Determination
You can’t fall into the presidency. You must work for it. You’re not George Washington or James Monroe, where you just put your name on the ballot and secure a victory.
You can’t skate your way into the White House with just good looks. We have had some ugly people occupy the White House because ugly people know how to overcome stuff – like being ugly.
No, to secure the most powerful job in human history, you need no fear of failure and a determination that your work will prevail.
Politics is never for the weak of heart.
In this edition of presidential elections, we look at what it means to be determined to win, and what we thought was predetermined doesn’t necessarily mean it will ultimately turn out that way—except when it does.
Let's dive in.
7: The Presidential Election of 1828
Election Date: October 31 – December 2, 1828
The Candidates:
The anticipated rematch of the 1824 election was set in 1825 when the good folks of Tennessee began the nomination process and put forth their favorite son, Andrew Jackson.
President John Quincy Adams was limping through his term, getting shade at every turn, from his vice president to Congress. Qunicy Adams remained determined to keep the White House, just as Jackson was determined to take back what he thought was rightfully his.
While four members of the Democratic-Republican party ran four years earlier, this time, the party split in two—Jackson and his allies formed the Democratic Party, while Quincy Adams and friends called themselves National Republicans.
Major Issue of the Day:
The Tariff of 1828 caused everyone to flip out. What’s hilarious about the bill is that no one expected it to pass. It was seen as too harmful to Southern states due to the tariffs placed on British goods to protect Northern factories.
This is as comfortable as I can get discussing tariffs.
I do know this tariff crisis would lead to the Nullification crisis, which Vice President John C. Calhoun would lead.
The Winner:
Vengeance.
Former president and convicted felon Donald Trump likes to tell people that he is your “Retribution.” Recently, he’s been going around telling everyone he’s not weird. I see these two points as wholly interconnected.
But Jackson and the hundreds of thousands of people who backed him felt a particular satisfaction in dispatching Quincy Adams, who they viewed as weird. They thought he was morally corrupt, which is weird, right?
The States in the Electoral College:
24. No new states entered the Union.
The Electoral College had 261 members, and the winner needed 131 votes.
This election featured more states (22) that relied on popular votes to decide their electoral ones. In the election of 1820, President Monroe won about 85,000 popular votes. Eight years later, Jackson secured over 600,000 and beat Qunicy Adams by 100,000 votes.
Jackson won 15 states, cleaning up in the South and West, where he was as popular as I was back in my day.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
Old Hickory came in at number 12. I know there’s a lot to dislike about the guy, and my thoughts about Quincy Adams have evolved over the years, but I still think it was important for the United States to make the leap and disconnect from the Framers and the Framers sons to a new era of leadership.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
I liked this election so much because of all the mud that was slung. National Republicans called Jackson every name in the book, but the biggest one was “adulterer” because it was revealed that he married his wife Rachel before her divorce was finalized.
Democrats said Qunicy Adams didn’t love Jesus because he traveled on the Sabbath.
Campaign marketers had a field day with this election.
I wouldn’t wish anyone to be universally disliked, even if the person deserved it. None of us have jobs that are ever under the microscope of millions of people. But imagine if that was the case, and people were furious over how you put the cover sheets on your TPS reports. And you had to convince those people that they were wrong.
In 1948, we did just that.
Let’s dive in.
6: The Presidential Election of 1948
Election Date: November 2, 1948
The Candidates:
President Harry Truman was in his first election since ascending to the presidency due to the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. For the three years he occupied the White House, up to this point, his administration was short a vice president, so it’s a good thing nothing bad happened.
Some people wished something bad would happen. Truman was wildly unpopular. Polls had him around a 36% approval rating, which I believe is now considered good because we are a country consistent in cynicism.
The GOP saw an opportunity to present a stark contrast, so they called up their 1944 presidential nominee, New York Governor Thomas Dewey, to run again. He added future Chief Justice Earl Warren, Governor of California at the time, as his running mate.
The Southern Democrats were upset that Truman had begun to support civil rights, so they formed their party, the Dixiecrats, and nominated Strom Thurmond from South Carolina. His running mate was the Governor of Mississippi, and their platform was “Make the CSA Alive Again.”
Major Issue of the Day:
We were in post-World War II mode. The Soviet Union was ramping up its influence, and since the government no longer controlled the pricing of goods, inflation rocketed to 40%. If that happened today, we’d all jump on social media to complain more.
FDR’s New Deal policies were in full swing, and a bunch of babies were being born. Some would later call it a “boom” of babies, like a bomb.
People wonder why Americans are so violent. Just stop and look at how we explain a large amount of births.
The Winner:
Surprises.
Isn’t it great to wake up to a pleasant surprise? Like seeing your favorite sports team win the night before because you go to bed at 9:00 like a super old person?
What about dreading an upcoming meeting only to awaken to an email from your boss stating that the meeting has been canceled and that you have been given a raise, along with not having to come into the office as often?
Isn’t that great? That’s happened to all of us, right?
Truman went to bed on election night, thinking he would wake up a lame duck. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised to see that he had snatched victory from the beak of defeat.
The States in the Electoral College:
48. No new states. It would be another eleven years before we had 50.
The Electoral College had 531 members, and the winner needed 266 votes.
Do you think we will always see the presidential election in the future projected as a close contest? I do. There’s too much money at stake, and people are siloed in how they get information. The media will constantly hype the race as close because when they tell us it looks like a candidate will clearly prevail, like in 2016, the opposite comes true.
I think this was the case in 1948. So much of the media said Turman would lose that people probably didn’t vote because they were told Dewey was a shoo-in. That wouldn’t prevent me from going, but I can see how others might feel differently.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
Truman comes in at number six. I think Truman was fantastic because he always had the best lines – The Buck Stops Here. Give ‘em Hell. My Wife is the Boss.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
This is one election I wish I had been alive to witness. I love Truman’s determination to “Give ‘em Hell” and let loose because what did he have to lose? Every person thought he would lose. But he didn’t.
What do you think? As we come down the stretch, how are my rankings holding up?
This weekend will be jam-packed for me. Tomorrow is our annual block party on the street where we live. It’s an all-day event, where we begin cleaning the street at 8:00 a.m. and then repeat it at 10:30 p.m.
In the middle of the day, we do all sorts of things, from a dog parade, in which Blue will not be participating, to pony rides, a visit from a fire truck, lots of food, and, of course, a DJ. It’s great fun, and Anonymous and I are very lucky to live on a street where neighbors get together to have fun while wearing the same t-shirts we bought just for this event.
I have to get up early on Sunday and head to work for most of the day. But such is life in this new job. All of this is to say I won’t be publishing a Maundy Monday Newsletter next week. My apologies.
I appreciate your support of Okay History. Enjoy the weekend, and I’ll see you next week!
Okay,
Chris
