Being Single is Okay
Being Single is Okay
Whether you don't have a partner or you are the only one on the ballot, everything is okay.
Wedding anniversary Number Two finished up earlier this week. It was great. Anonymous and I began our days bright and early and finished way past our bedtimes.
Bedtime has recently become a theme in our house. Right before our trip to Ireland, Anonymous started to adjust her sleeping habits and wake up early, thereby invading my quiet time, where I usually write this mediocre material and enjoy the relative peace before she and Blue start their day, which they can’t do without my help. It’s good to be needed.
This invasion of space continued this week as we both had early meetings on Tuesday. We made it through and rewarded ourselves of marital bliss with dinner at a restaurant where we went after getting engaged. It was a lot of fun.
We are now in year three!
There was a time in my life when I thought I would never get married. I was engaged once, back when I was 29, but then again, who hasn’t been engaged at 29?
If the age range of people who get married for the first time is between 21 and 46, what does it mean to be basically single for about a quarter of a century?1
My point is that being single is perfectly okay. Although I dated many people and ended every single one because who would ever break up with me - I didn't need to have a partner. Because I am a heartbreaker, I developed a life of loving myself. It’s essential to love yourself before Anonymous comes into your life and improves it tenfold - as long as she wakes up around 7:00 a.m. at the earliest.
Longtime readers know how incredibly popular I was back in college. In fact, my popularity can be traced way back to grade school when I first began running for office. I won seven elections over the course of my life and won all seven. Many times, no one ran against me because they knew my humility and popularity would overwhelm them.
Being a single candidate running for president of the United States has to be the ultimate reward for being universally loved. Now that we are well into the top ten of the presidential elections, we look at the final two elections in which only one man was on the ballot.2
Let's dive in.
9: The Presidential Election of 1820
Election Date: November 1 – December 6, 1820
The Candidates:
In the 1816 presidential election, James Monroe dispatched the Federalist Party into the annuals of history, never to be heard of again.
Four years later, there would be no credible opposition candidate. The Monroe Campaign made T-shirts that read Jimmy versus the World.
Major Issue of the Day:
After our second war with the British, the United States entered the Era of Good Feelings. Because the Federalist Party was no longer in existence, Monroe was free to travel the country and let everyone know that he was everyone’s president.
His goal was to steer the nation's attention to national issues rather than to political party priorities.
Doesn’t it sound like the Vice President is channeling her inner James Monroe?
The Winner:
Unity.
Monroe was the last president from the Founding Framers era. He got everyone together for one last hurrah. Because four years later, the Era of Good Feelings became this.
The States in the Electoral College:
23. Four new states joined the Union since the election of 1816: Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, and Maine. None of them are in the top 25 states in the OKH rankings.
The Electoral College had 235 members, and the winner needed 118 votes.
Remember, there was no popular vote back then. It would be another four years before that was counted. Instead, states just got together and cast their elector votes.
Monroe carried all of them, except one elector who voted for John Quincy Adams, to preserve George Washington as the only unanimously elected president.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
Monroe comes in at 14. Don’t forget, he had his own doctrine. There’s no Dake Doctrine, and I’m not sure what it would be if there were one.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
If you click the link above and see what I wrote about Monroe, you’ll see that most of it was about Madison. I needed to make it up to the guy.
Despite my popularity, no one claims me as the father of anything. I don’t have kids, and Blue might call me Dad; he doesn’t speak English, so I have never heard anyone call me that.
But when you are the Father of the country, you have to imagine no one is going up against the head of the household.
Let’s dive in.
8: The Presidential Election of 1789
Election Date: December 15, 1788 – January 7, 1789
The Candidates:
We initially elected presidents when the guy with the most electoral votes won, and the guy who finished second got to be Vice President.
So George Washington, who thought he was too old to be president at 55, reluctantly assumed the role with encouragement from our man, Alexander Hamilton. With that endorsement, who would be brave enough to challenge the old man? The answer is – no one.
Washington made the contest enjoyable in one way. He spoke of himself in the third person, so perhaps people thought he was talking about someone else.
Major Issue of the Day:
Everything was a major issue for a brand-new country. Like I said, I’ve never had kids, but I imagine bringing one home from the hospital would freak me out because of the responsibility of keeping it alive. I’m sure Washington felt the pressure of not screwing this federal constitutional democracy up.
The Winner:
Beginnings.
I can’t imagine not having the United States around, but I wonder what it was like back in 1789. I wonder if people were confident this experiment would take off like it has.3
The States in the Electoral College:
10. Now, we know there were 13 original colonies—someone wrote a song about it. However, the first election had only ten because North Carolina and Rhode Island didn’t ratify the Constitution. Then, New York couldn’t get its act together and didn’t choose its electors on time.
It’s like a parent trying to get multiple kids to a soccer game. Two kids didn’t get uniforms because they didn’t go to the get-your-uniform day, and another kid couldn’t find his shoes. The parent gives up and takes the rest of the kids to the game. Time marches on, kids.
The Electoral College had 69 members, and the winner needed 35 votes.
There were about a dozen dudes to pick from for the electors. Washington collected the requisite 69. John Adams received 34; the rest got one electoral vote, like a participation trophy. Edward Telfair got to tell everyone he ran for president once and got one electoral vote. I’m sure that’s how he became Governor of Georgia.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
Washington comes in at number two. It’s too easy to place him number one. It’s also lazy not to place him number one. But I still screw up Madison and Monroe, so what do I know.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
I’m sure a few of you will think this should be higher, and you are not wrong. But like an excellent wine with some lovely oysters on your anniversary dinner, pairing the two single-candidate elections was too much to pass up.
I’m waiting for it to get colder. It’s still 80 degrees here in DC. Then again, tomorrow I’ll be outside for most of the day. Anonymous and I will attend a concert featuring our favorite bands from the 2000s. I love the fact that this thing happens during the day. I plan to be home by 6:00 and asleep by 8.
I’ll be back on Monday. Don’t worry; I’m working on the Ireland trip summary.
Thanks for supporting Okay History. Welcome to the new subscribers. I appreciate you being here, and I hope you stick around.
Have a great weekend!
Okay,
Chris
Man, when I look at it that way, holy moly, does that sound depressing? But it was worth the path taken, for sure.
If you were wondering, we ranked the first single-candidate election in the 40s. You can read about Washington’s reelection here.
They probably would not use the term "take off," though.