The American Ballot Box in the Mid-Nineteenth CenturyDuring the middle of the nineteenth century, Americans voted in saloons in the most derelict sections of great cities, in hamlets swarming with Union soldiers, or in wooden cabins so isolated that even neighbors had difficulty finding them. Their votes have come down to us as election returns reporting tens of millions of officially sanctioned democratic acts. Neatly arrayed in columns by office, candidate, and party, these returns are routinely interpreted as reflections of the preferences of individual voters and thus seem to unambiguously document the existence of a robust democratic ethos. By carefully examining political activity in and around the polling place, this book suggests some important caveats which must attend this conclusion. These caveats, in turn, help to bridge the interpretive chasm now separating ethno-cultural descriptions of popular politics from political economic analyses of state and national policy-making. |
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The American Ballot Box in the Mid-Nineteenth Century Richard Franklin Bensel No preview available - 2004 |
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American party antebellum appeared asked attending the polls ballot box Benton barracks cast challenged citizens Civil clerk Colonel Columbus Delano Contested Congressional Election Cooper County crowd Delano Democratic candidate Democratic party Democratic ticket disloyal District dollars draft election day election held election judges election officials eligibility enrolled ethnic evidence example Experience Estabrook federal George W hearings held on October Howrigan Ibid identity immigrants intimidation James Jayne John judges of election Kentucky knew lived loyal M.D. no number military militia Missouri nineteenth century northern war October 13 officers Ohio partisan party agents party organizations Pennsylvania persons political poll books polling place practice precinct probably reported Republican party Republican ticket residency social soldiers southern suffrage territorial testified testimony told took Township Union University Press usually voters voting window Ward William William Jayne witness York