Election of Lincoln

If you think the election is heated now.  Think about what it must of been like in 1860 when Lincoln was first elected President.  The Union was slowly unraveling and people had such different paths in mind for our country.  So different they were about to go to war against each other.  It must have been quite a scary time.  Communication was limited and not unlike today often communication was slanted towards one group or another.

 Did you know that not one southern state voted for Abraham Lincoln our first Republican President?  Lincoln was elected with only 40% of the electoral vote.  Lincoln's Vice President in his first term was Hannibal Hamlin.  Andrew Johnson was the VP in his second term.  Johnson was originally a member of the Democratic party but later joined the National Union Party(republican).

Andrew Johnson

Election Fever

 The first United States election took place in 1788 -1789 after the constitution was ratified.  Originally each elector cast two votes.  Whoever received votes from the most electors, became president, and the runner-up became vice-president. Basically, Washington ran unopposed.  All 69 electors cast one vote for Washington. John Adams received 34, the second most votes, becoming vice-president.

 Only ten states casted votes in this election.  There were two political parties Federalist and Anti-Federalist(who were against a strong federal government).

Vice Presidential Candidates

Federalist candidates

• John Adams, former Minister to Great Britain from Massachusetts
• John Jay, U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs from New York
• John Rutledge, former Governor of South Carolina
• John Hancock, Governor of Massachusetts
• Samuel Huntington, Governor of Connecticut
• Benjamin Lincoln, former U.S. Secretary of War from Massachusetts

Anti-Federalist candidates

• George Clinton, Governor of New York
• Edward Telfair, former Governor of Georgia

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Fun Facts

Hello! I have some fun facts for you about Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. The first one is Abraham's son Robert was at a train station and almost fell in the tracks while a train was coming and John Wilkes Booth's brother Edwin saved him by pulling him out only minutes before he would have been smushed. 

Robert Todd Lincoln

Edwin Booth

The last one is that Thomas Jefferson was one of the first americans to grow tomatoes on his plantation "Monticello".  Jefferson was first introduced to tomatoes while in Paris. People were not pleased with Jefferson growing tomatoes which were known as "The Devil's Fruit" because they were red and so was the Devil. They were also considered poisonous.

S.D. Schindler’s depiction of Thomas Jefferson and his garden from Stephanie Loer’s entry about the White House Colonical Kitchen Gardens

President's day

I am sorry that I haven't been doing my blog, but I have been busy. Well I have a few fun facts on the first , second , and third presidents. I got this info from some flash cards that I have.

George Washington: 

• Born on February 22,1732
• Died December 14,1799
• Terms of office: April 30,1789-March 3,1797
• His father and brother educated him
• Turned down the offer of being king to America
• Married a wealthy widow and helped raise her children from a previous marriage 
• Served as commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War
• The only president to be elected unanimously

John Adams:

• Born October 30,1735
• Died July 4,1826
• Term of office: March 4,1797- March 3,1801
• opposed unfair british taxes
• Helped to write Declaration of Independence in 1776
• Also helped Write Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War in 1783
• Was the first vice president and served under the first president, George Washington
• Was the first president to live in the White House
• He died 50 years after signing the Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson:

• Born April 13,1743
• Died July 4,1826
• Terms of office: March 4,1801-March 3,1809
• Founded the University of Virginia
• Was governor of Virginia
• He designed his own home, Monticello
• He invented a type of copying machine
• He is known as the father of the Declaration of Independence
• Bought Louisiana from Napoleon which doubled the size of the United States
• He sent Louis and Clark on their famous expedition
• He was a politician, educator, architect, inventor, musician, and a writer.

These facts are from the Brighter Child, U.S. Presidents. Please comment on which president you thought was the most interesting. Thank You.