected an amend ment that the President should not hold office more than six years out of twelve. The next day the Convention adopted Mr. Gerry's proposition regarding the number of electors.

Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia were to have three each ; Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina, two each ; New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Georgia, one each ; making twenty-five electors in all. Once more, on the 26th of July, the Convention reverted to the seven years' term, with the provision of ineligibility for re-election. The whole subject was referred, on the same day, to a committee of five, which made a draft of a constitution in conformity with the resolutions of the Convention, and reported this clause with the rest on August 6 : — Akt. X., Sec 1. The executive power of the United States shall be vested in a single person. His style shall be " The President of the United States of America; " and his title shall be " His Excellency."

He shall be elected by ballot, by the legislature. He shall hold his office during seven years, but shall not be elected a second time. This article, combining Mr. Randolph's and Mr. Pinck ney's plans, and rejecting the electoral plan which the Convention had approved, was the basis of future discus sions. On the 24th of August many proposed amendments were voted on. The Convention refused to give the election to the people, and, in two different forms, to entrust the choice to electors. It also rejected amendments to give each State one vote for President, and it negatived a proposition to give a casting vote to the Pres ident of the Senate. It adopted two amendments, which made the third sentence of the article above quoted read as follows : "He shall be elected by joint ballot by the legislature, to which election a majority of the votes of the members present shall be required."

It will be noticed that up to this point no proposition for the choice of a Vice-President had been made. But on the 4th of September the committee of eleven, to whom, on the last day of August, "the questions not yet settled " had been referred, reported an entirely new scheme for an Executive of the United States. It was proposed to strike out all of Article X., Section 1, after the word "Excellency," and insert the following : Each State shall appoint, in such manner as its legislature may direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number of senators THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM. 5 and members of the House of Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the legislature. (A) The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhab itant of the same State with themselves; and they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of general government, directed to the President of the Sen ate.

The President of the Senate shall, in that house, open all the certificates: and the votes shall then and there be counted. (B) The person having the greatest number of votes shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the Senate shall choose by ballot one of them for President; but if no such person have such majority, then, from the five highest on the list, the Senate shall choose by ballot the President. And in every case, after the choice of a President, the person having the greatest number of votes shall be the Vice- President; but if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them the Vice-President. The legislature may determine the time of choosing and assembling the electors, and the manner of certifying and transmitting their votes.

On the following days a great number of amendments were offered to this plan. Those which were adopted were few, and of these a still smaller number were material. At the place marked (A) was added the provision that "no person shall be appointed an elector who isa member of the legislature of the United States, or who holds any office of profit or trust under the United States." At the place marked (B) was added the phrase, "iu the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives," — an important clause, as showing that the intention was that the President of the Senate should count, and that the two houses were present only as witnesses. The word " immediately " was first inserted in the direction that the Senate should choose the President, and then the whole clause was struck out, and this was substituted : "Thellouse of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President, the members of each State having one vote."

The last paragraph wTas amended by adding words, so that it read as follows : " The legislature may determine the time of choosing and assembling the electors and of giving their votes, and the manner of certifying and transmitting their votes ; but the election shall be on the same day throughout the United States." On the 8th of September a committee was appointed " to revise the style and arrange the articles agreed to by the House." This committee reported on the 12th, and on the following clay the articles were " read, debated by paragraphs, amended, and agreed to," and the Convention adjourned on the 17th. The article, as finally adopted and ratified, under which the first four elections were held, is, in full, as follows : — Art. II., Sec 1. The executive power shall be vested in a Presi dent of the United States of America.

He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice-Presi dent, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows: — Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole num ber of senators and representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhab itant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate.

The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the great' est number of votes shall be the President, if such number be°a ma THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM. 7 jority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose 6hall con sist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice.

In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the great est number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Sen ate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-President. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States. n, 8 THE FIRST ELECTION. It was provided by the Constitution of the United States that the " ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitu tion between the States so ratifying the same." New Hampshire was the ninth State to signify its adhesion to the new form of government, on June 21, 1788; Virginia followed on the 26th of the same month ; and New York yielded, after a memorable and bitter struggle, on July 26.

It then became the duty of the Congress of the Con federation, in obedience both to the advice of the Conven tion of 1787 and to its own resolution, to fix the time for the new government to go into operation. But Congress wasted time in a dreary discussion where the seat of government should be fixed. A decision was at last reached in favor of New York ; and on the 13th of September, 1788, Congress passed a resolution, reciting in a preamble that a sufficient number of States had ratified the Consti tution, and directing that the choice of electors of Presi dent and Vice-President should take place on the first Wednesday of January, 1789, that they should meet in their respective States on the first Wednesday in Febru ary and give in their votes, and that the new Congress should meet in New York on the first Wednesday in March.

The people had begun to be very impatient at the long delay of Congress, and they hailed this resolution with great satisfaction. The interval of time before the appointment of electors was to take place was short. No preparations whatever Till: FIRST ELECTION. had been made for an election in any of the States. It would have been idle, so many of the people must have thought, to pass laws for the choice of representatives and electors under a Constitution which was so bitterly opposed as was that of 1787, and which might never go into effect. Accordingly it was necessary to begin with the preliminaries for an election only four months distant, after the resolution of Congress was adopted. In those clays communication was very slow. It would have been nearly impossible, in the time allowed, to have made full preparation for such an election as is that of electors to-day in some of the States.

The news of the resolution of Congress would hardly reach some of the distant State capitals in two weeks. The governor must then issue a proclamation summoning the legislature, and again, an allowance must be made for the slowness of the mails. Then would follow the meeting of the legislature and a discussion, perhaps prolonged, as to the manner in which the electors should be appointed ; the passage of a law conferring upon the people the right to choose them ; and the further preparations for the election. The general impression seems to have been that Congress intended, when it made the time so short, that the legislatures them selves should make the choice. "It is evident," wrote a newspaper correspondent at Philadelphia, on Oct. 1, 1788, "that Congress construe the Constitution that the legislatures of the several States, not the people, are to choose the electors, as that body has ordered the choice of said electors to be on the first Wednesday of January, and their meeting for the choice of President four weeks later.

For if the people, as hath been asserted, are to choose the electors, is it possible that in the large States of Massachusetts, Virginia, etc., the returns can be made for the choice, notice given to the persons chosen, and the persons thus chosen have time to meet together in the short space of one month? No, it is impossible, and can only be remedied by the legislature, who, in fact, are ' the States ' making the choice." Nevertheless, even at that first election, an attempt was made in several States to give the people the choice of electors. Rhode Island and North Carolina had not ratified the Constitution, and of course did not appoint electors. In Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, the governors did not summon the legislatures in season to provide for popular elections, and the appointment of electors was made on the designated day by the legislatures them selves.

The proceedings in the other States are in teresting. In New Hampshire an act was passed under which the people virtually nominated the electors, but the actual appointment was reserved for the legislature. Under this law an election took place and the votes were returned to and counted by the legislature. On the day fixed by Congress, the 7th of January, 1789, the legislature being in session, no agreement had been reached as to the manner in which the appointment should be made. The Senate claimed equal power with the House of Represen tatives in the appointment. The House proposed a joint ballot. The contest was prolonged far into the night, the House stubbornly refusing to admit the pretension of the Senate to a full negative upon its action. At last, shortly before midnight, in order that the vote of the State might not be lost by a delay beyond the time fixed by Congress the House yielded, under protest, and concurred in the appointment of the electors chosen by the Senate.

They were all Federalists. A somewhat elaborate scheme was devised and put iu THE FIRST ELECTION, 11 operation in Massachusetts. The State saving been di vided into districts for the choice of representatives in Congress, the people were directed to bring in their ballots for two candidates for electors in each district. On the first Wednesday in January, the votes having been previously canvassed, the legislature chose one of these two for each district, and also two electors at large. The vote of New York was lost. A contest similar to that in New Hampshire took place, but one much more bitter than the latter. The Assembly was willing to elect by a joint ballot of the two branches, or to divide the electors with the Senate. The Senate would assent to nothing short of a complete negative upon the action of the Assembly, which was not yielded, and the time for election passed.

Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia passed laws pro viding for popular elections, which took place without great excitement. Not only in these States, but in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the vote was very light. The two parties were made up of those who sa vored the Constitution on the one hand, and those who opposed it on the other. Political sentiment seems to have been largely one way or the other in each commu nity. Here the Federalists comprised nearly the whole population ; there, scarcely a Federalist was to be found. There were thus present none of the elements necessary for a great political contest. The majority cast perhaps a half of their possible vote, the minority hardly appeared at the polls ; in fact, they often had no candidates in the field. Meantime, who were to be voted for when the electors should meet?

Washington, of course, was to be one of the two persons equally to bo voted for by the electors, — he who had the highest number, being a majority of all the electors, to be President, and the candidate receiv ing the next highest number to be Vice-President. But there was no formal nomination and no agreement among the electors, even among those belonging to the Federalist party, that Washington should be chosen. It was simply regarded as the obvious and proper course to make him the first President. Nor did the Anti-Federalists at any time come to the point of deciding to oppose him. Prob ably they never even seriously considered the propriety of so doing. It was charged that they did so, but the accusation was never supported by any evidence. For example : it is said in the life of Alexander Hamilton, by his son, that "for a time the pretensions of Franklin were discussed in private circles.

But the incomparably superior claims of Washington silenced tins purpose, which there is no evidence was encouraged by Franklin, whose extreme age would alone have presented an in superable objection." As a matter of fact, there is no evidence that Franklin was even aware of any such purpose, if it ever existed. There is too good reason to believe that the alleged disposition to pass by the claims of Washington was a figment of the imagination, — an invention for the purpose of forming the basis of an intrigue either to control the vice-presidency, or to make the vote for John Adams so small as to exhibit him to the country as a most unpopular candidate. Public opinion had, indeed, concentrated itself upon Mr. Adams as Vice-President almost as decidedly as it had fixed upon Washington for the first place in the new government.

The propriety of taking the Vice- President from New England was recognized by all Federalists. The names of Governor Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and General Knox, were canvassed. The last named was a soldier, like Washington, and he THE FIBST ELECTION. was speedily rejected. It was deemed necessary that Hancock should remain in the position of Governor of Massachusetts. Samuel Adams had been opposed to the new Constitution at the outset, and although he had sub sequently advocated it, his early position rendered him an unsuitable candidate. John Adams, on the other hand, had written a book in defence of the Constitution, and it was deemed on many accounts best that he should be chosen. Yet his relations to Washington had been such during the Revolutionary war that there were doubts whether he would be acceptable to the latter.

In an swer to an inquiry on this point, Washington had cau tiously replied that, — Having taken it for granted that the person elected for that important place would be a true Federalist, in that case he was alto gether disposed to acquiesce in the prevailing sentiments of the electors, without giving any unbecoming preference, or incurring any unnecessary ill-will. Both Hamilton and Madison were doubtful about tak ing Mr. Adams, but the former wrote, after full consideration, that, " on the whole, I have concluded to support Adams." The people had decided that before him. Most of the newspapers, in the Northern States at least, which were friendly to the new government, expressed them selves strongly in favor of him. One extract from a Phila delphia paper, under date of Oct. 8, 1788, will suffice for all : — The electors of President of the United States on the part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are to meet in the borough of Reading, where it is universally hoped and expected that one more tribute of merited approbation will be given to George Washing ton, Esq., by their unanimous suffrages.

Of the several respected candidates in nomination for Vice-President, circumstances seem most in favor of John Adams, Esq. While the conciliating talents of Governor Hancock, and the attachment to him that prevails in A HISTOBY OF PBESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. Massachusetts, render him necessary to the peace of New England, Mr. Adams is perfectly at leisure to fill a seat for which nature, education, and the experience of several years and various courts in Europe have eminently and peculiarly qualified him. Under such circumstances the choice of electors took place. There was an understanding for whom they were to vote, but probably not one of the electors iu any State had <riven a pledge. Then occurred an incident which has given rise to much discussion, and widely different views of it have been taken by the partisans of Mr. Adams and of Mr. Hamilton.

It is to be remembered that at that time the electors voted for two persons for President. He who had the highest number, being a majority, was to be President, and the second highest was to be Vice-Presi dent. There is little doubt that the Anti-Federalists in clined at one time to concentrate upon George Clinton for one of the two places, in the hope of making him Vice- President. It is doubtful if they ever conceived of the possibility of choosing him a President, if they desired to do so, and there is no evidence that they intrigued to com pass that end. But Hamilton either believed that they did so, and feared they would succeed, or he saw in the situation a chance to injure Adams. His conduct may be explained on either hypothesis. He seems to have inti mated in various quarters a fear that Washington would fail to receive some votes, and that the unanimity in favor of Adams would make the latter President and Washinccton Vice-President.

It was said, too, that the New York electors — as it turned out, New York chose none — would support Clinton and Adams, in the hope that Massachu setts and New England generally would do the same. Whatever Hamilton's motive may have been, there is no doubt that he did send special messengers to two or three of the States which would have given a unanimous THE FTRST ELECTION. 15 vote to Washington and Adams, advising that one or more votes be withheld from the latter so as to ensure Wash ington's election for the first place. The acceptance of his advice is the explanation of the scattering votes in Connecticut and New Jersey at least. The result was the election of Washington by a unanimous vote, and of Adams by less than a majority. The detailed vote was as follows : — It may be well to repeat here that Rhode Island and North Carolina did not vote, not having ratified the Con stitution, and that the vote of New York was lost in a quarrel between the two branches of the legislature.

The popular vote in the few States where the people chose the electors signified nothing, and no attempt has been made to collect the returns. The counting of the electoral vote took place on the 6th of April, 1789, more than a month later than the time fixed by the Congress of the Confederation. On that day, a quorum of senators having appeared in their seats, John STATES. R o £o a 3 so bfl 5 o 01 E < C z a o "ti p i GO o o o a 3 w d o »-3 S o in 'u U GO a ft h O o .5 3 Œ> bfl U o « O bo -a S A o >-3 a o s A o bi) 0 o go a < at 9 s d >-3 H fe: o a 3 a 1 K H -a o *3 New Hampshire . . Massachusetts . . . Connecticut . . . . New Jersey . . . . Pennsylvania . . . Delaware Maryland. Virginia South Carolina . . . Georgia 5 10 7 6 10 3 6 10 7 5 CO 5 10 5 1 8 2 5 3 C 5 1 1 1 3 G 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 Total 34 2 9 4 C 3 6 Langdon, a senator from New Hampshire, was elected " president for the sole purpose of opening and counting the votes for President of the United States."