by various authors

“ John Sherman, convinced that he had been betrayed in the house of his friends, does not hesitate to declare the fact, in scorching sentences, years after his overthrow. After all, presidential candidates are like the majority of mankind. ”

“ I am a rough, plain man, fitted perhaps to lead soldiers and fight the enemies of our country, but as for the Presidency, the idea is too absurd to be held.”
But what American cannot be convinced that he is pre-eminently fitted for the office? It did not take long for the ambition to be kindled in the breast of the doughty hero. His friends flattered him into the conviction that he was the man of all others to assume the duties and the “bee” buzzed as loudly in Jackson's bonnet as it ever has in that of any of his successors. ”

“ His defeat was looked upon by the majority of men as a deliberate piece of trickery, and they “lay low” for the next opportunity to square matters. No fear of a second chance being presented to their opponents. Jackson was launched into the canvass of 1828 like a cyclone, and when the returns were made up he had 178 electoral votes to 83 for Adams—a vote which lifted him safely over the edge of a plurality and seated him firmly in the White House. ”

“ The proverbial “dark horse” has become a potent factor whom it is not safe to forget in making up political probabilities.
The Presidential Campaign of 1820 Probably the most tranquil presidential campaign of the nineteenth century was that of 1820, when James Monroe was elected for the second time. He was virtually the only candidate before the country for the exalted office. When the electoral college met, the astounding fact was revealed that he had every vote—the first time such a thing had occurred since Washington's election. ”

“ It seemed presumptuous to him for any one to think of opposing his nomination or election to the Presidency. During the campaign, the war with Mexico was fought over again, times without number, and every incident of the old soldier's life was lauded to the skies, until it seemed that no greater hero or military genius had ever lived. ”

“ At the last moment, the “dark horse” has bounded ahead of all competitors and carried off the prize, and not always has human nature been equal to the task of accepting disappointment with philosophy and good grace. ”

“ Thus constituted, eight Republicans to seven Democrats, every disputed question was decided by that vote in favor of the Republicans, and consequently Rutherford B. Hayes became the nineteenth President of the United States.
The Republican National Convention of 1880, in Chicago Probably no “unwritten law” has so tenacious a hold upon the American people as the one which forbids a President to hold his office more than two terms. Undoubtedly it is the same feeling which caused Blumer, of New Hampshire, to vote for John Quincy Adams, in order to prevent the unanimous election of Monroe. ”

“ On the thirty-sixth ballot, the Federalists of Maryland, Delaware and South Carolina voted blank, and the Federalist of Vermont stayed away. This gave the friends of Jefferson their opportunity and, fortunately for the country, Thomas Jefferson was elected instead of the miscreant Burr.
The Constitution Amended As a result of this noted contest, the Constitution was so amended that each elector voted for a President and a Vice-President, instead of for two candidates for President. It was a needed improvement, since it insured that both should belong to the same political party. ”

“ From these, including Know Nothings, Abolitionists, Free Soilers and Northern Democrats, was builded, in 1856, the present Republican party, whose foundation stone was opposition to the extension of slavery. Many minor parties have sprung into ephemeral life from time to time, but the Democrats and Republicans will undoubtedly be the two great political organizations for many years to come, as they have been for so many years past. ”

“ The Most Critical Period in the History of Our Country Perhaps few will believe what is unquestionably the fact, that the most critical period in the history of our country was not in the Revolution, nor yet in the civil war, but in the autumn of 1876, or more properly, the opening weeks of 1877. ”

“ An anti-Masonic party was formed and became strong enough to carry the election in several States. Not only that, but in September, 1831, the anti-Masons held a National nominating convention in Baltimore and put forward William Wirt, former Attorney-General of the United States, as their nominee for the Presidency, with Amos Ellmaker, candidate for the Vice-Presidency. ”

“ One peculiar feature marked the Harrison campaign of 1840. The convention which nominated Martin Van Buren met in Baltimore in May of that year. On the same day, the young Whigs of the country held a mass meeting in Baltimore, at which fully twenty thousand persons were present. They came from every part of the Union, Massachusetts sending fully a thousand. When the adjournment took place, it was to meet again in Washington at the inauguration of Harrison. The railway was then coming into general use, and this greatly favored the meeting of mass conventions. ”