How American people voted in 1800s - 8/6/24

Some interesting facts! No different today? Nothing new?!

Mentioned in the vlog:

- Election days varied by state

- States could hold elections anytime they wished, within a 34-day period before 1st Wednesday in December

- 1845, Congress passed a federal law to set a single election day for the entire country. The first Tuesday following the 1st Monday in November became Election Day

- Farmers planting, tending and harvesting crops.
- Early November a good time because harvesting was over and weather was mild.
Some days of the week better than others for voting. Sunday and Wednesday out of question.
- Most Americans devout Christians. Sunday was designated as a day of rest and worship. Wednesday often the Market Day. Farmers sold their crops and purchased supplies in town.

- Traveling to vote usually required to nearest polling place was often miles.

- If people could not use Sunday or Wednesday as a travel day. Election day could not be Monday or Thursday. Tuesday best option

“Viva Voice” (Voice voting)

- Campaigning and carousing allowed at the polling place.

- Drunken carnival atmosphere often happened in early American elections.

- Elections in voice voting era turnout rate high – 85%

1st Paper Ballot – 1st early 19th century

- Not standardized by government election officials.

- Beginning, paper ballots like scraps of paper upon the voter scrawled his candidates’ names and dropped into ballot boxes.

- Newspaper began to print a blank ballot with titles of each office for vote. Readers tear out and fill in with their chosen candidates.

Political parties got smart

- By mid-19th century, state Republicans and Democrat party officials would distribute pre-printed fliers to voters only their party’s candidates for office.

- They were called R and D “Tickets” because the small rectangles of paper similar to 19th century train tickets.

- Party faithful could legally use the pre-printed ticket as their actual ballot making it easier to vote straight down the party line

The Australian Paper Ballot

- Partisan paper ballots ruled the 2nd half of the 19th century, leading to often accusations of voter fraud and calls for election reform.

- Solution came from Australia, which pioneered the first standardized, government-printed paper ballot in 1858.

- The so-called Australian paper ballot, printed with names of all candidates and handed to voters at the polling place, first adopted in the US by NY

Buying votes… with alcohol –
Common Practice!

1758 –
47 gallons of beer
35 gallons of wine
2 gallons of cider
3 ½ pints of whiskey
70 gallons of rum (Bumbu) punch!

George Washington got 301 votes
Virginia House of Burgesses Election
in Frederick County

- Dems and Reps playing falsely promising free land

- Dems accused Reps of having bought 5,000 gallons of cheap whiskey to be used for vote buying

- Dems and Reps sent agents around with whiskey kegs and offered up to 10 gallons for a vote
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_history_of_George_Washington

George Washington's political career began:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=26889

https://www.history.com/news/colonial-america-election-day-parties

https://image.invaluable.com/housePhotos/Mebane/79/696179/H2000-L246340034.jpg