Politics on a Grand Scale

As you may have noticed, I placed George Bingham's painting, Stump Speaking(1853-54), in the upper left hand corner of this blog. I did this to remind me that this blog is as important in distributing information concerning town and county politics as it is in distributing national political information. Although there is some "stumping" that occurs today, it must have been very intriguing to sit and listen to two political opponents practice their oratorical skills, or lack thereof, in front of a vast audience.

How do politicians get their constituents votes today? When I vote, I have to show valid identification, be checked off on a registration sheet, sign a book, receive my ballot, mark my ballot, and finally, place it in the monstrosity of a ballot counting machine. This was not the case in the Antebellum Period. For example, Bingham's painting, The County Election (1851-52), shows several voting actions we would consider illegal or oddities today.

John Weinberg, writes that "balloting, which in those days was not secret, proceeds on the courthouse porch. The process was particularly open to corruption, since it was easy to eavesdrop and thereby intimidate voters or verify if bribes had been effective. A man in red swears on the Bible that he has not previously voted in the election, an action which might establish the solemnity of the occasion if not for the general raucousness of the assembled crowd. Drunkenness is suggested by the broadly smiling man in the foreground who holds his glass up to be filled with hard cider--a favorite tool for attracting voters to a candidate's side. Liquor seems to have completely overwhelmed another man, who is literally dragged to the polls to cast a ballot. This figure, with bowed head and limp limbs, recalls images of Christ being taken down from the cross. But here religious connotations are erased, and the suggestion of death may be an allusion to the practice of getting votes from the rolls of the dead. Another indication of illegality is the battered fellow sitting on a bench to the right, a wooden plank at his feet. His sorry condition may suggest physical coercion or a political argument that has taken a violent turn. The power of both money and chance is symbolized by the toss of a coin directly below the swearing-in. As if to further undermine the gravity of the occasion, two small boys play mumble-the-peg in the foreground."

Welcome

I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome everyone to my newly created blog. My interest in Antebellum politics has caused me to create this blog specifically for that purpose. As you will notice, many of the authors, or "men of good standing" as I have labeled them, come to us from our popular blog on the Confederate Army of Tennessee. I believe these two blogs will be able to open up our eyes to the many connections between not only political rivalries prior to the Civil War but how those rivalries between men were transposed into this era of combat.

I include in this post a portion of Isaac Bassett's memories of Washington, D.C. On December 5, 1831, 12-year-old Isaac Bassett was appointed a page in the U.S. Senate. Thus began a career that spanned more than six notable decades in the history of the institution and the nation.

As far back as I can remember all around the Capitol was a perfect wilderness. Where the Botanical Garden now stands, I have often caught fish—it was called Tiber Crick—and all around it was marshy, low ground. Where the Baltimore Depot is, I have killed many a reedbird, blackbird, and robin. Where I now reside was a cornfield—with in one square of the Capitol (just think of that). Between the Capitol and the president’s house there was very few houses. Then there was not a single pavement in the city, gravel walks were the best we could get, and not a lamp to guide the traveler.

Now besides a continuous pavement from Georgetown to the Navy Yard, it is also lighted by gas. The water from the Great Falls of the Potomac has been brought down and diffused throughout the city though there was a population of only 3,000, the boardinghouse keepers had to send to Georgetown and Alexandria for their marketing.

The city of Washington has been rebuilt, its own father would not know it now, transformed into a village to a city of palaces. Washington is in a fair way to become a city of statues. A great many senators and members of the House now build their own houses. The national capital is now an attractive city. [3A1-3A3]