It's WIP Week on Chromatic Conflux! I searched through my metaphorical blog post vault and found seven projects that I'm proud of — but may never "finish." So I thought, why not just publish them? Yesterday's post was "Ravniconlang: The Language of Guilds."
I first worked on today's post between April and June 2020. A political history aficionado, I had an ambitious goal: to write a narrative of every presidential election in American history, from 1789 all the way to 2016. I failed, but I still covered 17 elections, getting from 1789 to 1852. When I looked back at it recently, I couldn't believe how much I'd written. By my standards in 2020, it could've been a three-parter already, and I hadn't even reached the Civil War.
Compared to some of the other posts coming this week, I changed a considerable amount of the phrasing and word choice, and added a few images. But most of the writing is from four years ago. I worry that some of it is confusing to people without context.
One note: My goal with this post wasn't to focus on the policies pursued by the different candidates, or the effect on the nation. Some of these presidents did terrible things; others did great ones. But I mostly gloss over that to focus on the strategies and stories — from the as-seen-in-Hamilton election of 1800, the four Democratic-Republicans and smoke-filled room of 1824, and the four Whigs of 1836. Enjoy!
1789: Washington
General George Washington was elected with no opposition. His popularity is unmatched in the history of American elections.
1792: Washington
President George Washington ran unopposed again. He was still supported by everyone in the country, having demonstrated excellence as a general and as president.
1796: Adams vs. Jefferson
Now that President Washington had retired, there would be a real election — and the vice-presidential system would lead to an unexpected finish.
The two main political parties had begun to form, the big-government, isolationist Federalist Party and the small-government, interventionist Democratic-Republican Party, known as the Republicans for short. Vice President John Adams was considered to be the heir apparent for the Federalists, and had general support. However, there were many differing opinions as to who should be elected vice president. Most Federalists supported Governor Thomas Pinckney, though there was also support for Supreme Court Justice Oliver Ellsworth, Governor John Jay, and others. Former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson was the de facto Republican leader, and Republicans agreed that he should be president. The vice presidential frontrunner was Senator Aaron Burr, but some electors preferred Governors Sam Adams and George Clinton.
So, here's how the election worked: each person in the Electoral College would vote for two candidates. Whoever came in first place overall was elected president, and whoever came in second would be vice president. So even though everyone knew Adams and Jefferson were running for president, and Pinckney, Burr, and the others were running for VP, technically any of them could have been selected for either position.
Adams received a slight majority of votes with 71, and Jefferson got 68. But since the Federalists disagreed on the vice presidential choice, some of them voted for Pinckney, some voted for Ellsworth, and some voted for Jay. Pinckney ended up receiving only 59 votes.
That meant that Federalist John Adams was elected president. His vice president: Republican Thomas Jefferson.
1800: Jefferson vs. Adams vs. Burr
In 1800 came a rematch between Federalist President John Adams and Republican Vice President Thomas Jefferson. This time, the parties were more organized so as to avoid a disaster like 1796, and so they each coordinated on one VP option.
Republicans agreed to back Senator Aaron Burr, who many had supported then. Federalists got behind Former Minister to France Charles C. Pinckney, Thomas Pinckney's brother.
Each party planned to designate exactly one of its supporters to back a different candidate for vice president. That way, the presidential candidate would be in first place by one vote. The Federalists executed this plan successfully: everyone who voted for Adams voted for Pinckney, except one elector who voted Adams-John Jay. The Republicans didn't. Every one of their electors voted for both Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. That meant it was a tie, to be decided by the House of Representatives. Which was controlled by Federalists.
The way it worked was that each of the 16 states would vote for either Jefferson or Burr, and the winner needed a majority, which was 9 states. All 7 Republican-held states, mostly Southern states, voted for Jefferson, along with Georgia, which brought his total to 8, since most Republicans agreed that they had picked Jefferson for president. But Federalists saw an opportunity. Jefferson was much more entrenched in Republican policy, and they preferred Burr to Jefferson, and therefore 6 Federalist-controlled states voted for Burr. That gave Jefferson 8 states and Burr 6. But Maryland and Vermont were undecided, split down the middle. Which meant — deadlock.
Ultimately, Former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton broke the tie. Hamilton was fairly unpopular, but some Federalists still listened to him. He wrote letters in support of Jefferson, saying that though he disagreed with Jefferson, he was principled whereas Burr wasn't. This inspired enough Federalists to change their votes that Jefferson was elected president and Burr VP.
I have never agreed with Jefferson once. We fought on like seventy-five different fronts. But when all is said and all is done, Jefferson has beliefs. Burr has none. (said by Hamilton in "The Election of 1800" from Hamilton)
During Jefferson's term, the Twelfth Amendment was passed, repealing the disastrous electoral situation and establishing separate votes for president and vice president.
1804: Jefferson vs. Pinckney
Thomas Jefferson was a popular president, and so the Republicans were eager to renominate him. After Burr's betrayal of Jefferson and duel with Alexander Hamilton, Jefferson swapped his vice president to Governor George Clinton.
Speaking of the duel, with Hamilton dead and Former President John Adams in retirement, the Federalists had no clear leader. They ultimately went with Charles C. Pinckney, their previous vice presidential nominee, for president. Jefferson won in a landslide.
1808: Madison vs. Pinckney
President Jefferson preferred Secretary of State James Madison as his successor. Vice President George Clinton was angling for the presidency, but the popular president's endorsement prevented that. To sate Clinton, he was renominated for VP. The Federalists went with their previous nominee, Charles C. Pinckney. They did a bit better than the previous election, but they lost again.
1812: Madison vs. Clinton
The Federalists knew they needed to shake things up. Their plan was to nominate Chief Justice John Marshall, who they figured had the ability to win in states like New York, Virginia, and North Carolina due to his popularity. He began as the frontrunner for that party's nomination, though it wasn't clear he was interested.
Meanwhile, most Democratic-Republicans supported President James Madison, but some Northerners felt they weren't represented enough. Sure, the last few vice presidents had been New Yorkers, but Presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Madison were all from the South. So the plan was to nominate Lieutenant Governor DeWitt Clinton, the current vice president's nephew, for vice president to balance the ticket. But the New York Republican caucus had had enough, and picked Clinton for the top of the ticket instead of Madison!
This completely changed the Federalists' strategy. Clinton was so popular in New York that they didn't have much hope of beating him. They didn't actually endorse Clinton, but they didn't nominate anyone for president, so it was sort of implied. They did give him a running mate, though: Pennsylvania Attorney General Jared Ingersoll.
Now that Clinton was running for president, the Republicans needed a new VP choice. They still wanted a Northerner, so they picked New Hampshire Governor John Langdon. However, Langdon, 70, declined, citing health reasons. (He went on to die the next year.) Instead, they nominated Governor Elbridge Gerry, much younger at 68. (He also passed away two years later.)
The main election issue was the War of 1812, and the election was the first to be held during a war. Clinton's goal was to unite Federalists and antiwar Republicans behind his candidacy, while Madison was confident of a victory if he could maintain the standard Republican base of support. Ultimately, while Clinton did better than Pinckney had in 1804 and 1808, he still lost, and James Madison was reelected.
1816: Monroe vs. King
Though Republicans were still hesitant to nominate another Virginian, they rallied around Secretary of State James Monroe, the choice of Presidents Jefferson and Madison. Meanwhile, the Federalists were falling into even further disarray. They wanted to improve upon the past election with another fusion-style ticket, but couldn't get any Republicans to sign on. They went with Senator Rufus King without agreeing on a vice presidential candidate. Monroe won in a landslide.
1820: Monroe
The Federalist Party had now fully dissolved, so President James Monroe was running unopposed. The vice presidential selection was more of a challenge, with sitting vice president Daniel D. Tompkins running for Governor of New York. This would now perhaps be considered a demotion, but maybe VPs were even less powerful then. However, Tompkins lost the race, and so he was reelected as vice president.
One elector, William Plumer, is well-known for his defection from Monroe. Legend has it that he wanted to ensure only George Washington would win unopposed, but there are differing opinions — some say he just didn't support Monroe. He voted for Secretary of State John Quincy Adams instead.
1824: Adams vs. Jackson vs. Crawford vs. Clay
Now that the Democratic-Republicans had eliminated their common enemy, the Federalists, their animosity was restricted to other Republicans.
The official caucus nominated William Crawford, the Secretary of the Treasury. However, many Republicans didn't want Crawford, and they felt free to run against him. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams had solid support in New York and New England. Speaker of the House Henry Clay was very popular in the western states newly being added to the Union, such as Kentucky and Ohio. Andrew Jackson had become famous as a war hero in the Battle of New Orleans (actually fought after the War of 1812 had ended), and had passionate fans in the South. Jackson was recruited to the Senate two years before, and now his supporters were recruiting him for the White House.
Here were the results:
Andrew Jackson: 99 electoral votes (41% of the popular vote)
John Quincy Adams: 84 electoral votes (31% of the popular vote)
William Crawford: 44 electoral votes (11% of the popular vote)
Henry Clay: 37 electoral votes (13% of the popular vote)
Since no candidate had a majority (even though Jackson had a strong plurality), the election would be decided in the House of Representatives, where the top three — Jackson, Adams, and Crawford — would be eligible for votes. But not Clay.
It just so happened, though, that Henry Clay was the Speaker of the House. As Speaker, he had enough influence with representatives to essentially pick the next president, so long as it wasn't him. One smoke-filled room later, John Quincy Adams was elected president and Henry Clay was appointed Secretary of State.
1828: Jackson vs. Adams
Andrew Jackson was understandably mad at President John Quincy Adams. Jackson got more votes than anyone else. He got more Electoral College votes than anyone else. Yet he had still lost. Jackson's supporters were galvanized by the idea that their victory was stolen, and they planned for Jackson to win the rematch.
Jackson was strong in the Southern states, whereas Adams' base lay in the North, but Jackson wanted a way to compete in the North. Senator Martin Van Buren of New York, also a candidate for governor, wanted to be Secretary of State. It was a perfect match. Van Buren used his New York influence to gain Jackson votes.
The election was fought bitterly, with both candidates viciously attacking their opponent. For instance, Jackson's wife, Rachel, married him after she had left her previous husband. He assumed that she had filed paperwork for divorce, but in fact she hadn't. Ultimately, the matter was resolved, and they were married legally, but that didn't stop the Adams people from accusing the couple of bigamy. Impugning Jackson's intelligence, Adams also challenged him to a Spelling Bee. (The offer was declined.)
Ultimately, Jackson defeated Adams, but it was a bittersweet victory. Rachel Jackson died shortly before she would become First Lady. Jackson blamed his political enemies for tearing her down.
Meanwhile, Van Buren won his election for governor of New York, but was also appointed Secretary of State. He served as governor for only two months.
1832: Jackson vs. Clay vs. Floyd vs. Wirt
President Andrew Jackson was easily renominated for a second term. He had been widely criticized for refusing to renew the Second Bank of the United States and decentralizing it to state banks. However, the economy was still generally good, and Jackson remained popular. His main competitor was Former Secretary of State Henry Clay, of the National Republican Party, though Anti-Masonic Former Attorney General William Wirt and Governor John Floyd were also campaigning.
Opposition to Jackson was disorganized, and he was still very popular. He won in a landslide.
1836: Van Buren vs. Harrison vs. White vs. Webster vs. Mangum
During Jackson's presidency, Martin Van Buren had been rising through the ranks. He was initially Secretary of State, but when Jackson had a dispute with then-Vice President John C. Calhoun, he replaced Calhoun with Van Buren. Despite the fact that Jackson had forcibly evacuated Native Americans from their homes on the Trail of Tears, where many suffered and died, his endorsement carried a lot of weight and Van Buren was nominated.
The choice for Democratic VP candidate was a bit murkier. President Jackson was behind Representative Richard M. Johnson, but other Democrats didn't like him. The reason was his relationship with one of his slaves, Julia Chinn. That wasn't the problem to them, though. The problem was that he treated her as his common-law wife. Ultimately, Johnson was nominated anyway, due to Jackson's popularity.
Meanwhile, the Whig Party emerged as the chief rival of the Democratic Party, but they weren't super organized. So their strategy in the election of 1836 was a unique one: they would have four nominees, each running in different regions. Hopefully, each Whig would be popular enough to win in their region, and then the House of Representatives could pick whichever Whig they wanted. Former Senator William Henry Harrison would run in the North. In the South, Senator Hugh Lawson White was the Whigs' choice. Two more candidates ran in specific states: in Massachusetts, Senator Daniel Webster; in South Carolina, Senator Willie Mangum. It's worth noting that in each state, only one Whig was on the ballot. So if you were a voter in New York, you would see Van Buren and Harrison, but not White, Webster, or Mangum. On the other hand, a Georgia voter could choose between Van Buren and White, but couldn't vote for Harrison, Webster, or Mangum. It was very weird.
Vice President Van Buren ended up winning states in every region, but the vice presidential election was spicier. The Virginia delegation to the Electoral College absolutely refused to vote for Richard M. Johnson. Which meant that the Senate had to pick the VP in a runoff between the top two choices: Johnson and Harrison's running mate Francis Granger. What would the Senate do? [Commercial break]
Johnson won. It wasn't close. Dramatic, right?
1840: Harrison vs. Van Buren
The Democratic convention renominated President Martin Van Buren easily. But the VP slot was another matter. Van Buren supported current VP Richard M. Johnson for renomination, but people still disliked the whole slave-wife thing. Ultimately, the convention could not agree on who to pick at all. For the first time ever in history, a national convention picked no one for vice president. If Van Buren was reelected, the Electoral College would decide for itself who the VP would be.
Meanwhile, the Whigs had learned from their mistake in 1836, and only nominated a single Whig. Their choice was Former Senator William Henry Harrison, 68, the most popular among their previous four candidates. His running mate would be John Tyler, also a former senator. Interestingly, both were born in Charles City County, Virginia. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that the Harrison-Tyler ticket was the first to use a campaign slogan: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too. (Harrison was famous for fighting in the Battle of Tippecanoe.)
After President Van Buren was elected, a recession, known as the Panic of 1837, took hold. Andrew Jackson's bank policy was more responsible, but the public blamed Van Buren — though to be fair, he didn't do much to stop the recession. In any case, William Henry Harrison was elected.
If you know anything about William Henry Harrison, it's probably what happened after. He delivered his two-hour inaugural address jacketless, and got pneumonia. A month later, he died (though recent evidence also indicates the White House water supply may have been more responsible), and John Tyler became the first vice president to become president. Harrison's cabinet hated Tyler because they didn't think he was president, and Tyler did some things the Whig Party disliked. They actually expelled him from the party, making him the second and last Independent president.
1844: Polk vs. Clay
John Tyler wanted to run for a second term. Since the Whigs no longer liked him, he wanted to run for the opposite party — as a Democrat. But Tyler wasn't the only President who wanted to run again. Martin Van Buren, the "Little Magician" and loser of the previous election, wanted another try. Other candidates included Former Governor Lewis Cass, Former Vice President Richard M. Johnson (despite his opposition), Senator James Buchanan (a future president), and Secretary of State John C. Calhoun.
While Tyler struggled to get any backers, Van Buren was able to get a majority of Democratic delegates on his side. But before the balloting, the Buchanan supporters proposed a rule that would require the winner to get ⅔ of the vote instead of just a majority. Naturally, this found support from nearly everyone who didn't want Van Buren, and a few people who did. The rule passed.
On the first ballot, Van Buren had 146 delegates out of the necessary 177. But as balloting went on, the former president's lead began to fade. By the seventh ballot, he had only 99 votes, trailing Cass, who had 123.
The delegates were bored of voting between candidates that couldn't get a ⅔ majority. They needed someone everyone could agree on — a compromise candidate. One of the delegates proposed just such a candidate — James K. Polk, the Speaker of the House. Polk was really only hoping for the vice presidency, but none of the factions really minded Polk being president. Van Buren told his delegates to vote for Polk, and soon the other candidates agreed.
But John Tyler wanted to be president again. While the Whig Party nominated Henry Clay, an anti-Tyler Speaker of the House, he wanted to run himself. So he created a third party, which he called the Democratic-Republican party (much like the previous one). This was a problem for Polk, who thought that Tyler would steal his votes. However, ultimately, Tyler dropped out, after he was assured that the annexation of Texas, a thing he wanted to do, would happen under a Polk administration.
The election was somewhat close in the popular vote, but Polk obliterated Clay in the electoral vote. This was the first time a previously unknown candidate went on to win the presidential election.
1848: Taylor vs. Cass vs. Van Buren
President James K. Polk had promised not to run for reelection, but he was still very popular. (Under his presidency, America expanded into Texas and other territory.) Zachary Taylor, general in the Mexican-American War, was also very popular. Democrats liked him. Whigs liked him. In theory, that is: no one really knew what policies he supported.
He ultimately decided he was a Whig. Henry Clay, previous nominee, originally wasn't going to run, but was annoyed that Taylor would be considered, not seeing him as a real Whig who agreed with them on important issues. Ultimately, Taylor was the winner.
Anyway, the Democratic field was wide open. Martin Van Buren, the former president, was in it again, but the delegate rules were not in his favor. When the convention voted to remove some New York delegates that supported Van Buren, he got angry and left the convention. He convinced the anti-slavery Free Soil Party to nominate him instead.
The other Democratic candidates were largely holdovers from the previous election: Senator Lewis Cass, Justice Levi Woodbury, and James Buchanan, now Secretary of State. With Van Buren out of the way, Cass was the clear winner. He would go up against Taylor in the general election.
The Democrats appeared popular, given the public's positive view of President Polk. However, their loss of New York (where Van Buren did well, potentially taking Democratic votes), caused Zachary Taylor to become the 12th President of the United States.
1852: Pierce vs. Scott
A year after Taylor's election, he passed away, putting Vice President Millard Fillmore in power. Fillmore was a supporter of the Fugitive Slave Act, which forced escaped slaves in the North to be returned to their owners. This made him popular in the South but unpopular in the North. The Northern Whigs generally supported Daniel Webster, who was the Secretary of State and a friend of Fillmore.
Addendum
When I look on Wikipedia it says that most of the Northern Whigs actually supported Winfield Scott, who became the nominee on the 53rd ballot. The Democrats also had trouble deciding a nominee, and they ultimately picked dark-horse candidate Franklin Pierce, who won. Then there were more elections, and more elections, and time went on.
Teaser for Tomorrow
Another old post. Stylized in lowercase. It's called "the vanity project."
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