Election Of 1812 Essay, Research Paper

1812 The election of 1812 consisted of a battle between James Madison, and De Witt

Clinton. Madison had represented both Democratic and Republican beliefs, while Clinton

was a Federalist. James Madison was born in Port Conway, Va., on March 16, 1751. A

Princeton graduate, he joined the struggle for independence on his return to Virginia in

1771. He had been an active politician in the 1770’s and 1780’s. He was greatly know for

championing the Jefferson reform program, and in the Continental Congress. Madison, in

collaboration, had participated greatly in the, Federalist, a paper who’s main purpose was

to ratify the constitution. Madison first became president in 1809, when he bested Charles

C. Pickney. He had led the U.S. in a very unpopular war, in which the U.S. hadn’t been

prepared for…the War of 1812. De Witt Clinton was a Federalist, who’s main purpose of

the election was to get the U.S. out of a war in which he felt was very unnecessary.

DeWitt held every major elective office in New York between 1797 and

1828–assemblyman, senator, mayor of New York City, lieutenant governor, and

governor. He was a philanthropist and patron of the arts and science and, as canal

commissioner, championed construction of the Erie and Champlain canals The method in

which these candidates received nomination was by the Electoral College, or by King

Caucus. The idea of political conventions had not been present at this time. There were

no third-party candidates in this election. The major issue of this election was the War of

1812. The War of 1812, or “Mr. Madison’s War”, had been very unpopular among

different sections of America. Mainly the ship owners in New England. The war was

supposed to protect. This war was supposed to help their shipping, but instead, it had kept

them from trading and making money. The winner of the election of 1812 was James

Madison. Madison collected 128 electoral votes, while Clinton received 89, and the

number of “No Votes Cast” was 1. The Vice-presidential candidate, who won the election

was Elbridge Gerry, who received 131 electoral votes, while Jared Ingersoll received 86.

There was no record of the number of popular votes for this election. My opinion of why

Madison had won the election is because he had led the country into the War of 1812, and

therefore, he should be allowed to fight it. He was also much more popular than De Witt

Clinton. Madison’s part in ratifying the Constitution, and his other early deeds, were also

influential on the voters minds. He also did pretty well during his first term. 1844 The

candidates for the election of 1844 were James K. Polk, and Henry Clay. Two very

respectable men, who had great plans for the U.S. Polk represented the Democratic party,

while Clay represented the Whigs. James Knox Polk was born in Mecklenburg County,

N.C., on November 2, 1795. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, from

which he then moved to Tennessee, where he became prominent in state politics. He was

elected to the house of representatives in 1825. He was elected Speaker of the House in

1835. Four years later, he was elected governor of Tennessee, but was beaten in tries for

re-election in 1841, and 1843. Martin Van Buren, the president prior to the 1844 election,

counted on Polk as his running mate; but when Van Buren’s stand on Texas alienated

Southern support, the convention swung to Polk on the Ninth ballot. Henry Clay, a key

figure in U.S. politics during the first half of the 19th century, was a master of the art of

political compromise. Born in Hanover County, Va., on April 12, 1777, he studied law in

Richmond and moved to the frontier state of Kentucky in 1797. Clay became more and

more important in Kentucky politics, becoming speaker of the state assembly in 1807,

and winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1811. Clay made his first

try for the presidency in 1824. Four men ran, including Andrew Jackson, were on the

ballot. When no candidate won a majority, Clay threw his support to John Quincy Adams.

Adams won and promptly named Clay his secretary of state. The party members won

their candidacy by primary. The major upset of this time happened during the Democratic

convention. Everyone expected Van Buren to be named the Democratic candidate, but

because of Van Buren’s stand on Texas, the nomination went to Polk. This election had

no third-party candidates. The major issue of this election was the issue of Texas. Polk

and the Democrats, wanted Texas in the Union. Clay also wanted Texas, but he was

afraid that the acquisition of Texas would lead to war with Mexico. Clay never made it

clear just where the Whig party stood. The Oregon territory had also been a big part of

this election. Oregon was the name given to all the land between Alaska and California,

west of the Rocky Mountains. Both Great Britain and the U.S. claimed it. Polk said that

the Oregon territory would be America’s, even if it led to war. The winner of the election

was James K. Polk. He pulled in 170 electoral votes, while Henry Clay received 105.

There is no record of the number of popular votes for this election. My opinion of why

Polk won this election is because of his stand on land. He believed greatly in “Manifest

Destiny”, and this was very popular at the time. Clay, and the Whig party never made it

clear as to where they stood on Texas. Perhaps if the voters had known for sure on which

side of the line they stood, this election might have had a different outcome. 1912 The

election of 1912 was a three-man race between Theodore Roosevelt, who was a

Progressive, William H. Taft, a Republican, and Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat. Each one

had their own ideas on how to change America, but only one would get a chance to do so.

Born in NYC on October in 1858, Theodore Roosevelt was a Harvard graduate. His

interests included ranching, politics, and writing. Roosevelt was a Republican member of

the New York assembly from 1882-1884. He was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of

NYC in 1886, but became police commissioner of NYC in 1895. Roosevelt assumed the

job of president in 1901, after the assassination of McKinley. Theodore Roosevelt

embarked mainly on conserving natural resources. He was very anit-big-buisness. After

his term was up, he was defeated in presidential primary as a Republican, so he chose to

start his own party, known as the “Progressives”. Teddy pulled most of the votes in

election of 1912, but the split between him and Taft caused Wilson to become president.

Born in Cincinnati on September 15, 1857, William Taft was a Yale graduate, who went

on to serve for the Ohio supreme court from 1890-92. He became the Secretary of war

under President Roosevelt. Taft won the republican nomination over Roosevelt during

their political convention, causing Roosevelt to form Progressive party. Lost election,

thus causing Wilson to become president. Taft had been chosen by Roosevelt essentially

to carry on Roosevelt’s progressive policies. In a certain sense he did: he instituted and

completed more antitrust cases than his “trust-busting” predecessor; he supported the

proposed income-tax amendment to the U.S. Constitution; he helped enact a system of

postal savings and a measure, the Mann-Elkins Bill, to regulate the railroads more

effectively; and he backed several social reforms, including an employer’s liability law for

work done on government jobs and a mandatory 8-hour day in federal employment.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Va., on Dec. 28, 1856. He was

profoundly influenced by a devoutly religious household headed by his father, Joseph

Ruggles Wilson, a Presbyterian minister, and his mother, Janet Woodrow Wilson, the

daughter of a minister. Wilson studied at the University of Virginia Law School, briefly

practiced law in Atlanta, and in 1883 entered The Johns Hopkins University for graduate

study in political science. His book, Congressional Government, was published a year

before he received his doctoral degree. Success in New Jersey made him a contender for

the Democratic presidential nomination. Although Wilson entered the 1912 Democratic

National Convention a poor second to Speaker of the House Champ Clark, his strength

increased as Clark’s faded, and he won the nomination after 46 ballots. Offering a

program of reform that he called the New Freedom, Wilson ran against a divided

Republican party. In November, with only 42 percent of the popular vote, he won 435

electoral votes to 88 for Progressive candidate Theodore Roosevelt and 8 for the

Republican candidate, President William Howard Taft. The candidates for this election,

excluding Roosevelt, were all elected in a convention. Because Roosevelt lost his

convention, he formed his own party, allowing him a place on the ballot. The third party

candidate for this election was Theodore Roosevelt. His party, the Progressives main

issue were, they believed that abuses of power by government and business could be

ended (i.e., bribery and corruption), business regulations, importance of technology. The

main issues in this election were Big Business abusing powers by monopolizing others.

“Trust Busting” was the major idea of this period. Many felt that government should get

involved to stop power abusing. The idea of regulations, such as the on the meat packing

industry, were very much supported, after being exposed by the muckrakers of the time.

The winner of this election was Woodrow Wilson. Wilson received a total popular vote

count of 6,286,214, and a total electoral vote count of 435. Roosevelt’s popular vote total

was 4,126,020, with an electoral vote count of 88. Finally, Taft’s popular vote

accumulations were 3,483,922, and 8 electoral votes. The main reason Woodrow Wilson

won the election in my opinion, was because Roosevelt took many votes away from Taft.

As is in many third-party elections, the number of votes significantly changes, thus

causing some major upsets. Wilson won because congress voted him in, not because he

was elected. If Roosevelt hadn’t formed his own party, Taft would have had a better

chance of becoming President of the United States. 1936 The candidates in the election of

1936 were, Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, Alfred M. Landon, a Republican, and

Norman Thomas, a Socialist. Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, at Hyde Park,

N.Y., to James Roosevelt. He was an average student at Harvard University, edited the

Harvard Crimson in his senior year, and after graduation attended Columbia Law School.

He dropped out of law school upon admission to the New York bar and worked for a

Wall Street law firm. Franklin married a distant cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, on

March 17, 1905. Her uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt, gave the bride away. Their

children were Anna Eleanor, James, Elliott, Franklin Delano, Jr., and John; a sixth child

died in infancy. The Roosevelt’s were active in New York social circles but at the same

time devoted considerable energy to the plight of the less fortunate. Franklin’s handling of

small-claims cases in the municipal court system deepened his concern for the common

people. Although a Democrat, he admired the progressivism of Uncle Teddy and decided

early upon a political career. Alfred Mossman Landon, born in West Middlesex, Pa., on

September 9, 1887, was a key figure in the U.S. Republican party in the 1930s and ran

unsuccessfully for president in 1936. “Alf” Landon first entered the national political

arena in 1912, campaigning for Theodore Roosevelt, who was that year the Progressive

party candidate for president. Landon continued to be associated with progressive politics

within the Republican party. In 1932, Landon was elected governor of Kansas, and two

years later he was the only incumbent Republican governor to be reelected in an

otherwise Democratic landslide. This success made Landon a strong candidate to oppose

President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. Although he won 17,000,000 votes, Landon

carried only two states, Maine and Vermont. Following his defeat Landon retired from

national politics. Norman Mattoon Thomas, born in Marion, Ohio, November 20, 1884,

was six times an unsuccessful Socialist Party candidate for president of the United States

between 1928 and 1948. A Presbyterian minister in East Harlem’s slums, he became a

pacifist and opposed American entry into World War I. In 1917 he helped found what

became the American Civil Liberties Union. Thomas joined the Socialist party in 1918

and became its leader in 1926. Defending a moderate, non-Marxist brand of socialism, he

failed (except in the 1932 election) to halt the decline of his party. Each candidate in this

election, won his nomination via a presidential convention. The third party candidate,

Norman Thomas, was a Socialist. Socialist’s believed mainly in public ownership of the

means by which goods and services are produced, distributed, and exchanged. The main

issue of the day for this election was the Great Depression. People were living in the

hardest economic times America had ever seen, and were looking for someone to get

them out of it. The winner of the election was F.D.R. Roosevelt received a popular vote

total of 27,751,597, and an electoral vote total of 523. Landon received 16,679,583

popular votes, and 8 electoral votes, and Thomas received 884,781 popular votes, and 0

electoral votes. Why F.D.R. won the election in my opinion is because he was a great

president. The American people loved him, and his style of government. He gained the

trust of the American people, by getting them out of the Great Depression. That is why he

was elected to the presidency more than any other president before his time. 1964 The

election of 1964 was a contest between Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, and Barry M.

Goldwater, a Republican. Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, near Johnson City,

Texas, the eldest son of Sam Early Johnson, Jr., and Rebekah Baines Johnson. Johnson

attended public schools in Johnson City and received a B.S. degree from Southwest

Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos. He then taught for a year in Houston before

going to Washington in 1931 as secretary to a Democratic Texas congressman, Richard

M. Kleberg. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President. Johnson greatly

admired the president, who named him, at age 27, to head the National Youth

Administration in Texas. In 1937, Johnson sought and won a Texas seat in Congress,

where he mastered public works, reclamation, and public power programs. When war

came to Europe he backed Roosevelt’s efforts to aid the Allies. During World War II he

served a brief tour of active duty with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, but returned to Capitol

Hill when Roosevelt recalled members of Congress from active duty. Johnson continued

to support Roosevelt’s military and foreign-policy programs. In 1953 he won the job of

Senate Democratic leader. The next year he was easily reelected as senator and returned

to Washington as majority leader, a post he held for the next 6 years despite a serious

heart attack in 1955. Barry Morris Goldwater, born in Phoenix, Arizona on January 1,

1909, was the unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate in 1964. Goldwater was

elected to the Senate from Arizona in 1952. A firm conservative, he became a spokesman

for right-wing Republicans in their campaign against big government, advocating instead

greater state and local powers. He vigorously opposed federal welfare appropriations as

socialistic and sought to curb public ownership of utilities. A strong anti-Communist,

Goldwater supported American military intervention in Vietnam and criticized efforts to

achieve detente with the USSR. He was decisively defeated by Lyndon Johnson in the

1964 presidential election. Goldwater served in the Senate until retirement in 1987. Each

candidate won his nomination by a Presidential Convention, with the process of primary

elections. There were no third-party candidates in this election. The main issue of this

election was civil rights. Many people opposed Lyndon B. Johnson’s laws, claiming them

to be too “pro-black”. Many liberals and blacks themselves believed that the laws didn’t

go far enough. Race riots broke out in a number of cities because of these conflicts. The

winner of the election was Johnson, by a landslide. He brought in a popular vote total of

43,129,484, and an electoral vote total of 486. Goldwater, on the other hand, won a

popular vote total of 27,178,188, and an electoral vote total of 52. The reason Johnson

won the election of 1964, in my opinion is because of his prior term. He was able to

regain control of the White House, after taking over for the assassinated John F. Kennedy.

It was a time of equality and civil rights, and many people liked and agreed with where he

stood on these issues. 1988 The election of 1988 was a contest between George Bush, and

Michael Dukakis. Bush was a Republican, while Dukakis was a Democrat. Born on June

12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, to Dorothy Walker Bush, daughter of a wealthy

investor, and Prescott Sheldon Bush, a banker and later Republican U.S. senator from

Connecticut, George Bush grew up in the New York City suburb of Greenwich,

Connecticut and attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. During World War II he

became the navy’s youngest bomber pilot. Shot down over the Pacific island of Chichi

Jima and rescued by a submarine, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and

three Air Medals. In 1945 he married Barbara Pierce and then matriculated at Yale

University, where he majored in economics, was captain of the baseball team, and

graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1948. Michael Stanley Dukakis, born in

Brookline, Massachusetts, November 3, 1933, a three-term governor of Massachusetts,

was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1988. The son of immigrants from Greece,

Dukakis graduated from Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School. He was elected to

the Massachusetts legislature in 1962, serving four terms. Elected governor of

Massachusetts in 1974, Dukakis was denied re-nomination in 1978. Re-elected in 1982

and 1986, he claimed credit for part of the period’s economic resurgence–the

“Massachusetts miracle.” The state’s economy had soured when he declined to run again

in 1990. Stressing “competence” over “ideology,” Dukakis campaigned for the presidency

in 1988 in a manner that many observers found uninspiring. He and his running mate,

Sen. Lloyd Bensten of Texas, lost to the Republican team, George Bush and Dan Quayle,

by 46% to 54% of the popular vote. After leaving office as governor of Massachusetts,

Dukakis declared that he planned to do some lecturing and teaching, as well as

encouraging young people to enter public service. Each candidate in this election was

elected by the process of primary elections, and nominated at their Presidential

Convention. There were no third-party candidates in this election. The main issue of this

election was taxes. Bush’s promise of “no new taxes” won over the American public.

Bush won the election with a popular vote total of 48,886,097, and an electoral vote of

426. Dukakis received a popular vote total of 41,809,074, and an electoral vote total of

111. The reason Bush won the election in my opinion was because of his promise of “no

new taxes.” The American people just came off of a “Regan High”, with good economic

times. People thought the things would remain like they did during the “Reagan Era” if

they elected Bush. The most important election in my opinion of all of these was the

election of 1812. America was heading into a war which we weren’t prepared for. This

was a crucial time for someone to take the reigns, and lead America into a situation in

which we would come out on top. Madison was the right man for the job, at such a

crucial time in American History.