Shady

Two shady elections in the 19th century kick off our presidential election rankings.

Jan 19, 2024

There is one thing I know well, and that is winning elections. Growing up, I was incredibly popular. Evidence of this fact is supported by winning seven elections where I was a candidate on a ballot.

All I know is winning. I never lost once. 7-0.

I didn't need shady shenanigans, backroom deals, or other nonsense to get elected. The people chose me. From eighth grade, when I was president of the Student Council, to my senior year of college, when I was vice president, hundreds of people entrusted me to accomplish practically nothing of significance.

Yes, I know what you are thinking…I was a huge, popular dork.

My campaign slogans were gold.

You can't miss when you vote for Chris.

Don't be a Flake. Vote for Dake.

My opponents, when I had opponents, couldn’t match my political acumen.

But as we kick off the next edition of Okay History Rankings, we are confronted with the fact that not everyone is Christopher Dake. Not everyone is beloved by the people. Not everyone is a popular dork.

And shady shenanigans, backroom deals, and other nonsense take over.

Our first two rankings show us a country that will twist the rules when convenient and disregard Constitutional procedures to get the result that a minority wants.

I have plenty of shady elections to choose from to begin our journey, which is a bit disconcerting. As the 2024 election quickly approaches and many Americans still believe the last election was stolen, we present two strong candidates that show that the election was stolen.

Let's dive in.

59: The Presidential Election of 1876

Election Date: November 7, 1876

The Candidates:

The Republicans put forth Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes, and the Democrats countered with their governor, Samuel J. Tilden of New York.

In fact, the election of 1876 was the only time two governors faced each other. What are the odds of that happening?

Hayes was the "comprise" candidate because Congressman James Blaine from Maine ( a guy we will meet in the future) was thought to be unable to defeat the Democratic nominee. This is saying something, considering the Democrats at the time hadn't won the White House in twenty years.

So Hayes was the man. It also helped he was from Ohio when Ohio was important. This was before I moved away after sweeping through elections in every Catholic school in the state.

Finally, Hayes was a Civil War hero, and the Civil War was fresh on everyone's mind, especially the Republicans, who reminded everyone that not every Democrat was a rebel, but every rebel was a Democrat.

Tilden, on the other hand, was a heavy favorite for the nomination. He was a self-built corporate lawyer who took on corruption at the state level. He was the Christopher Dake of New York state politics but without the catching slogans. He was thought to be the guy to end the Democratic drought.

Major Issue of the Day:

Reconstruction. Remember, just ten years prior, the country had fought a Civil War, and the current president at the time was another Civil War hero, Ulysses S. Grant.

The country passed many highly-ranked constitutional amendments during this time, which upset many people. Coincidentally, these upset people also lost the Civil War.

Grant had stationed federal troops in former Confederate states to ensure the rights of newly freed enslaved people. Despite losing the war, these former Confederate people thought they didn’t deserve this treatment and would instead go back to the old ways of discriminating and disenfranchising black people.

The Winner:

Technically, it was Tilden. But you have never heard of President Tilden, so technically, it was Hayes.

Technically, this election is hands down the worst one we ever had.

Why?

Tilden was one electoral vote short of securing the White House. He also received 51% of the popular vote. But that was disputed by Republicans who claimed that black Republicans were denied the opportunity to cast their votes.

So, let the shady shenanigans begin.

Four states (Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Oregon) had yet to resolve their vote count. Their votes happened to add up to twenty, the exact number Hayes needed to steal the election from Tilden 185-184.

The Constitution says that any election that the Electoral College doesn’t decide will be brought to the House of Representatives, and they will determine the winner.

But in 1876, the House was controlled by the Democrats, while the Republicans controlled the Senate. They both decided there was this Constitutional crisis, and the way to resolve this was to form a temporary body called the Electoral Commission.

It was a bipartisan group of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, and wouldn’t you know it, the final vote was 8-7 to give all twenty unresolved electoral votes to Hayes.

But wait! A compromise was struck. Democrats agreed to this very unconstitutional way of electing a president by forcing Hayes to agree to pull federal troops out of the South and effectively end Reconstruction.

Which is why we have President Hayes and Jim Crow.

We all lost in 1876.

The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:

Rutherford is ranked 32nd. There's no need to click on the link because I talk about how popular I was growing up. I need new material.

Hayes was determined to serve one term, which is a good thing because it was unlikely he would be reelected anyway, not after the shadiness of how he was elected in the first place.

He’ll never be better than a third-tier president.

The States in the Electoral College:

38. Colorado was admitted into the Union in August of that year and had the state legislature vote for electors.

The Republicans controlled Colorado, so all three votes went to Hayes. Because sure, why not?

There were 369 members of the Electoral College, and the winner needed to secure 185 votes.

Why Did I Rank it Here:

How on earth did the country come to this conclusion where we assembled an Electoral Commission that ended up voting down party lines, only to see the losing party ultimately get what they wanted - the end of Reconstruction?

It blows my mind that Tilden was an inch away from winning the entire thing only to see backroom deals and other nonsense deny him his rightful place in history.

If you want to read more details about the ghosts of the 1876 election, please check out this piece from last August from our friends at History, Rinse & Repeat, a higher-ranked history newsletter written by people who are way better at this stuff and who obviously have an editor.

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It doesn’t get much better with our next election. This time, we followed the Constitution but added many shady backroom deals.

Let’s dive in.

58: The Presidential Election of 1824

Election Date: October 26 – December 2, 1824

The Candidates:

There were four viable candidates, all from the same party - the Democratic-Republicans. This election effectively ended this one-party system, which had dominated the country for a few decades after the Federalist Party vanished.

John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William Crawford threw their names into a hat, hoping to succeed James Monroe.

Adams had been Monroe's Secretary of State, having taken the job from Monroe upon Monroe's ascension to the presidency. Jackson was a senator from Tennessee and a war hero. Clay was Speaker of the House from Kentucky, and Crawford was a guy who did something, somewhere, and I'm sure he was great at it.

A wild note about this election: Adams and Jackson had John C. Calhoun as a running mate. I like this concept; it increases your chances of winning.

It’s essential detail concerning the Secretary of State and the President. Many of our first presidents used the SOS position as a stepping stone to the White House. And the result of this election shows you what people will do to put themselves in such an advantageous position.

Major Issue of the Day:

Relations with the Indigenous people. America was headed west, which was a great idea, except there were people already living there, which was a problem. We didn’t handle this very well.

Plus, America needed help to figure out tariffs, and the Second Bank of the United States was also a thing.

Finally, the Framers of the country were slowly passing away, and the country was ready to move into its next stage.

The Winner:

The Corrupt Bargain handed the White House to Adams, and Clay became Secretary of State.

Jackson returned to Tennessee to seethe, and Crawford returned to wherever he was from and did whatever he did until he passed away.

But the shadiness of this election was pretty much out in the open.

Jackson won the majority of electoral votes up for grabs (99 out of the 131 needed to win) and also received the most popular votes among the four at 41%.

But since he didn’t get all the electoral votes needed, the House stepped in and voted for the winner.

Clay disliked Jackson so much that he used his power as Speaker to throw the three states he carried (Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri) to Adams. In February 1825, in the only contingent election in US History, the House elected Adams.

He carried the necessary thirteen states to win, while Jackson collected four. For some reason, Crawford stuck around and picked up four himself. What are you doing, Billy?

The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:

Adams came in at 21, but after reading more about him, I think he will move up the rankings the next time I get around to doing it.

The States in the Electoral College:

20. Missouri was the furthest west state created from the Compromise of 1820.

There were 261 members of the Electoral College, and the winner needed to secure 131 votes.

Why Did I Rank it Here:

This was an election that, growing up, really upset me. Remember, I was a popular dork, and the election of 1824 denied my man, Andrew Jackson, his rightful place as president of the United States.

I really need to direct my anger at William Crawford, who threw a major wrench into this entire thing. Remember this, friends: when you want to vote for a third-party candidate, unless that candidate is me, you are really screwing things up.

Okay, do you agree with my rankings? Do you think there is a worse election that deserves the bottom? Does anyone know anything about William Crawford?

Shady

Two shady elections in the 19th century kick off our presidential election rankings.

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