Amendments and Political Parties
Those that believe we should live by the words in the Constitution
approved back in 1789 tend to forget that that document provided for change
through Amendments. Those who wrote the
Constitution knew there would be need for changes in the future. The requirements were rigorous, but through
the years several Amendments have passed which have had a significant effect on
elections. Here is a brief summary of
Amendments to the Constitution which have affected election results.
12th Amendment (1804) – Clarified how Electoral College
Selected the President and Vice President. (a majority of electoral votes needed
for each office; otherwise decision to be resolved in House for the Presidency
… one vote per state … and in the Senate for Vice President). Before that, the Vice-President was the one
who came in second after the Presidential winner, resulting in Presidents and
Vice-Presidents who disagreed with each other. Example: President John Adams barely spoke to Thomas Jefferson, his Vice-President.
15th Amendment (1870) – Gave former slaves right to vote.
17th Amendment (1913) – Senators popularly elected rather
than selected by State legislatures.
19th Amendment (1920) – Gave women the right to vote.
26th Amendment (1971) – Lowered voting age to 18.
Although George Washington did not want to see political parties
develop in the United States, preventing them forever was impossible. In the early years of the country, the
Electoral College voted on candidates as individuals, who were not identified
as members of a political party, because at that time, there were no official
parties. But here's how they eventually came to be.
Washington and Adams believed in a strong central government and were
identified as “Federalists,” which was a philosophy rather than a party. Their successors (Jefferson, Madison and
Monroe) considered themselves “Democratic Republicans” and preferred a weaker
central government and greater states’ rights.
John Quincy Adams, a “Federalist,” became President in 1824 in an
election decided in the House when none of the candidates received a majority of the Electoral College as required by the 12th Amendment, after
significant bargaining with the “Democratic Republican" candidates, to the
disadvantage of the popular choice, Andrew Jackson. By this time, the Electoral
College was elected popularly in most States whereas in earlier days, it was
appointed by State legislatures. This
made quite a difference, particularly to a candidate like Jackson who appealed to the working men and farmers with mud on their boots..
Andrew Jackson
A bitter Andrew Jackson and his supporters then broke off from the
“Democratic Republicans” and began calling themselves simply “Democrats,” a proudly perjorative term at the time, starting the
party we still know today by that name. They
came back to win the Presidency for three straight elections, using tough
campaign techniques recognizable today, far less scrupulous and polite than
those of their less organized opponents who still followed the gentlemanly
rules of Jefferson, Madison and Monroe.
The remaining “Democratic Republicans” called themselves “National
Republicans” and banded together with along with other opponents of Andrew Jackson. These groups had many different agendas
(pro-slavery, anti-slavery, states’ rights, abolitionists, congressional
supremacy, high tariffs, no tariffs, a central bank, no central bank, internal
improvements), hatred of “King” Andrew Jackson being the glue that held them
together. They called themselves Whigs,
after a party in England who fought the King's having political power. Behind all of this was the two-ton gorilla in
the room that no one wanted to deal with: what would be the rules for the expansion of slavery as the country grew?
Although never elected President, Henry Clay was the heart of the Whig Party
The Whigs were the first party to hold a convention, as we know it
today. The only Presidents they elected,
William Henry Harrison (1840) and Zachary Taylor (1848) died in office. The Whigs broke up, their states’ right
pro-slavery wing eventually joining with the Democrats who were swinging away
from support of a Jackson-style strong executive branch to a states’ rights
orientation.
What was left of the Whigs formed the basis for the present Republican
Party which first ran a Presidential candidate in 1856. They became the party of a strong executive
branch and a strong central government, no longer willing to
compromise about slavery and states’ rights under
Lincoln, Grant and their successors while the Democrats became states’ rights advocates after the Civil War. This orientation existed until it was reversed during
the Democratic administration of Woodrow Wilson (1912)
when the Democrats became the party of a strong central government, which is where its stands today, with the Republicans standing more for reserving more power to the states and less to the Federal government. This 20th Century shift in roles of our two major parties resulted in states' rights supporters, particularly in the South, abandoning their Democratic affiliations and becoming Republicans.
compromise about slavery and states’ rights under
Lincoln, Grant and their successors while the Democrats became states’ rights advocates after the Civil War. This orientation existed until it was reversed during
the Democratic administration of Woodrow Wilson (1912)
when the Democrats became the party of a strong central government, which is where its stands today, with the Republicans standing more for reserving more power to the states and less to the Federal government. This 20th Century shift in roles of our two major parties resulted in states' rights supporters, particularly in the South, abandoning their Democratic affiliations and becoming Republicans.
Please forgive the broad and possibly erroneous generalizations which
this highly oversimplified history lesson includes, but it is the backdrop for
the very violent Presidential campaign upon which we are embarking, comparable
to what happened in 1824, 1828 and in 1840 when an observer commented that the
best way to lose an election was to concentrate on issues.
JL
The Education of Donald Trump
For those who weren't aware of it, Mr. Trump first attended a private school in
Queens, NY, but completed his secondary education at New York Military Academy.
Trump at N.Y.M.A., the only time he wore a uniform
His higher education continued at Fordham University in the Bronx for two years after which he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania where his older brother had matriculated. He majored in business there and while he certainly benefited from the courses provided by the University’s Wharton School of Business to the University’s undergraduate business majors, he did not participate in the Wharton’s School’s prestigious graduate programs. After graduation, he went into his family’s business. Information as to where he stood in his class was not available to researchers, although Mr. Trump has claimed he graduated first in his class.
Trump at N.Y.M.A., the only time he wore a uniform His higher education continued at Fordham University in the Bronx for two years after which he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania where his older brother had matriculated. He majored in business there and while he certainly benefited from the courses provided by the University’s Wharton School of Business to the University’s undergraduate business majors, he did not participate in the Wharton’s School’s prestigious graduate programs. After graduation, he went into his family’s business. Information as to where he stood in his class was not available to researchers, although Mr. Trump has claimed he graduated first in his class.
JL
I Am Waiting for the Day
Those of you who listen to National Public Radio might appreciate
this. Those who don’t, just skip
it.
Frequently, at the conclusion of an interview on an NPR program when the
host wraps it up by thanking the guest for being there for the interview, the
interviewee usually responds with the words, “Thank you for having me.” It must be on a card they give to them. They always say that.
I always chuckle when I hear that because I am waiting for the day when a prostitute is
interviewed on an NPR program and responds to the interviewer in that manner.
JL
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