In honor of tonight's State of the Union address, I've decided to bring to your attention this web site which I have found endlessly fascinating. It shows all of the electoral maps for every presidential election in U.S. history. And it's a catalog of many interesting things that could never, ever happen in the modern U.S. political landscape.
Before the 12th Amendment was ratified, the top vote getter became president, and the runner up became vice president. Hence, John Adams and his vice president Thomas Jefferson were members of two different political parties.
1824: A presidential vote split four different ways.
1900: Role reversal, as Texas and the South all vote Democrat, while the Northeast and the West Coast all vote Republican.
1948: "Dixie-crats?"
1960: Nixon loses to Kennedy, and yet would later run again, and win. Does anyone seriously think a losing candidate would get to run again for the Democrats or the Republicans these days?
Food for thought.
1 comment:
That dramatic and foreboding 1860 election was also split four ways. The winner, Abraham Lincoln, won with only 40% of the support of the country.
James Buchanan? Gay!
Despite my stellar A.P. high-school education in American History, I recently realized I forgot that Senators were appointed until the early 20th century. This further strengthens my "huh? factor" with Senators. Yes, they are still a more continuous body than the House, but what makes them more special than Congressmen as they are elected by the body politic just like Congressmen? Of course, I don't want state legislatures such as those spotless bodies in Texas and Illinois to pick and choose Senator, but I'd like to see some slight difference of appointment.
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