═════════╤═════════════════════════════════╤═══════════╤════_Our Presidents and how we make them

Year of │Candidates for President, State, │ Popular │Plurality.│Electoral│ Candidates for Vice-President, │Electoral

Election.│ and Political Party. │ Vote. │ │ Vote. │ State, and Political Party. │ Vote.

─────────┼─────────────────────────────────┼───────────┼──────────┼─────────┼───────────────────────────────────┼─────────

=1824= │Andrew Jackson, Tenn., Rep. │ 155,872 │ 50,551 │ (b)99 │John C. Calhoun,[32] S. C., Rep. │ 182

│John Q. Adams,[32] Mass., Rep. │ 105,321 │ .... │ 84 │Nathan Sanford, N. Y., Rep. │ 30

│Henry Clay, Ky., Rep. │ 46,587 │ .... │ 37 │Nathaniel Macon, N. C., Rep. │ 24

│Wm. H. Crawford, Ga., Rep. │ 44,282 │ .... │ 41 │Andrew Jackson, Tenn., Rep. │ 13

│ │ │ │ │M. Van Buren, N. Y., Rep. │ 9

│ │ │ │ │Henry Clay, Ky., Rep. │ 2

=1828= │Andrew Jackson,[32] Tenn., Dem. │[32]647,231│ 138,134 │ 178 │John C. Calhoun,[32] S. C., Dem. │ 171

│John Q. Adams, Mass., Nat. R. │[32]509,097│ .... │ 83 │Richard Rush, Pa., Nat. R. │ 83

│ │ │ │ │William Smith, S. C., Dem. │ 7

=1832= │Andrew Jackson,[32] Tenn., Dem. │ 687,502 │ 157,313 │ 219 │M. Van Buren,[32] N. Y., Dem. │ 189

│Henry Clay, Ky., Nat. R. │ 530,189 │ .... │ 49 │John Sergeant, Pa., Nat. R. │ 49

│John Floyd, Ga., Ind. │⎫ │ │ ⎧ 11 │Henry Lee, Mass., Ind. │ 11

│William Wirt (c), Md., Anti-M. │⎭ 33,108 │ .... │ ⎩ 7 │Amos Ellmaker (c), Pa., Anti-M. │ 7

│ │ │ │ │William Wilkins, Pa., Dem. │ 30

=1836= │Martin Van Buren,[32] N. Y., Dem.│ 761,549 │ 24,893 │ 170 │R. M. Johnson (d),[32] Ky., Dem. │ 147

│W. H. Harrison, O., Whig │⎫ │ ⎧│ 73 │Francis Granger, N. Y., Whig │ 77

│Hugh L. White, Tenn., Whig │⎪ │ ⎪│ 26 │John Tyler, Va., Whig │ 47

│Daniel Webster, Mass., Whig │⎪ 736,656 │ ....⎪│ 14 │William Smith, Ala., Dem. │ 23

│Willie P. Mangum, N. C., Whig │⎭ │ ⎩│ 11 │ │

=1840= │W. H. Harrison,[32] O., Whig │ 1,275,017 │ 146,315 │ 234 │John Tyler,[32] Va., Whig │ 234

│Martin Van Buren, N. Y., Dem. │ 1,128,702 │ .... │ 60 │R. M. Johnson, Ky., Dem. │ 48

│James G. Birney, N. Y., Lib. │ 7,059 │ .... │ .. │L. W. Tazewell, Va., Dem. │ 11

│ │ │ │ │James K. Polk, Tenn., Dem. │ 1

=1844= │James K. Polk,[32] Tenn., Dem. │ 1,337,243 │ 38,175 │ 170 │George M. Dallas,[32] Pa., Dem. │ 170

│Henry Clay, Ky., Whig │ 1,299,068 │ .... │ 105 │T. Frelinghuysen, N. J., Whig │ 105

│James G. Birney, N. Y., Lib. │ 62,300 │ .... │ .. │Thomas Morris, O., Lib. │ ..

=1848= │Zachary Taylor,[32] La., Whig │ 1,360,101 │ 139,557 │ 163 │Millard Fillmore,[32] N. Y., Whig │ 163

│Lewis Cass, Mich., Dem. │ 1,220,544 │ .... │ 127 │William O. Butler, Ky., Dem. │ 127

│Martin Van Buren, N. Y., F. Soil │ 291,263 │ .... │ .. │Chas. F. Adams, Mass., F. Soil │ ..

=1852= │Franklin Pierce,[32] N. H., Dem. │ 1,601,474 │ 220,896 │ 254 │William R. King,[32] Ala., Dem. │ 254

│Winfield Scott, N. J., Whig │ 1,380,576 │ .... │ 42 │William A. Graham, N. C., Whig │ 42

│John P. Hale, N. H., F. D. (i) │ 156,149 │ .... │ .. │George W. Julian, Ind., F. D. │ ..

│Daniel Webster (k), Mass., Whig │ 1,670 │ .... │ .. │ │

=1856= │James Buchanan,[32] Pa., Dem. │ 1,838,169 │ 496,905 │ 174 │J. C. Breckenridge,[32] Ky., Dem. │ 174

│John C. Fremont, Cal., Rep. │ 1,341,264 │ .... │ 114 │William L. Dayton, N. J., Rep. │ 114

│Millard Fillmore, N. Y., Amer. │ 874,538 │ .... │ 8 │A. J. Donelson, Tenn., Amer. │ 8

=1860= │Abraham Lincoln,[32] Ill., Rep. │ 1,866,352 │ 491,195 │ 180 │Hannibal Hamlin,[32] Me., Rep. │ 180

│Stephen A. Douglas, Ill., Dem. │ 1,375,157 │ .... │ 12 │H. V. Johnson, Ga., Dem. │ 12

│J. C. Breckenridge, Ky., Dem. │ 845,763 │ .... │ 72 │Joseph Lane, Ore., Dem. │ 72

│John Bell, Tenn., Union │ 589,581 │ .... │ 39 │Edward Everett, Mass., Union │ 39

=1864= │Abraham Lincoln,[32] Ill., Rep. │ 2,216,067 │ 407,342 │ (e)212 │Andrew Johnson,[32] Tenn., Rep. │ 212

│George B. McClellan, N. J., Dem. │ 1,808,725 │ .... │ 21 │George H. Pendleton, O., Dem. │ 21

=1868= │Ulysses S. Grant,[32] Ill., Rep. │ 3,015,071 │ 305,456 │ (f)214 │Schuyler Colfax,[32] Ind., Rep. │ 214

│Horatio Seymour, N. Y., Dem. │ 2,709,615 │ .... │ 80 │F. P. Blair, Jr., Mo., Dem. │ 80

=1872= │Ulysses S. Grant,[32] Ill., Rep. │ 3,597,070 │ 752,991 │ 286 │Henry Wilson,[32] Mass., Rep. │ 286

│Horace Greeley, N. Y., D. & L. │ 2,834,079 │ .... │ (g).. │B. Gratz Brown, Mo., D. L. │ 47

│Charles O’Conor, N. Y., Dem. │ 29,408 │ .... │ .. │John Q. Adams, Mass., Dem. │ ..

│James Black, Pa., Temp. │ 5,608 │ .... │ .. │John Russell, Mich., Temp. │ ..

│Thomas A. Hendricks, Ind., Dem. │ .... │ .... │ 42 │George W. Julian, Ind., Lib. │ 5

│B. Gratz Brown, Mo., Dem. │ .... │ .... │ 18 │A. H. Colquitt, Ga., Dem. │ 5

│Charles J. Jenkins, Ga., Dem. │ .... │ .... │ 2 │John M. Palmer, Ill., Dem. │ 3

│David Davis, Ill., Ind. │ .... │ .... │ 1 │T. E. Bramlette, Ky., Dem. │ 3

│ │ │ │ │W. S. Groesbeck, O., Dem. │ 1

│ │ │ │ │Willis B. Machen, Ky., Dem. │ 1

│ │ │ │ │N. P. Banks, Mass., Lib. │ 1

=1876= │Samuel J. Tilden, N. Y., Dem. │ 4,284,385 │ 250,935 │ 84 │T. A. Hendricks, Ind., Dem. │ 184

│Rutherford B. Hayes,[32] O., Rep.│ 4,033,950 │ .... │ (h)185 │William A. Wheeler,[32] N. Y., Rep.│ 185

│Peter Cooper, N. Y., Gre’nb. │ 81,740 │ .... │ .. │Samuel F. Cary, O., Gre’nb. │ ..

│Green Clay Smith, Ky., Pro. │ 9,522 │ .... │ .. │Gideon T. Stewart, O., Pro. │ ..

│James B. Walker, Ill., Amer. │ 2,636 │ .... │ .. │D. Kirkpatrick, N. Y., Amer. │ ..

=1880= │James A. Garfield,[32] O., Rep. │ 4,449,053 │ 7,018 │ 214 │Chester A. Arthur,[32] N. Y., Rep. │ 214

│W. S. Hancock, Pa., Dem. │ 4,442,035 │ .... │ 155 │William H. English, Ind., Dem. │ 155

│James B. Weaver, Iowa, Gre’nb. │ 307,306 │ .... │ .. │B. J. Chambers, Texas, Gre’nb. │ ..

│Neal Dow, Me., Pro. │ 10,305 │ .... │ .. │H. A. Thompson, O., Pro. │ ..

│John W. Phelps, Vt., Amer. │ 707 │ .... │ .. │S. C. Pomeroy, Kan., Amer. │ ..

=1884= │Grover Cleveland,[32] N. Y., Dem.│ 4,911,017 │ 62,683 │ 219 │T. A. Hendricks,[32] Ind., Dem. │ 219

│James G. Blaine, Me., Rep. │ 4,848,334 │ .... │ 182 │John A. Logan, Ill., Rep. │ 182

│John P. St. John, Kan., Pro. │ 151,809 │ .... │ .. │William Daniel, Md., Pro. │ ..

│Benjamin F. Butler, Mass., Peop. │ 133,825 │ .... │ .. │A. M. West, Miss., Peop. │ ..

│P. D. Wigginton, Cal., Amer. │ .... │ .... │ .. │ │

=1888= │Grover Cleveland, N. Y., Dem. │ 5,538,233 │ 98,017│ 168 │Allen G. Thurman, O., Dem. │ 168

│Benjamin Harrison,[32] Ind., Rep.│ 5,440,216 │ ... │ 233 │Levi P. Morton,[32] N. Y., Rep. │ 233

│Clinton B. Fisk, N. J., Pro. │ 249,907 │ ... │ .. │John A. Brooks, Mo., Pro. │ ..

│Alson J. Streeter, Ill., U. L. │ 148,105 │ ... │ .. │C. E. Cunningham, Ark., U’d L. │ ..

│R. H. Cowdry, Ill., U’d L. │ 2,808 │ ... │ .. │W. H. T. Wakefield, Kan., U’d L. │ ..

│James L. Curtis, N. Y., Amer. │ 1,591 │ ... │ .. │James B. Greer, Tenn., Amer. │ ..

=1892= │Grover Cleveland,[32] N. Y., Dem.│ 5,556,918 │ 380,810 │ 277 │Adlai E. Stevenson,[32] Ill., Dem. │ 277

│Benjamin Harrison, Ind., Rep. │ 5,176,108 │ ... │ 145 │Whitelaw Reid, N. Y., Rep. │ 145

│James B. Weaver, Iowa, Peop. │ 1,041,028 │ ... │ 22 │James G. Field, Va., Peop. │ 22

│John Bidwell, Cal., Pro. │ 264,133 │ ... │ .. │James B. Cranfill, Tex., Pro. │ ..

│Simon Wing, Mass., Soc. L. │ 21,164 │ ... │ .. │Charles H. Matchett, N. Y., Soc. L.│ ..

=1896= │William McKinley,[32] O., Rep. │ 7,104,779 │ 601,854 │ 271 │Garret A. Hobart,[32] N. J., Rep. │ 271

│William J. Bryan, Neb., Dem. ╮ │ 6,502,925 │ ... │ 176 │Arthur Sewall, Me., Dem. │ 176

│William J. Bryan, Neb., Pop. ╯ │ │ ... │ .. │Thomas E. Watson, Ga., Pop. │ ..

│Joshua Levering, Md., Pro. │ 132,007 │ ... │ .. │Hale Johnson, Ill., Pro. │ ..

│John M. Palmer, Ill., N. Dem. │ 133,148 │ ... │ .. │Simon B. Buckner, Ky., N. Dem. │ ..

│Charles H. Matchett, N. Y., │ 36,274 │ ... │ .. │Matthew Maguire, N. J., Soc. L. │ ..

│ Soc. L. │ ” │ │ │ │

│Charles E. Bentley, Neb., │ 13,969 │ ... │ .. │James H. Southgate, N. C., Nat. (j)│ ..

│ Nat. (j) │ ” │ │ │ ” │

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[32] The candidates starred were elected, (a) The first Republican

Party is claimed by the present Democratic Party as its progenitor.

(b) No candidate having a majority of the electoral vote, the House

of Representatives elected Adams, (c) Candidates of the Anti-Masonic

Party. (d) There being no choice, the Senate elected Johnson. (e)

Eleven Southern States, being within the belligerent territory, did not

vote. (f) Three Southern States disfranchised. (g) Horace Greeley died

after election, and Democratic electors scattered their vote, (h) There

being a dispute over the electoral votes of Florida, Louisiana, Oregon,

and South Carolina, they were referred by Congress to an electoral

commission composed of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, which, by

a strict party vote, awarded 185 electoral votes to Hayes and 184 to

Tilden. (i) Free Democrat. (j) Free-Silver Prohibition Party, (k) In

Massachusetts. There was also a Native American ticket in that State,

which received 184 votes.

I also present the lists of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the

United States, as given in the New York _World Almanac_ for 1900, as

follows:

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

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│ │ │ │ │Inaugurated.│ │ │ │

NAME. │ Birthplace. │Year.│ Paternal │Residence.├──────┬─────┤Politics.│ Place of Death. │Year.│Age.

│ │ │ Ancestry. │ │ Year.│ Age.│ │ │ │

──┬───────────────────┼───────────────────────┼─────┼─────────────┼──────────┼──────┼─────┼─────────┼─────────────────────┼─────┼─────

1│George Washington │Westmoreland Co., Va. │ 1732│English │ Va. │ 1789 │ 57 │ Fed. │Mt. Vernon, Va. │ 1799│ 67

2│John Adams │Quincy, Mass. │ 1735│English │ Mass. │ 1797 │ 62 │ Fed. │Quincy, Mass. │ 1826│ 90

3│Thomas Jefferson │Shadwell, Va. │ 1743│Welsh │ Va. │ 1801 │ 58 │ Rep. │Monticello, Va. │ 1826│ 83

4│James Madison │Port Conway, Va. │ 1751│English │ Va. │ 1809 │ 58 │ Rep. │Montpelier, Va. │ 1836│ 85

5│James Monroe │Westmoreland Co., Va. │ 1758│Scotch │ Va. │ 1817 │ 59 │ Rep. │New York City │ 1831│ 73

6│John Quincy Adams │Quincy, Mass. │ 1767│English │ Mass. │ 1825 │ 58 │ Rep. │Washington, D. C. │ 1848│ 80

7│Andrew Jackson │Union Co., N. C. │ 1767│Scotch-Irish │ Tenn. │ 1829 │ 62 │ Dem. │Hermitage, Tenn. │ 1845│ 78

8│Martin Van Buren │Kinderhook, N. Y. │ 1782│Dutch │ N. Y. │ 1837 │ 55 │ Dem. │Lindenwold, N. Y. │ 1862│ 79

9│William H. Harrison│Berkeley, Va. │ 1773│English │ O. │ 1841 │ 68 │ Whig │Washington, D. C. │ 1841│ 68

10│John Tyler │Greenway, Va. │ 1790│English │ Va. │ 1841 │ 51 │ Dem. │Richmond, Va. │ 1862│ 72

11│James K. Polk │Mecklenburg, Co., N. C.│ 1795│Scotch-Irish │ Tenn. │ 1845 │ 50 │ Dem. │Nashville, Tenn. │ 1849│ 53

12│Zachary Taylor │Orange Co., Va. │ 1784│English │ La. │ 1849 │ 65 │ Whig │Washington, D. C. │ 1850│ 65

13│Millard Fillmore │Summerhill, N. Y. │ 1800│English │ N. Y. │ 1850 │ 50 │ Whig │Buffalo, N. Y. │ 1874│ 74

14│Franklin Pierce │Hillsboro, N. H. │ 1804│English │ N. H. │ 1853 │ 49 │ Dem. │Concord, N. H. │ 1869│ 64

15│James Buchanan │Cove Gap, Pa. │ 1791│Scotch-Irish │ Pa. │ 1857 │ 66 │ Dem. │Wheatland, Pa. │ 1868│ 77

16│Abraham Lincoln │Larne Co., Ky. │ 1809│English │ Ill. │ 1861 │ 52 │ Rep. │Washington, D. C. │ 1865│ 56

17│Andrew Johnson │Raleigh, N. C. │ 1808│English │ Tenn. │ 1865 │ 57 │ Rep. │Carter’s Depot, Tenn.│ 1875│ 66

18│Ulysses S. Grant │Point Pleasant, O. │ 1822│Scotch │ D. C. │ 1869 │ 47 │ Rep. │Mt. McGregor, N. Y. │ 1885│ 63

19│Rutherford B. Hayes│Delaware, O. │ 1822│Scotch │ O. │ 1877 │ 54 │ Rep. │Fremont, O. │ 1893│ 70

20│James A. Garfield │Cuyahoga Co., O. │ 1831│English │ O. │ 1881 │ 49 │ Rep. │Long Branch, N. J. │ 1881│ 49

21│Chester A. Arthur │Fairfield, Vt. │ 1830│Scotch-Irish │ N. Y. │ 1881 │ 51 │ Rep. │New York City │ 1886│ 56

22│Grover Cleveland │Caldwell, N. J. │ 1837│English │ N. Y. │ 1885 │ 48 │ Dem. │ .. │ .. │ ..

23│Benjamin Harrison │North Bend, O. │ 1833│English │ Ind. │ 1889 │ 55 │ Rep. │ .. │ .. │ ..

24│Grover Cleveland │Caldwell, N. J. │ 1837│English │ N. Y. │ 1893 │ 56 │ Dem. │ .. │ .. │ ..

25│William McKinley │Niles, O. │ 1843│Scotch-Irish │ O. │ 1897 │ 54 │ Rep. │ .. │ .. │ ..

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VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

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│ │ │ ╰Residence.│Qualified.╯ │ │ │

Name. │ Birthplace. │Year.│ Paternal │ ” │ ” │Politics.│ Place of Death. │Year.│Age at

│ │ │ Ancestry. │ ” │ ” │ │ │ │Death.

──┬────────────────────┼────────────────────┼─────┼────────────┼─────┼────┼─────────┼────────────────────┼─────┼──────

1│John Adams │Quincy, Mass. │ 1735│English │Mass.│1789│ Fed. │Quincy, Mass. │1826 │ 90

2│Thomas Jefferson │Shadwell, Va. │ 1743│Welsh │Va. │1797│ Rep. │Monticello, Va. │1826 │ 83

3│Aaron Burr │Newark, N. J. │ 1756│English │N. Y.│1801│ Rep. │Staten Island, N. Y.│1836 │ 80

4│George Clinton │Ulster Co., N. Y. │ 1739│English │N. Y.│1805│ Rep. │Washington, D. C. │1812 │ 73

5│Elbridge Gerry │Marblehead, Mass. │ 1744│English │Mass.│1813│ Rep. │Washington, D. C. │1814 │ 70

6│Daniel D. Tompkins │Scarsdale, N. Y. │ 1774│English │N. Y.│1817│ Rep. │Staten Island, N. Y.│1825 │ 51

7│John C. Calhoun │Abbeville, S. C. │ 1782│Scotch-Irish│S. C.│1825│ Rep. │Washington, D. C. │1850 │ 68

8│Martin Van Buren │Kinderhook, N. Y. │ 1782│Dutch │N. Y.│1833│ Dem. │Kinderhook, N. Y. │1862 │ 79

9│Richard M. Johnson │Louisville, Ky │ 1780│English │Ky. │1837│ Dem. │Frankfort, Ky. │1850 │ 70

10│John Tyler │Greenway, Va. │ 1790│English │Va. │1841│ Dem. │Richmond, Va. │1862 │ 72

11│George M. Dallas │Philadelphia, Pa. │ 1792│English │Pa. │1845│ Dem. │Philadelphia, Pa. │1864 │ 72

12│Millard Fillmore │Summer Hill, N. Y. │ 1800│English │N. Y.│1849│ Whig │Buffalo, N. Y. │1874 │ 74

13│William R. King │Sampson Co., N. C. │ 1786│English │Ala. │1853│ Dem. │Dallas Co., Ala. │1853 │ 67

14│John C. Breckenridge│Lexington, Ky. │ 1821│Scotch │Ky. │1857│ Dem. │Lexington, Ky. │1875 │ 54

15│Hannibal Hamlin │Paris, Me. │ 1809│English │Me. │1861│ Rep. │Bangor, Me. │1891 │ 81

16│Andrew Johnson │Raleigh, N. C. │ 1808│English │Tenn.│1865│ Rep. │Carter Co., Tenn. │1875 │ 66

17│Schuyler Colfax │New York City, N. Y.│ 1823│English │Ind. │1869│ Rep. │Mankato, Minn. │1885 │ 62

18│Henry Wilson │Farmington, N. H. │ 1812│English │Mass.│1873│ Rep. │Washington D. C. │1875 │ 63

19│William A. Wheeler │Malone, N. Y. │ 1819│English │N. Y.│1877│ Rep. │Malone, N. Y. │1887 │ 68

20│Chester A. Arthur │Fairfield, Vt. │ 1830│Scotch-Irish│N. Y.│1881│ Rep. │New York City, N. Y.│1886 │ 56

21│Thos. A. Hendricks │Muskingum Co., O. │ 1819│Scotch-Irish│Ind. │1885│ Dem. │Indianapolis, Ind. │1885 │ 66

22│Levi P. Morton │Shoreham, Vt. │ 1824│Scotch │N. Y.│1889│ Rep. │ │ │

23│Adlai E. Stevenson │Christian Co., Ky. │ 1835│Scotch-Irish│Ill. │1893│ Dem. │ │ │

24│Garret A. Hobart │Long Branch, N. J. │ 1844│English │N. J.│1897│ Rep. │Paterson, N. J. │1899 │ 55

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President Buchanan was the only Chief Magistrate of the Republic

who, having served one term in the Presidency, was not a candidate

for re-election. He announced his purpose not to be a candidate in

his inaugural address, and I doubt not that he never swerved from

that determination. At the close of his administration the political

conditions gave no promise of his re-election, however much he might

have desired it, but he was then past the patriarchal years, and he

is the one President who entered the office to serve only a term

and adhered to it. The elder Adams was defeated for re-election by

Jefferson; the younger Adams was defeated for re-election by Jackson;

Van Buren was defeated for re-election by the elder Harrison, and the

younger Harrison was defeated for re-election by Cleveland, while

Hayes, Polk and Pierce were candidates for re-election, but were

rejected by the party.

Four Vice-Presidents succeeded to the Presidency by the death of the

President, and all of them were earnest candidates for election to

another term. Tyler and Johnson sought the Democratic nomination and

failed. Fillmore failed in the struggle for the Whig nomination, and

Arthur was defeated by Blaine.

Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant,

and Cleveland were twice elected President. Jefferson, Jackson, and

Cleveland were each defeated for the Presidency, although twice

elected. Jefferson and Jackson were defeated in their first contests,

and then elected to two successive terms, and Cleveland was elected in

1884, defeated in 1888, and re-elected in 1892. Jackson and Cleveland

are the only two Presidents who were candidates in three national

elections and received an increased plurality in each successive

contest. Both were defeated in one battle when they had received the

largest popular vote. Grant was the only President who made a struggle

for a third term.

Four Presidents died in office—namely, Harrison in 1841, after having

served but little over a month; Taylor in 1850, after having served

less than a year and a half; Lincoln in 1865, only a little more than a

month after his second inauguration, and Garfield in 1881, before the

close of the first year of his administration.

Six Vice-Presidents have died in office: Clinton in 1812, after having

presided over the Senate for seven years; Gerry in 1814, after little

more than a year of service; William R. King, in 1853, who took the

oath as Vice-President on the 4th of March of that year in Cuba, and

died soon thereafter; Henry Wilson in 1875, having served but little

more than half his term; Thomas A. Hendricks in 1885, having served

less than a year, and Hobart in 1899, leaving nearly a year and a half

of his term unexpired.

No President _pro tem._ of the Senate has ever reached the Presidency.

There was only one occasion in the history of the Government when it

seemed probable that the President _pro tem._ might be called to the

chief executive office of the nation. Johnson, as Vice-President,

had succeeded Lincoln as President, and Senator Wade, of Ohio, was

president _pro tem._ of the Senate. In 1868, some ten months before

the expiration of Johnson’s term, he was impeached by the House,

and acquitted in the Senate by a single vote. The question was then

raised as to whether the President _pro tem._ of the Senate was such

an officer as was contemplated by the Constitution to fill the office

of President, and there was considerable agitation from time to time

on the subject in Congress, which finally culminated in the passage

of the Presidential Succession bill of January 18, 1886, by which

the succession to the Presidency is fully defined and eligibles are

provided quite sufficient in number to meet any possible emergency.

The following is the full text of the present law regulating the

Presidential succession:

_Be it enacted, etc._, that in case of the removal, death,

resignation, or inability of both the President and Vice-President of

the United States, the Secretary of State, or if there be none, or

in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the

Secretary of the Treasury, or if there be none, or in case of his

removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the Secretary of War,

or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation,

or inability, then the Attorney-General, or if there be none, or

in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the

Postmaster-General, or if there be none, or in case of his removal,

death, resignation, or inability, then the Secretary of the Navy, or

if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or

inability, then the Secretary of the Interior shall act as President

until the disability of the President or Vice-President is removed,

or a President shall be elected: _provided_, that whenever the powers

and duties of the office of President of the United States shall

devolve upon any of the persons named herein, if Congress be not then

in session, or if it would not meet in accordance with law within

twenty days thereafter, it shall be the duty of the person upon whom

said powers and duties shall devolve to issue a proclamation convening

Congress in extraordinary session, giving twenty days’ notice of the

time of meeting.

SECTION 2. That the preceding section shall only be held to describe

and apply to such officers as shall have been appointed by the advice

and consent of the Senate to the offices therein named, and such as

are eligible to the office of President under the Constitution, and

not under impeachment by the House of Representatives of the United

States at the time the powers and duties of the office shall devolve

upon them respectively.

SEC. 3. That sections 146, 147, 148, 149, and 150 of the Revised

Statutes are hereby repealed.

CONTESTED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

There have been only two seriously contested elections in the history

of our Presidential conflicts. They were the contest between Jefferson

and Burr in 1800–1 and the contest between Hayes and Tilden in

1876–7. The Hayes-Tilden contest brought the country to the verge of

revolution, and the very close battle between Garfield and Hancock four

years later, and the Cleveland-Blaine struggle of 1884, that turned

upon 1100 majority in a vote of nearly 6,000,000 in New York State,

taught the necessity of having some definite statute providing for the

determination of disputed electoral votes in the States by which such

disputes would be practically eliminated from the powers of Congress.

The following is the full text of the present statute, approved

February 3, 1887, providing for the determination of contested electors:

_Be it enacted, etc._, that the electors of each State shall meet and

give their votes on the second Monday in January next following their

appointment, at such place in each State as the Legislature of such

State shall direct.

SECTION 2. That if any State shall have provided, by laws enacted

prior to the day fixed for the appointment of the electors, for its

final determination of any controversy or contest concerning the

appointment of all or any of the electors of such State, by judicial

or other methods of procedure, and such determination shall have been

made at least six days before the time fixed for the meeting of the

electors, such determination made pursuant to such law so existing on

said day, and made at least six days prior to the said time of meeting

of the electors, shall be conclusive, and shall govern in the counting

of the electoral votes as provided in the Constitution, as hereinafter

regulated, so far as the ascertainment of the electors appointed by

such State is concerned.

SEC. 3. That it shall be the duty of the executive of each State,

as soon as practicable after the conclusion of the appointment of

electors in such State, by the final ascertainment under and in

pursuance of the laws of such State providing for such ascertainment,

to communicate under the seal of the State, to the Secretary of State

of the United States, a certificate of such ascertainment of the

electors appointed, setting forth the names of such electors and the

canvass or other ascertainment, under the laws of such State, of the

number of votes given or cast for each person for whose appointment

any and all votes have been given or cast; and it shall also thereupon

be the duty of the executive of each State to deliver to the electors

of such State, on or before the day on which they are required, by the

preceding section, to meet, the same certificate, in triplicate, under

the seal of the State; and such certificate shall be enclosed and

transmitted by the electors at the same time and in the same manner as

is provided by law for transmitting by such electors to the seat of

government the lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all

persons voted for as Vice-President: and Section 136 of the Revised

Statutes is hereby repealed; and if there shall have been any final

determination in the State of a controversy or contest, as provided

for in Section 2 of this act, it shall be the duty of the executive

of such State, as soon as practicable after such determination, to

communicate, under the seal of the State, to the Secretary of State of

the United States, a certificate of such determination, in form and

manner as the same shall have been made; and the Secretary of State

of the United States, as soon as practicable after the receipt at the

State Department of each of the certificates hereinbefore directed

to be transmitted to the Secretary of State, shall publish, in such

public newspaper as he shall designate, such certificates in full;

and at the first meeting of Congress, thereafter, he shall transmit

to the two Houses of Congress copies in full of each and every such

certificate so received theretofore at the State Department.

SEC. 4. That Congress shall be in session on the second Wednesday

in February succeeding every meeting of the electors. The Senate

and House of Representatives shall meet in the hall of the House

of Representatives at the hour of one o’clock in the afternoon, on

that day, and the President of the Senate shall be their presiding

officer. Two tellers shall be previously appointed on the part of the

Senate, and two on the part of the House of Representatives, to whom

shall be handed, as they are opened by the President of the Senate,

all the certificates and papers purporting to be the certificates of

the electoral vote, which certificates and papers shall be opened,

presented, and acted upon in the alphabetical order of the States,

beginning with the letter A; and said tellers, having then read the

same in the presence and hearing of the two Houses, shall make a

list of the votes, as they shall appear from the said certificates,

and, the votes having been ascertained and counted in the manner and

according to the rules in this act provided, the result of the same

shall be delivered to the President of the Senate, who shall thereupon

announce the state of the vote, which announcement shall be deemed a

sufficient declaration of the persons, if any, elected President and

Vice-President of the United States, and, together with a list of

the votes, be entered on the journals of the two Houses. Upon such

reading of any such certificate or paper, the President of the Senate

shall call for objections, if any. Every objection shall be made in

writing, and shall state clearly and concisely, and without argument,

the ground thereof, and shall be signed by at least one senator and

one member of the House of Representatives before the same shall be

received. When all objections so made to any vote or paper from a

State shall have been received and read, the Senate shall thereupon

withdraw, and such objections shall be submitted to the Senate for its

decision; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, in

like manner, submit such objections to the House of Representatives

for its decision; and no electoral vote or votes from any State which

shall have been regularly given by electors, whose appointment has

been lawfully certified to according to Section 3 of this act, from

which but one return has been received, shall be rejected; but the

two Houses concurrently may reject the vote or votes when they agree

that such vote or votes have not been so regularly given by electors

whose appointment has been so certified. If more than one return or

paper purporting to be a return from a State shall have been received

by the President of the Senate, those votes, and those only, shall

be counted which shall have been regularly given by the electors who

are shown by the determination mentioned in Section 2 of this act to

have been appointed, if the determination in said section provided

for shall have been made, or by such successors, or substitutes, in

case of a vacancy in the board of electors so ascertained, as have

been appointed to fill such vacancy in the mode provided by the laws

of the State; but in case there shall arise a question which of two

or more of such State authorities determining what electors have

been appointed, as mentioned in Section 2 of this act, is the lawful

tribunal of such State, the votes regularly given of those electors,

and those only, of such State shall be counted whose title as electors

the two Houses, acting separately, shall concurrently decide is

supported by the decision of such State so authorized by its laws;

and in such case of more than one return or paper purporting to be a

return from a State, if there shall have been no such determination of

the question in the State aforesaid, then those votes, and those only,

shall be counted which the two Houses shall concurrently decide were

cast by lawful electors appointed in accordance with the laws of the

State, unless the two Houses, acting separately, shall concurrently

decide such votes not to be the lawful votes of the legally appointed

electors of such State. But if the two Houses shall disagree in

respect of the counting of such votes, then and in that case the votes

of the electors whose appointment shall have been certified by the

executive of the State, under the seal thereof, shall be counted. When

the two Houses have voted, they shall immediately again meet, and the

presiding officer shall then announce the decision of the questions

submitted. No votes or papers from any other State shall be acted upon

until the objections previously made to the votes or papers from any

State shall have been finally disposed of.

SEC. 5. That while the two Houses shall be in meeting as provided in

this act, the President of the Senate shall have power to preserve

order; and no debate shall be allowed and no question shall be put by

the presiding officer, except to either House on a motion to withdraw.

SEC. 6. That when the two Houses separate to decide upon an objection

that may have been made to the counting of any electoral vote or

votes from any State, or other question arising in the matter, each

Senator and Representative may speak to such objection or question

five minutes, and not more than once; but after such debate shall

have lasted two hours, it shall be the duty of the presiding officer

of each House to put the main question without further debate.

SEC. 7. Such joint meeting shall not be dissolved until the count of

electoral votes shall be completed and the result declared; and no

recess shall be taken unless a question shall have arisen in regard to

counting any such votes, or otherwise under this act, in which case it

shall be competent for either House, acting separately, in the manner

hereinbefore provided, to direct a recess of such House not beyond

the next calendar day, Sunday excepted, at the hour of ten o’clock

in the forenoon. But if the counting of the electoral votes and the

declaration of the result shall not have been completed before the

fifth calendar day next after such first meeting of the two Houses, no

further or other recess shall be taken by either House.

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