MM#363--Decisive Elections: Shaping the Course of American Democracy -- Let's Make it Too Big To Rig in 2024

0:07 Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now here's your host, david Kaiser. Hello, I am David and welcome back to another Mojo Minute. We got a great show today for you. We're going to check out six US presidential elections in the US history's past and how the American people responded after each of those six elections to ensure that the American Republic would continue on.

0:52 And those elections are 1800 and 1804 as a series, 1824 and 1828 as a series no-transcript. Now there is one mystery series that we are not going to unveil until the very end of the podcast, so be sure to stay tuned to that. But for now, let's kick it off with the US presidential election of 1800.

1:40 And the election of 1800 is often referred to as the Revolution of 1800. It was significant and a contentious event in American history. It marked a dramatic shift in political power from the Federalist Party to the Democrat-Republican Party, and the election featured incumbent President John Adams, the Federalist, against Vice President Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic Republican. The campaign was intensely fierce, with each side believing that the other's victory would be disastrous for the nation. Sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? Many pundits and political theorists will remind, and historians, for that matter, will remind all of us, if you think, this current election, and no matter what year we are what presidential election we are in.

2:32 They will always refer back to the election of 1800, when the mudslinging was at its worst. Now the results was that Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr his vice presidential election. Both Democratic Republicans each received 73 electoral votes, leading to a tie, and John Adams received 65 votes and Charles C Pickney received 64 votes 64 votes. The resolution was the tie between Jefferson and Burr sent the decision so early in our country's history to the House of Representatives. After a prolonged deadlock and 36 ballots, jefferson was elected president with the influence of Alexander Hamilton, who preferred Jefferson over Burr.

3:22 This election was pivotal as it resulted for the first peaceful transfer of power between opposing political parties in US history. It also led to the adoption of the 12th Amendment in 1804, which required separate electoral votes for president and vice president in future ties. And so now let us pivot to the presidential election of 1804. And the reason we're doing this is there's a theme that we are throwing out there today. For every close election, no matter when it happened in our US presidential history, for every close election, presidential election, the following subsequent election, the American people make a decisive decision.

4:12 It's as if the virtue of prudence happens in one election and it isn't ultimately resolved until the next election. So, moving on to the 1804 presidential election, this was an election that oversaw Thomas Jefferson running for re-election against the Federalist candidate, charles Pickney. The amendments and changes by this time with the 12th Amendment having been ratified, which required electors to cast separate votes for president and vice president was pivotal. Now the outcome was decisive. Like we just shared, jefferson won, securing 162 electoral votes to Pickney's meager 14.

4:56 This overwhelming victory demonstrated broad support for Jefferson's policies and leadership during his first term. Factors that influenced the election Jefferson's successful negotiation of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and his moderate policy agenda, helping bridge partisan divides and contributed to his landslide victory. Now, these two elections were crucial in shaping our early American political dynamics and establishing precedence for future electoral processes, all very important. Moving on to the presidential election of 1824 and 1828.

5:39 The US presidential election of 1824 was a pivotal moment in American political history, marking the end of the quote era of good feelings and the beginning of a more contentious political era. The election featured four main candidates, all from the Democratic Republican Party Andrew Jackson, john Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, second president of the United States, henry Clay and William Crawford. Now, the 1824 election had Andrew Jackson winning a plurality of both the popular vote and the electoral vote, but did not secure a majority in the Electoral College, and that's how we elect our presidents.

6:27 Consequently, the decision went to the House of Representatives, as stipulated by the 12th Amendment we just talked about. The House decision. On February 9th of 1825, the House elected John Quincy Adams as president. Quincy Adams as president. This decision was influenced by the great senator from Kentucky who was then Speaker of the House, henry Clay, who supported Adams as well. After Adams won, he appointed Clay as Secretary of State, which then led to allegations of a quote corrupt bargain by Andrew Jackson's supporters.

7:10 Now the significance is, the election highlighted flaws in the electoral process and led to increased political maneuvering. It also contributed to the splintering of the Democratic and Republican Party into factions that would eventually form new political parties. So, under that corrupt bargain election that happened in 1824, how did the American people respond in 1828? And I should there's a caveat here I should say that before 1820, I believe it was either the election of 1824 or 1828, where, when I speak of the American people, we're really talking about white male property owners.

8:00 That's the way the initial vote was allowed, coming out of the Constitution era, and I believe it's either 1824, 1828, as you begin to have the presidential elections and the majority of those electors chosen by popular vote rather than state legislatures, and that was part of a broader trend in the early 19th century. So when I say the American people, I'm really talking about white male property owners until this election in 1824, either 1824, 1828, I'll check myself when there's that great expansion.

8:42 And then obviously that continues on, as we know, um, all the way through to, uh, the 14th amendment in 1868, when you have um free, uh, we're all black persons, for that matter. Um, and then the 15th amendment, I'm sorry. The 14th amendment guaranteed citizenship and then the 15th amendment prohibited the not denying of the right to vote on race, color or previous condition of servitude. So it isn't until 1870 that we actually have free, or all black persons allowed, all white, or are all black males allowed to vote.

9:25 And then women's suffrage happens in 1920 and Indian suffrage 1924. And then the rollback with the 24th amendment for poll taxes and federal elections in 1964 with the civil rights act. So when I say the American people, that's the caveat I'm talking about, just to be clear. So back to the 1828 election. And how did the American people we just talked about that special caveat, but how did the American people in general respond to the corrupt bargain election of 1824? Respond to the corrupt bargain election of 1824?

10:06 Well, andrew Jackson had formed the Democratic Party, while John Quincy Adams represented the National Republican Party. And Andrew Jackson won, again decisively, with 178 electoral votes to Adams' 83. And he also secured a majority of the popular vote. This victory marked a significant shift in American politics towards Jacksonian democracy, which emphasized populism in a much stronger, stronger executive branch. And the significance was the election was noted for its intense personal attacks and extreme mudslinging.

10:47 So in addition to the 1800 election, then the historians will always throw in our face that there was just as much mudslinging in the 1828 election. And it also solidified for all of US politics, which continues up to this day, our two-party system. And now let's move on to the election of 1860 and 1864. Now, if you're any history, or if you're any student of US history, you will know that the presidential election of 1860 was a very critical event, led directly to the secession of southern states in the onset of the Civil War.

11:35 The election featured four main candidates which all reflected the deep sectional divisions over the issue of slavery. The candidates were Abraham Lincoln of the Republican Party, john C Breckinridge of the Southern Democrat Party, stephen A Douglas of the Northern Democrat Party and John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln won the election in 1860 to become our 16th president of the United States and, despite securing less than 40% of the popular vote, he carried all the northern states except New Jersey, which he split with Stephen A Douglas. The significance of the election was Lincoln's victory, achieved without carrying a single Southern state, underscored the sectional tensions between North and South.

12:27 His election prompted seven Southern states to secede from the Union before his inauguration, setting the stage for the US Civil War. And again keeping with our theme, what happened in the following election, the election of 1864? Well, again, abraham Lincoln was running for re-election under the National Union Party, a coalition of war Democrats and Republicans with Andrew Johnson as his running mate. His main opponent was George B McClellan, a Democrat and a former ironically Union general.

13:08 Now, the outcome was Lincoln was reelected with a decisive victory. In keeping with our theme for this podcast, he secured 212 electoral votes to McClellan's 21. The election was notable for allowing soldiers to vote in the field of battle and contributed significantly to Lincoln's victory. Now, lincoln's re-election was seen as a mandate to continue prosecuting the war and to preserve the Union and end slavery. However, lincoln's second term was cut short by an assassin's bullet on April 18th or April of 1865.

13:49 Now, these two elections were pivotal in shaping US political history landscape, especially during this profound period of national crisis. This profound period of national crisis Moving on to our next series of close elections followed by decisive elections the election of 1960 and 1964. Now, the election of 1960,. The US presidential election was a closely contested race between Democrat candidate John F Kennedy and Republican candidate Richard Nixon.

14:30 The outcome was very close. John F Kennedy won the election with 303 electoral votes to Nixon's 219, despite winning the popular vote by a narrow margin of just 0.17%. Kennedy's victory was attributed to his strong performance in the first ever televised presidential debate and his appeal to younger voters. Now, the election marked the first time that television played a major role in the electoral process, and it certainly did influence public perception of the candidates. Kennedy's win also represented a generational shift in American politics, as he became the youngest elected president, at the short age of 43.

15:18 So we have a very close election in 1960, and how did the American people? So we have a very close election in 1960. And how did the American people? By this time, women are allowed to vote and in the 1964 presidential election, african-americans are well, african-americans have always been allowed to vote. But there are significant restrictions lifted, especially in the South, with poll taxes, and there is general enforcement of all those in the South after 100 years of Jim Crow laws. So how did the American people react in the 1964 election? Well, lbj won.

16:01 Lbj is one of the candidates running against Republican Senator Barry Goldwater. Lbj won a landslide victory, securing 486 electoral votes to Goldwater's 52. Johnson won over 61% of the popular vote, which remains one of the highest percentages in US history, which remains one of the highest percentages in US history. Now many believe this election was more of a sympathy vote because of the assassination of John F Kennedy just some 11 short months, or some 12 short months before, just a short year before Now. Johnson's victory was largely due to his continuation of Kennedy's policies and his support for civil rights legislation.

16:49 That election highlighted the growing divide within the Republican Party between the moderate and conservative factions, with Goldwater representing the conservatives. The election also marked a significant shift in political alignments, particularly in the South, where many states began transitioning from Democrat to Republican support due to civil rights issues. Now let's move on to the election of 2000 and 2004. 2000 and 2004. Now, the US presidential election of 2000 was one of the most contentious and controversial elections in American history.

17:33 Featured George W Bush as the Republican candidate and Democrat candidate, al Gore. The outcome was extremely close. It hinged in the state of Florida. Initial results showed Bush leading in Florida by a very narrow margin, triggering an automatic recount. The controversy centered on voting irregularities in the use of punch card ballots and which led to disputes over quote hanging chads. Hopefully that's not bringing back any nightmares for those of us that live through it. And ultimately it came to the Supreme Court decision when they intervened in Bush v Gore, halting the Florida recount, which effectively awarded the state's electoral votes to Bush and as a result, bush won the presidency with 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266, despite losing the popular vote.

18:32 Now the significance highlighted issues with voting technology and hanging chads and procedures and voters intent, all leading to reforms with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which we thought put everything to rest, but as we will see in later elections, especially in our last election, 2020,. We have all kinds of problems with voting technology these days, with many people, including me, wanting to go back to paper ballots and vote on the day, voting on day instead of voting for the month preceding the election.

19:16 That's a podcast for another day and another time. But now let's move on to the 2004 election and see the theme that we have been keeping with this whole podcast. Now. The subsequent election in 2004 saw incumbent President George W Bush running for reelection against the Democratic challenger John Kerry. Challenger John Kerry Now. George W Bush won a decisive re-election with 286 electoral votes to Kerry's 251, and Bush also secured a majority of the popular vote. He received 62 million votes compared to Kerry's 59 million.

19:59 Now, the significance was the election was dominated by issues related to national security, particularly Bush's handling of the war on terror and the Iraq war. Now, there were some controversies over voting procedures, particularly in my home state of Ohio, but the election was far, far less contentious than in 2000. And that's our theme throughout. This whole podcast is normally the overwhelming majority of the time the American people, under the virtue of prudence over two subsequent presidential elections in our American republic will get things right and there will be a decisive shift one way or the other.

20:43 I'm not saying it was all for Democrats or it was all for Republicans. I'm saying there is a significant majority deciding one way or the other. We can argue on the details, but that second election is the major thesis of this podcast. That second election is a decisive turn and pivot in one direction. And we in the American Republic we observe the role of law and we also observe majority role with minority right and that is what we want to hope for in our upcoming election.

21:24 Now, these elections of 2000 and 2004,. They shaped our early 21st century American politics. They influenced both domestic policy and international relations during a time of increased security concerns and political polarizations. And if you know your American history, your US history, you will say Mr David, not so fast, sir. And you will know that I left out a very close election, and that close election is the election of 1876. And it's perhaps the greatest fraud of the century.

22:07 Well, the 19th century that is. And that is where we're going to pick up our book of the day, the Fraud of the Century by Roy Morris Jr. Let's go to the book, morris Jr. Let's go to the book. Ironically, in a year that saw the US United States celebrating the centennial of its birth, the American political system nearly broke apart under the powerful oppositional pull of party politics, personal ambitions and lingering sectional animosities. The result was a singularly sordid presidential election, perhaps the most bitterly contested in the nation's history, and one whose eventual winners was decided not in the nation's multi-tuneless polling booths but in a single meeting room inside the Capitol, and not by the American people en masse, but by a 15-man electoral commission that was every bit as partisan and petty as the shadiest ward healer in New York City or the most unreconstructed rebel in South Carolina.

23:17 It was an election that did little credit to anyone, except perhaps its ultimate loser. And the US presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed and controversial elections in our American history. It featured Republican Rutherford B Hayes and Democrat Sam J Tilden. The outcome Samuel J Tilden won the popular vote. He secured 4,288,546 votes to Hayes' 4,034,311 votes.

23:57 However, the electoral vote was contested, bitterly contested. Tilden had 184 votes, just one short of the majority needed to win, while Hayes had 165, with 20 votes unresolved in four crucial, crucial states Florida, louisiana, south Carolina and Oregon. Let's go back to the book. Florida, louisiana, south Carolina and Oregon. Let's go back to the book Tilden and Hayes were not the only losers in 1876. By formally acquiescing to what modern historian Paul Johnson had aptly termed A legalized fraud, leaders of both parties in Congress heedlessly fostered an atmosphere of mutual suspicion, antagonism and hatred that lingered over the political landscape for the better part of the next century.

24:54 The election in its aftermath gave rise in the South to the infamous Jim Crow laws that officially sanctioned the social and political disenfranchisement of millions of Southern blacks. The Republican Party there was overthrown and the unprecedented experiment in social engineering known as Reconstruction came to an abrupt, if largely predetermined, end. It would be another 90 long years before Southern blacks stepped free from the shackles of legalized segregation and a radically different Republican Party reemerged as a viable political force in the South.

25:39 Different Republican Party reemerged as a viable political force in the South. At the same time, more than 4 million Democratic voters in the North as well as the South saw their ballots effectively rendered meaningless and the shining cause of political reform, which Tilden Long had championed and for which the American people openly hungered, guttered out in the shadows of a cynical political compromise that few people wanted and fewer still respected. The election itself, in many ways, was the last battle of the Civil War, was the last battle of the Civil War?

26:19 Indeed, many historians believe it was the last battle of the Civil War, taking place some 11 years after the actual end of the Civil War. And again, these quotes come to us from a wonderful book capturing all of this the Fraud of the Century, by Roy Morris Jr the Stolen Election of 1876. Now, the ultimate end in resolution of the election of 1876, was to resolve the impasse. Congress established a bipartisan electoral commission consisting of 15 members.

27:01 The commission awarded all 20 disputed electoral votes to Hayes after intense negotiations and a lot of political maneuvering, resulting in his victory with 185 electoral votes to Tilden's 184. All of those 20 votes in those four unresolved states of Florida, louisiana, south Carolina and Oregon all went to Hayes, and it was the Compromise of 1877, as it was known. The resolution effectively ended Reconstruction as part of a deal known as such, the Compromise of 1877. In exchange for conceding the presidency to Hayes, republicans agreed can't believe they did this, but they agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South, ending all effective efforts to protect the rights of African Americans, which was a horrible, horrible decision.

28:06 Now you might be asking okay, keeping with your theme, mr David, it's all well and good what we know from the 1876 fraud election, but what happened in the 1880 election? Did the American people get it right? Well, the 1880 election saw James A Garfield running as the Republican candidate against Democrat Winfield S Hancock, and Garfield won the presidency with 214 electoral votes compared to Hancock's 155. And the popular vote was extremely close, with Garfield receiving just over 4.4 million votes and Hancock slightly fewer than that number.

28:58 Hancock slightly fewer than that number, but in fact the election was so extremely close in the popular vote that there was a difference of only about 7,000 to 10,000 votes out of some nearly 9 million cast. It was such a narrow margin it could only but invite scrutiny and accusations of irregularities. There was mentions of voter fraud and suppression, some suggesting to the level of concern about the electoral count and the electoral integrity. There were increased calls on how ballot fraud and various forms of voter manipulation and there began such practices such as colonizers, floaters and repeaters, which were used to illegally influence election outcomes, primarily in the South, primarily in the South.

29:57 Now, in the 1880 election specifically, there was also allegations, sorrowfully, of bribery and corruption. The National Republican Committee Treasurer, ww Dudley, was accused of instructing local leaders to divide the floaters into blocks of five and put a trusted man with necessary funds in charge. A very incriminating statement. Now, the election took place during a period when personal registration laws and stricter voter identification requirements were being implemented in some states, partly in response to concerns about fraud of the previous election. But in the end, the 1880 election does not seem to be singled out as an especially fraudulent or contested election compared with the 1876 election.

30:51 The results, for the most part, were generally accepted, unlike some of those other close elections that ended in disputes or decided by Congress, but there were still large, significant concerns about electoral integrity and manipulation tactics common to that time period. So our nugget of wisdom of all of this today is after the 2020 election, there has to be a decisive margin in 2024. It has to be too big to rig, and that is what should happen.

31:34 The election shenanigans of 2020 rank up there, in par with the election of 1876. And this time the American people have to make it too big to rig. So in today's Mojo Minute, let us remember that, despite close elections, the American people have a wonderful, wonderful ability to right a wrong in US presidential elections. They have a wonderful correcting ability almost uncanny in our American republic to right the wrong, or perceived wrong, from the last election.

32:14 They did so in 1800 to 1804. They did so in dramatic fashion in 1824 to 1828. They did so again in dramatic and even decisive fashion in 1860 to 1864. So again in the elections of 1960 and 2000 and their follow-on elections 2000 and their follow-on elections, it's like an American resilience is embedded into the fabric of the American people, unless, of course, history takes another unexpected turn, like it did in 1876, and especially with its follow-on election in 1880, with its follow-on election in 1880, where things were just too murky, when it's not too big to rig, essentially, and the country was still reeling in a tempest of accusations.

33:12 And we don't need that anymore. Let us win big in this 2024 election, so big that it's decisive and definitive. We want it to be a free, fair and an election with pure integrity. But it has to be too big to rig. And then with that victory we can begin to build back a flourishing country and flourishing lives for the American people and end this cultural revolution we have all been living through. So let's make it too big to rig and, as always, let's keep fighting the good fight.

34:01 Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this Theory to Action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.