Two books that offer a much-needed historical perspective on presidential elections

Click here for an interesting report on a late-breaking development from the 2004 election in Ohio
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/electionstrikeforce/2008/07/ohio_attorney_files_motion_to.html

The presidential election in Ohio in 2004 is still very much in dispute, as the link above will attest. Electronic tabulations of votes are clearly wide open to manipulation and fraud, and this is one of the most under-reported stories in the country. The New York Times recently ran an editorial in its July 16 issue stressing the need for a paper trial in elections to verify votes (even these election receipts need to carefully checked, according the book, The Machinery of Democracy: Protecting Elections in an Electronic World, by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, since hackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated). http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/opinion/16wed1.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=%22Check+That+Vote%22+&st=nyt&oref=slogin

Kansas is putting out two books by eminent historians as part of their series, American Presidential Elections. A recent book in this series, Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932, by Donald A. Ritchie won the George Pendleton Prize. The forthcoming books have strong relevance to our time, and can be extremely instructive and enlightening reading as the campaign season for 2008 starts up in earnest after Labor Day. By One Vote: The Disputed Presidential Election of 1876, by Michael F. Holt, a professor of American History at University of Virginia, outlines this key election between the ultimate winner, Rutherford B. Hayes, a Republican, and Samuel Tilden, a Democrat who actually won the popular vote (shades of the infamous 2000 election between Bush and Gore). In fact, the Hayes defeat of Tilden by one electoral vote was dubbed “the fraud of the century.” Professor Holt is a first-rate scholar of the period, having done previous books on the Whig Party, and the lead up to the American Civil War. He looks for answers to what exactly happened and why. He shows how the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives erred in the timing of admitting Colorado into the Union, when without its votes in the mix Tilden would have won. He notes there was a huge turnout in the election, as fears of a Confederate takeover of the government were successfully stoked by the Republicans. In fact, this election helped establish the label GOP for the Republicans, and the outcome was particularly notable as the Republicans were able to hold onto the presidency in the midst of a severe economic depression, after having lost the congressional elections of 1874. Professor Holt shows that the specter of the Civil War was still very much hovering over the American people, and he manages to convey the political mood of the country in that time, in what is being called “a masterly retelling of this controversial episode.”

Minority Victory: Gilded Age Politics and the Front Porch Election of 1888, by Charles W. Calhoun, a professor of History at East Carolina University, is another example of an incident where the ultimate winner won the election in the Electoral College, while losing the popular vote. This election was hotly contested, as Professor Calhoun outlines, in a horse race between incumbent President Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger, Benjamin Harrison. It is said that Harrison was a firebrand campaigner, and could give a dozen riveting speeches on different subjects in a single day. The front porch campaign reference in the title of the book is to Harrison’s penchant for espousing his views almost daily from a front porch for visiting voters and reporters. Professor Calhoun notes that this campaign set an important precedent for future campaigns, leading up to the present day. It also shows how economics played a significant role in politics and in the election, and how Harrison as President adopted innovative new leadership strategies and governing techniques, including extensive travel, legislative intervention, and a focus on foreign affairs that would be a forerunner to modern times.

Harrison was the grandson of the 9th President William Henry Harrison, who died in office after only 31 days. He was what is called a “one term wonder,” as Cleveland came roaring back in the election of 1892 and recaptured the White House with the popular vote and the Electoral College counts. Another interesting thing about Harrison he is the subject of an enduring song from a cool Walt Disney movie from 1968 called The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. That movie has an awesome soundtrack, with songs written by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman, including the classic song, “Ten Feet Off the Ground.” There is a scene where competing Democrats and Republicans sing festive campaign songs in the heat of the 1888 election, even though this happens in the Dakota Territory which has yet to claim statehood. “Let’s Put It Over With Grover” is paired with “Oh, Benjamin Harrison,” which has the classic refrain, “Oh, Benjamin Harrison, you’re far beyond comparison …” For more information about this movie, click here
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063389/plotsummary

As the 2008 election intensifies between Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain, it is instructive to go back and look at previous elections, even if it is through these two fascinating books, the ongoing controversy over the 2004 election that is making the news, or through an old Hollywood movie that teaches us various things about the past and entertains.