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The elections of 2000 and 2004 were nothing short of amazing considering how hotly contested they were. Unfortunately, that’s more of the rule than the exception. Here are a few scenarios which will make you question the American electoral system.

1796: John Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson
In 1776, the mutual respect of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson was so strong, that each thought the other should write the Declaration of Independence. Ultimately, Jefferson wrote it, but it was Adams who defended the document in front of the Continental Congress. During the American Revolution, the two men shared a common purpose; to free America from the tyranny of Great Britain. Sadly, it would be political exploits during George Washington’s presidency which would ultimately drive these two into one of the most bitter political rivalries in American history. Once the nation was established, Adams and Jefferson had opposing views on the role of the federal government and foreign policy, with Jefferson opting for states’ rights and an alliance with France, while Adams supported a strong central government and an alliance with Britain. It also didn’t help that Jefferson was George Washington’s first Secretary of State, while Adams was Washington’s Vice President. So, the stage was set for a showdown when Washington decided that he would not seek a third term in 1796. In the first contested election in U.S. history, John Adams won by only by three electoral votes! Strangely, election rules at the time stipulated that each member of the Electoral College got two votes, but they had to cast them for separate people. Thus, whoever received the 2nd-highest number of votes would be Vice President. Jefferson, being the 2nd-place vote getter ended up becoming Adams’ VP, which didn’t bode well for the Adams Presidency.

1800: John Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson (Part II)
For four years, Mr. Adams set about strengthening the federal government, as well as ties with Great Britain, much to the chagrin of Mr. Jefferson. One major point of contention was the Alien and Sedition Acts, which greatly expanded the power of the federal government. So great was Jefferson’s opposition to this legislation, that despite being Adams’ Vice President, he set out to undermine him by co-writing the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. These resolutions stated the opposition to a strong federal government and laid the groundwork for future states’ rights arguments. After four years of undermining the President, Jefferson decided to run again, but this time his political party was better organized. While jockeying for electoral votes, he asked that any elector who cast a vote for him, cast a vote for his running mate, Aaron Burr, with one elector abstaining. This was to prevent what would have likely been a Jefferson presidency with Adams as VP. However, due to miscommunication, every elector who voted for Jefferson also voted for Burr, creating the only tie in U.S. history. Ultimately, the House of Representatives had to resolve the debate, and they chose Jefferson as president. This debacle led to the creation of the 12th amendment, which stipulated that each elector had to cast a distinct vote for President and VP. It was also the pinnacle of the Jefferson-Adams rivalry, which was so strong that Adams didn’t even attend Jefferson’s Inauguration.

1824: John Quincy Adams vs. Andrew Jackson
The Era of Good Feelings was a time of strong national unity and little to no partisanship in government. In fact, James Monroe ran effectively unopposed in 1820 and got all but 1 electoral vote. Four years later, though, it would be a different story, as four men, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William Crawford would jockey for the presidency. When the dust settled, Andrew Jackson had won a plurality of the popular vote, as well as the electoral vote, but he had not won the majority, which was necessary to assume the presidency. Per the rules of the 12th amendment, the vote goes to the House of Representatives, but they could only choose between the top 3 vote-getters, which left out Clay. Conveniently for Adams, though, Henry Clay was a bitter enemy of Andrew Jackson, in addition to being Speaker of the House. Clay threw all of his support behind Adams, who would win the presidency in just one round of voting. Adams subsequently made Clay his Secretary of State, prompting Jackson supporters to accuse the two of a corrupt bargain, which would cast a pall over Adams’ entire presidency. The Era of Good Feelings was officially over.

Andrew Jackson Campaign Poster

1828 Andrew Jackson campaign poster

1860: Abraham Lincoln vs. Everyone Else
The 1850s saw the deterioration of U.S. politics, as the country become increasingly partisan, with many regional rivalries. It also didn’t help that the 14th and 15th Presidents, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan, respectively, did very little to try to prevent the slide into civil war. Thus, the stage was set in 1860, as the upstart Republican party, led by Abraham Lincoln, took on the fractured Democratic Party, which presented three separate candidates. Needless to say, the lack of unity among the Democrats was their downfall, as Lincoln was able to take a majority of the electoral votes despite winning only 39.8% of the popular vote. Southern states quickly cried foul, as Lincoln had no support in the south, and won by carrying the northeast and upper midwest, which had the majority of the electoral votes. Sadly, barely six weeks after the election, South Carolina seceded from the Union, leaving Lincoln to preside over the most difficult period in American history.

Storming the castle 1860 election

A political cartoon depicting the Democrats trying to keep Lincoln out of the White House (click to enlarge)

1876: Rutherford B. Hayes vs. Samuel Tilden
This was the most disputed election in U.S. history, and the first election in which the winner of the popular vote did not win the electoral vote. With all but 20 electoral votes counted, Tilden held the lead 184-165, but the count was delayed in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida due to allegations of fraud and voter intimidation. The vote ultimately had to go to the Electoral Commission, which was made up of 5 representatives, 5 senators, and 5 Supreme Court Justices, 8 of whom were Republican, and 7 of whom were Democrat. Voting along party lines, the commission determined that the 20 disputed votes should go to Hayes, and in exchange, Hayes ended Reconstruction. By the way, this election wasn’t settled until 2 days before the Presidential Inauguration, the closest call in U.S. history.

Tilden or Blood

"A truce - not a compromise, but a chance for high-toned gentlemen to retire gracefully from their very civil declarations of war" -Thomas Nast

1884, 1888, & 1892: The Elections of Grover Cleveland
In 1884, a young, Democratic upstart from upstate New York shocked the country when he defeated Maine Senator James Blaine for the presidency. Cleveland’s political career was more of a rapid rise to political stardom, as he didn’t get started until 1882, when he was elected Mayor of Buffalo. Then, in 1883, he was elected Governor of New York, before being elected President of the United States in 1884. What’s also amazing about Grover Cleveland is that he was the first Democrat elected after the Civil War, and the only one between 1860-1912. Unfortunately, he could not parlay that early success into another victory in 1888, and he was voted out after just one term, despite the fact that he had won a plurality of the popular vote. Nevertheless, he didn’t give up, and ran again in 1892, this time winning both the popular and electoral vote. This makes Cleveland the only president to serve split terms. He also holds the distinction of being one of only three people (the others being Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt) to win the popular vote 3 times. Interestingly, though, Cleveland never won a majority of the popular vote, ironically coming the closest in 1888, when he lost the presidency.

Grover Cleveland Gladiator Cartoon

"Who Dares Give Battle With Me?"

This is the first in a two-part series. Be sure to subscribe to EiH so you’ll be notified of the second part in the series.

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Barack Obama's official presidential portraitIn honor of Black History Month and Presidents Day, here are 6 accomplishments that Barack Obama was the first to achieve.

  1. Barack Obama is the first president born in Hawaii.
  2. Obama was the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.
  3. When Obama turned down public financing in June 2008, he became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn it down since it was first implemented in 1976.
  4. On September 24, 2009, Obama chaired a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, becoming the first sitting U.S. President in history to do so. The result of the meeting? UNSC Resolution 1887, which lays the groundwork for a world without nuclear weapons and probably helped to solidify Obama as the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
  5. Barack Obama is the first U.S. President to acknowledge and embrace his African heritage, but he is not America’s first black president. In fact, there is strong evidence that suggests that based on the one-drop rule, the following presidents were black:
    • Thomas Jefferson
    • Andrew Jackson
    • Abraham Lincoln
    • Warren Harding
    • Calvin Coolidge
    • Dwight Eisenhower

Bonus: When Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, he made her the first hispanic Supreme Court nominee in U.S. history.

For even more facts about Barack Obama, check out his book Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance:

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Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt at the Casablanca Conference

Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt at the Casablanca Conference

Today marks the 67th anniversary of the start of the Casablanca Conference, which took place from January 14-24, 1943 in the French colony of Morocco. The Casablanca Conference was the 8th wartime conference of the Allied powers, but only the 3rd in which Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt both took part, and the first that included the French. In attendance at this conference were Roosevelt, Churchill, and the dual leaders of the Free French; Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud. Josef Stalin was invited, but was unable to make it do to a prior engagement known as the Battle of Stalingrad.

The Casablanca Conference was a success, and solved some of the problems that plagued the Allies in 1942. For example, despite Stalin’s absence and the fact that the Soviets were originally allied with the Nazis, the Allies agreed to provide aid to the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the Allies also agreed on a plan to invade Italy in 1943, as opposed to France, which would have to wait until the summer of 1944.

Boeing 314 Flying Boat Clipper

A Boeing 314 "Flying Boat"

Anyway, this date was also significant because Franklin Roosevelt became the first President of the United States to fly in an airplane on official business. The trip was a harrowing journey, as the flight was 17,000 miles and the plane had to stop to be refueled 4 times. Why did the trip take so long? Well, the flight began in Miami, Florida, and flew south to Brazil before crossing the Atlantic. Then it flew north to Casablanca. To return to the United States, FDR had to take the same flightpath and as a result, celebrated his 61st birthday in the skies over Haiti. For you aviation buffs, FDR’s plane was a Boeing 314 Clipper, known as a “Flying Boat.” Can you imagine the historical fiction that could be written based on this plane crashing?

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I go by Tamahome Jenkins because I have this Mark Twain/George Orwell nom de plume thing going on. When I was born, though, my parents gave me the name Steven, which of course is a derivative of the name Stephen. However, I’ve lived my entire life thinking about how there’s never been a President named Steve, and how most people named Steve are associated with silliness. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that Steve is a pretty awesome name, and I hope my mom was thinking of one of these guys, and not Steve Martin from The Jerk when she named me.

  1. St. Stephen by Giacomo Cavedone in 1601

    Saint Stephen

    Saint Stephen was the first Christian martyr in history. Stephen was put on trial for blasphemy, and in his final words he accused Jewish priests of murdering Jesus and other prophets that the Jews considered heretical (the term Christianity had not yet entered the vernacular). In response, a mob led by Saul (who would become St. Paul, the most prolific Bible author) stoned Stephen to death. The feast day of St. Stephen is December 26, hence Good King Wenceslas going to town “on the feast of Stephen” in the famous Christmas carol.

  2. King Stephen of England

    King Stephen of England

    Stephen of England is the only English king in history, named Stephen. He was the grandson of William the Conqueror, and the last Norman king of England. Unfortunately, his predecessor, Henry I, only had one surviving legitimate child, Matilda, and she wasn’t very popular. However, Henry wished for her to become queen so he made the nobles swear allegiance to her. Stephen was the first noble to do so. However, when Henry died, Stephen quickly assumed the throne, claiming Henry changed his mind on his deathbed. Sadly, the rest of Stephen’s reign was mired by civil war because of his rivalry with Matilda. Before he died, Stephen made peace with Matilda so that the throne would pass to her son, Henry II, upon Stephen’s death. However, Stephen is an ancestor of every English/British King since Richard II of Bordeaux. How? Richard’s father, Edward III, married Philippa of Hainault. Philippa was the great-great-granddaughter of Matilde of Brabant, who was the great-great-granddaughter of Stephen. So, despite not having a direct heir to throne, and no other English monarch willing to take his name, Stephen’s place in British royal history is cemented because he’s related to every monarch since 1377.

  3. Stephen FosterStephen Foster is considered by many, to be the Father of American music, and why not, since he was born on July 4th. His works include “My Old Kentucky Home” (the state song of Kentucky), “Old Folks at Home” aka “Swanee River” (the state song of Florida),  “Camptown Races”, “Oh! Susanna” and many more. Foster was instrumental in shifting American music away from the popular minstrel shows (blackface) of the day, as he found them distasteful and offensive. Foster attempted to capitalize on these successes, but due to the limited scope of copyright law at the time, he was unable to do so. He died at the age of 37, coincidentally, with only 37 cents to his name.
  4. Stephen Crane

    Stephen Crane

    Stephen Crane is considered to be one of the most innovative American writers of the late 19th century. He wrote The Red Badge of Courage at the age of 24, despite never having been in battle (he was born six years after the Civil War ended). A brilliant writer, Crane eschewed the values of a traditional education, in favor of gaining real experience, so he worked as a journalist for most of his adult life. However, writing was not a lucrative career at the time, and he died of tuberculosis, badly in debt, at the age of 28. The realism portrayed in Crane’s works, though, would live on, and he was very influential to later writers, such as Ernest Hemingway.

  5. Stephen F. Austin

    Stephen F. Austin

    Stephen F. Austin, known as the Father of Texas, was instrumental in colonizing Texas. Though not as well known outside the state as his contemporary Sam Houston, Austin played a pivotal role as a politician in the 1820s. Austin strived to work with the Mexican government to create a peaceful colony, which was ultimately undermined by the Texas Revolution. Once the Republic of Texas gained its independence, Austin ran for president, but Sam Houston won in a landslide. Stephen Austin would be named secretary of state of the new republic, but he would only survive for two months before dying of pneumonia at the age of 43. The state capital of Texas is named in is honor.

Bonus: There have been nine popes named Stephen, and one pope-elect, who didn’t survive to reach ordination. However, there hasn’t been a pope named Stephen in almost 1,000 years.

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Andrew Jackson $US20

Image by JoWiJo via Flickr

What do people do more than anything else during the holidays? That’s right, spend money. So here are 5 random facts about the man on the face of the most popular piece of paper in America.

  1. Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767 on the border between North and South Carolina. Although his exact birthplace is unknown, legend has it that he was born in a cabin just on the South Carolina side of the border.
  2. Andrew Jackson was an able military commander. Jackson was able to win the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812, with a smaller force than the British had. His actions in the First Seminole War, and his later occupation of Pensacola, Florida, would lead Spain to cede its claim on Florida in 1821. His toughness on the battlefield led his soldiers to nickname him Old Hickory.
  3. Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States. However, he ran for president in 1824, and was almost the sixth president. In a hotly contested election that had four candidates, Jackson won the popular vote, and had a plurality in the Electoral College, but he did not have a majority. As such, the vote went to the House of Representatives, who elected John Quincy Adams. The ruling shocked Jackson, who believed that Adams had struck a corrupt bargain with Henry Clay (one of the other candidates), as Adams named Clay secretary of state in exchange for Clay’s support.
  4. By 1835, Andrew Jackson had reduced the national debt to a mere $33,733.05. He would eventually pay off the national debt, and has been the only president to ever accomplish that feat.
  5. Andrew Jackson was the first president to face an assassination attempt. On January 30, 1835, Richard Lawrence attempted to kill Jackson outside the Capitol building using two single-shot pistols. Lawrence pulled out the first pistol, aimed at the president’s heart, and squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened. As Lawrence calmly reached for the second pistol, Jackson charged at him with his cane. The second pistol misfired as well. Legend has it that Jackson attacked Lawrence with his cane, and had to be restrained by startled onlookers, which included Davy Crockett.

Bonus: Andrew Jackson is on the $20 bill, which is ironic considering his opposition to having a central bank during his presidency. As a matter of fact, he allowed the charter on the Second National Bank of the United States to lapse during his presidency.

Did you find this post interesting? You should check out American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

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Nov
19

On This Day: The Gettysburg Address

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Only Known Photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg

Only Known Photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg

November 19th marks the day that, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his “Gettysburg Address”. The speech was given as a means of consecrating the battlefields at Gettysburg, Pa., through the dedication of a new national cemetery.
In full irony, Lincoln would comment during the address that, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here”. Lincoln could not have been more wrong in this assertion as, according to a U.S. Department of State publication, the address is among the most remembered speeches in American history. This truth is evident in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s own famous oration of “I Have a Dream”. King’s speech opens with a parallel of Lincoln’s words “Four score and seven years ago” when he remarks “Five score years ago”. From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he goes on to reference the late president and his signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Gettysburg speech is so prominent in the legacy of Lincoln that its full content is carved onto the south wall of the Lincoln Memorial’s stone cella in Washington, D.C.
In total, the fields at Gettysburg witnessed the bloodied deaths of more than 3,000 Union soldiers and close to 4,000 Confederates. The wounded and missing were more than 20,000 on each side of the battle. These numbers are a mere fraction of the amount of lives lost in a war which held a mortality rate higher than any conflict before or after, according to “Outline of American History”.
Lincoln closed the two-to-three minute speech saying, “… we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
For further information on, and a deconstruction of the Gettysburg Address, check out “Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America”.

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Nov
17

On This Day: Saturday Night Massacre

Posted by: Adam | Comments (1)

The downfall of Richard M. Nixon’s Presidency began on the evening of June 17, 1972, with the break-in of the Democratic National Committee’s offices in the Washington, D.C., Watergate Complex.  This break-in brought the indictment of five members of Nixon’s Committee to Re-elect the President, as well as two others, on charges of conspiracy, burglary, and violation of federal wiretapping laws.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the scandal though, came on November 17, 1973, when Nixon held a question-and-answer session with 400 Associated Press managing editors in what would be coined as the Saturday Night Massacre.  During this tense, televised, hour-long conference Nixon fielded questions from the editors, at one point professing “People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got”.  These words, “I’m not a crook”, would later become synonymous with the corrupt image of Nixon and his administration.

The Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C.

The Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C.

Though he steadfastly denied any involvement with the Watergate case, it later became favorable opinion that he was well aware of the plan – most markedly in the fact that he resigned from the Presidency only nine months later.  Due to a waning sense of trust among the American people, loss of support from his political allies, and near certainty of impeachment and conviction, Nixon tendered his resignation to Sec. of State Henry A. Kissinger on August 9, 1974.  The letter simply stated “I hereby resign the Office of President of the United States”.  Though the resignation brought the Congress to drop the impeachment proceedings there was still the possibility of criminal charges.  Accordingly, Nixon’s vice-president and successor, Gerald Ford, issued a full pardon on his behalf only a month later.

The Washington Post covered the events of the Saturday Night Massacre in an article published the following day.  It can be found by clicking here.

For further information on the Watergate Scandal, check out “The Wars of Watergate“.

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