SUMMARY OF POPULAR VOTES FOR PRESIDENTS
Reading edition
I was surprised, after careful examination of the various political handbooks, to find no table of the popular vote for President prior to 1824, and I made exhaustive effort to obtain official records in the archives of the nation and of the different States, to supply something approaching an intelligent table of the popular vote cast for the early Presidents; but I learned that the failure of others to supply such tables was not because of negligence, but because there are no records to furnish them. In Pennsylvania the vote returned to the Capitol was less than 5000 for Washington, and the vote of record for his second election but little exceeds 5000. The returns, however, are fragmentary and valueless. I was compelled to abandon the purpose of giving tables of the popular vote for Presidents prior to 1824, because all that could be obtained would be confusing rather than instructive.
I have also found much difficulty in trying to reconcile the conflicting returns of every Presidential election since 1824. After a very full and careful examination of these conflicting figures, I have adopted the tables prepared by Mr. Stanwood in his admirable work entitled “A History of the Presidency,” and I regard them as more nearly accurate than any other tables presented. The entire accuracy of these election tables is not a matter of vital importance, as in none of the many conflicting returns of different States would the result have been changed by the variations in the returns as stated in the many publications which for some years past have annually given them. The following summary of the popular vote for Presidents since 1824, with the electoral vote cast at each election, is taken from the New York World Almanac for 1900, the figures of which, as will be seen, usually vary from those presented in the tables I give with each chapter of this volume:
ELECTORAL AND POPULAR VOTES.
Year of Election. Candidates for President, State, and Political Party. Popular Vote. Plurality. Electoral Vote. Candidates for Vice-President, State, and Political Party. Electoral Vote.
1824 Andrew Jackson, Tenn., Rep. 155,872 50,551 (b)99 John C. Calhoun,[32] S. C., Rep. 182
John Q. Adams,[32] Mass., Rep. 105,321 .... 84 Nathan Sanford, N. Y., Rep. 30
Henry Clay, Ky., Rep. 46,587 .... 37 Nathaniel Macon, N. C., Rep. 24
Wm. H. Crawford, Ga., Rep. 44,282 .... 41 Andrew Jackson, Tenn., Rep. 13
M. Van Buren, N. Y., Rep. 9
Henry Clay, Ky., Rep. 2
John Q. Adams, Mass., Nat. R. [32]509,097 .... 83 Richard Rush, Pa., Nat. R. 83
William Smith, S. C., Dem. 7
Henry Clay, Ky., Nat. R. 530,189 .... 49 John Sergeant, Pa., Nat. R. 49
John Floyd, Ga., Ind. ⎫ ⎬ ⎭ 33,108 .... ⎧ ⎨ ⎩ 11 Henry Lee, Mass., Ind. 11
William Wirt (c), Md., Anti-M. 7 Amos Ellmaker (c), Pa., Anti-M. 7
William Wilkins, Pa., Dem. 30
W. H. Harrison, O., Whig ⎫ ⎪ ⎬ ⎪ ⎭ 736,656 .... ⎧ ⎪ ⎨ ⎪ ⎩ 73 Francis Granger, N. Y., Whig 77
Hugh L. White, Tenn., Whig 26 John Tyler, Va., Whig 47
Daniel Webster, Mass., Whig 14 William Smith, Ala., Dem. 23
Willie P. Mangum, N. C., Whig 11
Martin Van Buren, N. Y., Dem. 1,128,702 .... 60 R. M. Johnson, Ky., Dem. 48
James G. Birney, N. Y., Lib. 7,059 .... .. L. W. Tazewell, Va., Dem. 11
James K. Polk, Tenn., Dem. 1
Henry Clay, Ky., Whig 1,299,068 .... 105 T. Frelinghuysen, N. J., Whig 105
James G. Birney, N. Y., Lib. 62,300 .... .. Thomas Morris, O., Lib. ..
Lewis Cass, Mich., Dem. 1,220,544 .... 127 William O. Butler, Ky., Dem. 127
Martin Van Buren, N. Y., F. Soil 291,263 .... .. Chas. F. Adams, Mass., F. Soil ..
Winfield Scott, N. J., Whig 1,380,576 .... 42 William A. Graham, N. C., Whig 42
John P. Hale, N. H., F. D. (i) 156,149 .... .. George W. Julian, Ind., F. D. ..
Daniel Webster (k), Mass., Whig 1,670 .... ..
John C. Fremont, Cal., Rep. 1,341,264 .... 114 William L. Dayton, N. J., Rep. 114
Millard Fillmore, N. Y., Amer. 874,538 .... 8 A. J. Donelson, Tenn., Amer. 8
Stephen A. Douglas, Ill., Dem. 1,375,157 .... 12 H. V. Johnson, Ga., Dem. 12
J. C. Breckenridge, Ky., Dem. 845,763 .... 72 Joseph Lane, Ore., Dem. 72
John Bell, Tenn., Union 589,581 .... 39 Edward Everett, Mass., Union 39
George B. McClellan, N. J., Dem. 1,808,725 .... 21 George H. Pendleton, O., Dem. 21
Horatio Seymour, N. Y., Dem. 2,709,615 .... 80 F. P. Blair, Jr., Mo., Dem. 80
Horace Greeley, N. Y., D. & L. 2,834,079 .... (g).. B. Gratz Brown, Mo., D. L. 47
Charles O’Conor, N. Y., Dem. 29,408 .... .. John Q. Adams, Mass., Dem. ..
James Black, Pa., Temp. 5,608 .... .. John Russell, Mich., Temp. ..
Thomas A. Hendricks, Ind., Dem. .... .... 42 George W. Julian, Ind., Lib. 5
B. Gratz Brown, Mo., Dem. .... .... 18 A. H. Colquitt, Ga., Dem. 5
Charles J. Jenkins, Ga., Dem. .... .... 2 John M. Palmer, Ill., Dem. 3
David Davis, Ill., Ind. .... .... 1 T. E. Bramlette, Ky., Dem. 3
W. S. Groesbeck, O., Dem. 1
Willis B. Machen, Ky., Dem. 1
N. P. Banks, Mass., Lib. 1
1876 Samuel J. Tilden, N. Y., Dem. 4,284,385 250,935 84 T. A. Hendricks, Ind., Dem. 184
Peter Cooper, N. Y., Gre’nb. 81,740 .... .. Samuel F. Cary, O., Gre’nb. ..
Green Clay Smith, Ky., Pro. 9,522 .... .. Gideon T. Stewart, O., Pro. ..
James B. Walker, Ill., Amer. 2,636 .... .. D. Kirkpatrick, N. Y., Amer. ..
W. S. Hancock, Pa., Dem. 4,442,035 .... 155 William H. English, Ind., Dem. 155
James B. Weaver, Iowa, Gre’nb. 307,306 .... .. B. J. Chambers, Texas, Gre’nb. ..
Neal Dow, Me., Pro. 10,305 .... .. H. A. Thompson, O., Pro. ..
John W. Phelps, Vt., Amer. 707 .... .. S. C. Pomeroy, Kan., Amer. ..
James G. Blaine, Me., Rep. 4,848,334 .... 182 John A. Logan, Ill., Rep. 182
John P. St. John, Kan., Pro. 151,809 .... .. William Daniel, Md., Pro. ..
Benjamin F. Butler, Mass., Peop. 133,825 .... .. A. M. West, Miss., Peop. ..
P. D. Wigginton, Cal., Amer. .... .... ..
1888 Grover Cleveland, N. Y., Dem. 5,538,233 98,017 168 Allen G. Thurman, O., Dem. 168
Clinton B. Fisk, N. J., Pro. 249,907 ... .. John A. Brooks, Mo., Pro. ..
Alson J. Streeter, Ill., U. L. 148,105 ... .. C. E. Cunningham, Ark., U’d L. ..
R. H. Cowdry, Ill., U’d L. 2,808 ... .. W. H. T. Wakefield, Kan., U’d L. ..
James L. Curtis, N. Y., Amer. 1,591 ... .. James B. Greer, Tenn., Amer. ..
Benjamin Harrison, Ind., Rep. 5,176,108 ... 145 Whitelaw Reid, N. Y., Rep. 145
James B. Weaver, Iowa, Peop. 1,041,028 ... 22 James G. Field, Va., Peop. 22
John Bidwell, Cal., Pro. 264,133 ... .. James B. Cranfill, Tex., Pro. ..
Simon Wing, Mass., Soc. L. 21,164 ... .. Charles H. Matchett, N. Y., Soc. L. ..
William J. Bryan, Neb., Dem. ⎫ ⎬ ⎭ 6,502,925 ... 176 Arthur Sewall, Me., Dem. 176
William J. Bryan, Neb., Pop. ... .. Thomas E. Watson, Ga., Pop. ..
Joshua Levering, Md., Pro. 132,007 ... .. Hale Johnson, Ill., Pro. ..
John M. Palmer, Ill., N. Dem. 133,148 ... .. Simon B. Buckner, Ky., N. Dem. ..
Charles H. Matchett, N. Y., Soc. L. 36,274 ... .. Matthew Maguire, N. J., Soc. L. ..
Charles E. Bentley, Neb., Nat. (j) 13,969 ... .. James H. Southgate, N. C., Nat. (j) ..
I also present the lists of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the United States, as given in the New York World Almanac for 1900, as follows:
PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.
Name. Birthplace. Year. Paternal Ancestry. Residence. Inaugurated. Politics. Place of Death. Year. Age.
Year. Age.
1 George Washington Westmoreland Co., Va. 1732 English Va. 1789 57 Fed. Mt. Vernon, Va. 1799 67
2 John Adams Quincy, Mass. 1735 English Mass. 1797 62 Fed. Quincy, Mass. 1826 90
3 Thomas Jefferson Shadwell, Va. 1743 Welsh Va. 1801 58 Rep. Monticello, Va. 1826 83
4 James Madison Port Conway, Va. 1751 English Va. 1809 58 Rep. Montpelier, Va. 1836 85
5 James Monroe Westmoreland Co., Va. 1758 Scotch Va. 1817 59 Rep. New York City 1831 73
6 John Quincy Adams Quincy, Mass. 1767 English Mass. 1825 58 Rep. Washington, D. C. 1848 80
7 Andrew Jackson Union Co., N. C. 1767 Scotch-Irish Tenn. 1829 62 Dem. Hermitage, Tenn. 1845 78
8 Martin Van Buren Kinderhook, N. Y. 1782 Dutch N. Y. 1837 55 Dem. Lindenwold, N. Y. 1862 79
9 William H. Harrison Berkeley, Va. 1773 English O. 1841 68 Whig Washington, D. C. 1841 68
10 John Tyler Greenway, Va. 1790 English Va. 1841 51 Dem. Richmond, Va. 1862 72
11 James K. Polk Mecklenburg Co., N. C. 1795 Scotch-Irish Tenn. 1845 50 Dem. Nashville, Tenn. 1849 53
12 Zachary Taylor Orange Co., Va. 1784 English La. 1849 65 Whig Washington, D. C. 1850 65
13 Millard Fillmore Summerhill, N. Y. 1800 English N. Y. 1850 50 Whig Buffalo, N. Y. 1874 74
14 Franklin Pierce Hillsboro, N. H. 1804 English N. H. 1853 49 Dem. Concord, N. H. 1869 64
15 James Buchanan Cove Gap, Pa. 1791 Scotch-Irish Pa. 1857 66 Dem. Wheatland, Pa. 1868 77
16 Abraham Lincoln Larne Co., Ky. 1809 English Ill. 1861 52 Rep. Washington, D. C. 1865 56
17 Andrew Johnson Raleigh, N. C. 1808 English Tenn. 1865 57 Rep. Carter’s Depot, Tenn. 1875 66
18 Ulysses S. Grant Point Pleasant, O. 1822 Scotch D. C. 1869 47 Rep. Mt. McGregor, N. Y. 1885 63
19 Rutherford B. Hayes Delaware, O. 1822 Scotch O. 1877 54 Rep. Fremont, O. 1893 70
20 James A. Garfield Cuyahoga Co., O. 1831 English O. 1881 49 Rep. Long Branch, N. J. 1881 49
21 Chester A. Arthur Fairfield, Vt. 1830 Scotch-Irish N. Y. 1881 51 Rep. New York City 1886 56
22 Grover Cleveland Caldwell, N. J. 1837 English N. Y. 1885 48 Dem.
23 Benjamin Harrison North Bend, O. 1833 English Ind. 1889 55 Rep.
24 Grover Cleveland Caldwell, N. J. 1837 English N. Y. 1893 56 Dem.
25 William McKinley Niles, O. 1843 Scotch-Irish O. 1897 54 Rep.
VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.
Name. Birthplace. Year. Paternal Ancestry. Residence. Qualified. Politics. Place of Death. Year. Age at Death.
1 John Adams Quincy, Mass. 1735 English Mass. 1789 Fed. Quincy, Mass. 1826 90
2 Thomas Jefferson Shadwell, Va. 1743 Welsh Va. 1797 Rep. Monticello, Va. 1826 83
3 Aaron Burr Newark, N. J. 1756 English N. Y. 1801 Rep. Staten Island, N. Y. 1836 80
4 George Clinton Ulster Co., N. Y. 1739 English N. Y. 1805 Rep. Washington, D. C. 1812 73
5 Elbridge Gerry Marblehead, Mass. 1744 English Mass. 1813 Rep. Washington, D. C. 1814 70
6 Daniel D. Tompkins Scarsdale, N. Y. 1774 English N. Y. 1817 Rep. Staten Island, N. Y. 1825 51
7 John C. Calhoun Abbeville, S. C. 1782 Scotch-Irish S. C. 1825 Rep. Washington, D. C. 1850 68
8 Martin Van Buren Kinderhook, N. Y. 1782 Dutch N. Y. 1833 Dem. Kinderhook, N. Y. 1862 79
9 Richard M. Johnson Louisville, Ky. 1780 English Ky. 1837 Dem. Frankfort, Ky. 1850 70
10 John Tyler Greenway, Va. 1790 English Va. 1841 Dem. Richmond, Va. 1862 72
11 George M. Dallas Philadelphia, Pa. 1792 English Pa. 1845 Dem. Philadelphia, Pa. 1864 72
12 Millard Fillmore Summer Hill, N. Y. 1800 English N. Y. 1849 Whig Buffalo, N. Y. 1874 74
13 William R. King Sampson Co., N. C. 1786 English Ala. 1853 Dem. Dallas Co., Ala. 1853 67
14 John C. Breckenridge Lexington, Ky. 1821 Scotch Ky. 1857 Dem. Lexington, Ky. 1875 54
15 Hannibal Hamlin Paris, Me. 1809 English Me. 1861 Rep. Bangor, Me. 1891 81
16 Andrew Johnson Raleigh, N. C. 1808 English Tenn. 1865 Rep. Carter Co., Tenn. 1875 66
17 Schuyler Colfax New York City, N. Y. 1823 English Ind. 1869 Rep. Mankato, Minn. 1885 62
18 Henry Wilson Farmington, N. H. 1812 English Mass. 1873 Rep. Washington D. C. 1875 63
19 William A. Wheeler Malone, N. Y. 1819 English N. Y. 1877 Rep. Malone, N. Y. 1887 68
20 Chester A. Arthur Fairfield, Vt. 1830 Scotch-Irish N. Y. 1881 Rep. New York City, N. Y. 1886 56
21 Thos. A. Hendricks Muskingum Co., O. 1819 Scotch-Irish Ind. 1885 Dem. Indianapolis, Ind. 1885 66
22 Levi P. Morton Shoreham, Vt. 1824 Scotch N. Y. 1889 Rep.
23 Adlai E. Stevenson Christian Co., Ky. 1835 Scotch-Irish Ill. 1893 Dem.
24 Garret A. Hobart Long Branch, N. J. 1844 English N. J. 1897 Rep. Paterson, N. J. 1899 55
President Buchanan was the only Chief Magistrate of the Republic who, having served one term in the Presidency, was not a candidate for re-election. He announced his purpose not to be a candidate in his inaugural address, and I doubt not that he never swerved from that determination. At the close of his administration the political conditions gave no promise of his re-election, however much he might have desired it, but he was then past the patriarchal years, and he is the one President who entered the office to serve only a term and adhered to it. The elder Adams was defeated for re-election by Jefferson; the younger Adams was defeated for re-election by Jackson; Van Buren was defeated for re-election by the elder Harrison, and the younger Harrison was defeated for re-election by Cleveland, while Hayes, Polk and Pierce were candidates for re-election, but were rejected by the party.
Four Vice-Presidents succeeded to the Presidency by the death of the President, and all of them were earnest candidates for election to another term. Tyler and Johnson sought the Democratic nomination and failed. Fillmore failed in the struggle for the Whig nomination, and Arthur was defeated by Blaine.
Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, and Cleveland were twice elected President. Jefferson, Jackson, and Cleveland were each defeated for the Presidency, although twice elected. Jefferson and Jackson were defeated in their first contests, and then elected to two successive terms, and Cleveland was elected in 1884, defeated in 1888, and re-elected in 1892. Jackson and Cleveland are the only two Presidents who were candidates in three national elections and received an increased plurality in each successive contest. Both were defeated in one battle when they had received the largest popular vote. Grant was the only President who made a struggle for a third term.
Four Presidents died in office—namely, Harrison in 1841, after having served but little over a month; Taylor in 1850, after having served less than a year and a half; Lincoln in 1865, only a little more than a month after his second inauguration, and Garfield in 1881, before the close of the first year of his administration.
Six Vice-Presidents have died in office: Clinton in 1812, after having presided over the Senate for seven years; Gerry in 1814, after little more than a year of service; William R. King, in 1853, who took the oath as Vice-President on the 4th of March of that year in Cuba, and died soon thereafter; Henry Wilson in 1875, having served but little more than half his term; Thomas A. Hendricks in 1885, having served less than a year, and Hobart in 1899, leaving nearly a year and a half of his term unexpired.
No President pro tem. of the Senate has ever reached the Presidency. There was only one occasion in the history of the Government when it seemed probable that the President pro tem. might be called to the chief executive office of the nation. Johnson, as Vice-President, had succeeded Lincoln as President, and Senator Wade, of Ohio, was president pro tem. of the Senate. In 1868, some ten months before the expiration of Johnson’s term, he was impeached by the House, and acquitted in the Senate by a single vote. The question was then raised as to whether the President pro tem. of the Senate was such an officer as was contemplated by the Constitution to fill the office of President, and there was considerable agitation from time to time on the subject in Congress, which finally culminated in the passage of the Presidential Succession bill of January 18, 1886, by which the succession to the Presidency is fully defined and eligibles are provided quite sufficient in number to meet any possible emergency. The following is the full text of the present law regulating the Presidential succession:
Be it enacted, etc., that in case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the President and Vice-President of the United States, the Secretary of State, or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the Secretary of the Treasury, or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the Secretary of War, or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the Attorney-General, or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the Postmaster-General, or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the Secretary of the Navy, or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the Secretary of the Interior shall act as President until the disability of the President or Vice-President is removed, or a President shall be elected: provided, that whenever the powers and duties of the office of President of the United States shall devolve upon any of the persons named herein, if Congress be not then in session, or if it would not meet in accordance with law within twenty days thereafter, it shall be the duty of the person upon whom said powers and duties shall devolve to issue a proclamation convening Congress in extraordinary session, giving twenty days’ notice of the time of meeting.
Section 2. That the preceding section shall only be held to describe and apply to such officers as shall have been appointed by the advice and consent of the Senate to the offices therein named, and such as are eligible to the office of President under the Constitution, and not under impeachment by the House of Representatives of the United States at the time the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon them respectively.
Sec. 3. That sections 146, 147, 148, 149, and 150 of the Revised Statutes are hereby repealed.