The Millstone Times November 2020

Max's Minute By, Max Druckman KIDS Historical Presidential Elections

You cannot escape it, election fever is everywhere you look. On your televisions, smartphones, news- papers, and lawns. It is suggested to be the most important news event of the entire year, and decides the fate of our country for years to come. I am talking, of course, about the United States presidential election. On November 3, 2020, and in most cases prior to then, America casted its vote to decide who will hold the nation’s highest position for the next four years. In these unique times of a global pandemic, recounts, and mail-in ballots, it may seem like this year’s election is particularly unusual. However, before election 2020 between Vice President Biden and President Trump, there have been dozens of elections for Commander in Chief, each with its own interesting story. The first fascinating presidential fact relates to our very first Commander-in-Chief, George Washing- ton. Washington is the first, and to date only, president to have been elected unanimously. This means that every single electoral vote was cast in his favor. Washington was extremely popular after leading the United States to victory in the Revolutionary War, and was seen as the most logical option to be- come the new nation’s initial leader. In 1801, James Monroe garnered all but one of the electoral votes. Monroe would have become the second candidate to be elected unanimously, but William Plumer of New Hampshire wanted to preserve Washington’s esteemed unanimous legacy. The election of 1800 is one of the most unique in American history. At that time, the person with

most votes became president, and the candidate in second place became vice president, regardless of party affiliation. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied for first place. Consequently, Congress had to decide the winner, and chose Jefferson to become the third president of the United States. This was in part thanks to some campaigning against Aaron Burr from former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. It's safe to say that in the end that did not work out for Hamilton. 1824 can also stake a claim to having the wildest election ever. In a four-horse race, Senator Andrew Jackson won the popular vote, but won less than half of the electoral college. Because no candidate took an electoral majority, Congress again had to decide the outcome of the election. In the second electoral vote, many of Speaker of the House Henry Clay’s supporters backed Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. This extra backing allowed Senator Adams to become victorious. In return, he gave Clay the Secretary of State position. Clay’s support of Adams and subsequent cabinet position helped coin this election as the “Corrupt Bargain”. In 1948 former Democratic Vice President Harry S. Truman, who had succeeded President Franklin Delano Roosevelt after his passing, was widely predicted to lose the election in a landslide to New York Governor Thomas Dewey. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate had gone in favor of the Republicans in 1946 and polls nationwide showed that around only 33% of Americans would vote for Truman. Furthermore, Secretary of Commerce Henry Wallace and South Carolina Governor StromThurmond mounted viable third party campaigns. Simply, Truman’s chances looked bleak. On the morning after election day, a writer strike caused the Chicago Daily Tribune to print its edition much earlier than normal. Not knowing the outcome of the election but using the polls as an indication, the paper ran a headline stating that Dewey had won the presidency and that Truman had lost. Hours later, when the final results were announced, Truman had won and the newspaper looked foolish. The 2000 presidential election pitted Texas Governor George W. Bush against Vice President Al Gore. Gore won the popular vote, but the outright winner could not be confirmed on election night due to Florida’s electoral votes being so close that a recount was necessary. The legal battles surrounding the recount went all the way to the Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision, the court ended the recount. This allowed Bush to take Florida by 0.009% and gave him 271 electoral votes, one over the requirement necessary to win the presidency. Even though this year’s presidential election may have looked unusual, it was not alone in that it has a unique election story. President-elect Joe Biden will become the oldest ever president when he is inaugurated at the age of 78. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will become the first female, biracial female, and person of African-American heritage to hold the office of Vice President. Charles Curtis was the first biracial person to be vice president (1929-1933). Further, this election featured a record 101 million early votes. Both candidates also broke the record for most total votes, with Biden’s 75 million votes and Trump’s 70 million surpassing Barack Obama’s record of 69.5 million in 2008. Lastly, President Trump becomes the tenth Command- er-in-Chief to lose reelection after one full term. While you may or may not agree with the election outcome, one thing is for sure; this year’s election, like those of the past, will go down in the history books.

16 The Millstone Times

November 2020