Hello again Mottizans! I haven't been here much lately, but one of the reasons is that I've started a blog, Papyrus Rampant, where I blog on "story, history, and theory of story" - or, literature and history.
I've got a post this weekend which I think is rather appropriate here: The US Presidential election of 1800 as a perspective on political messes. It's posted today in honor of Presidents' Day, and also in honor of the anniversary of when the House of Representatives finally settled the election. The campaign, and people's fears about the contested election results, reminds me of modern elections in several surprising ways - and I think it can give us some perspective.
This week in 1801, on February 17th, the US Presidential Election of 1800 was finally settled. Thomas Jefferson would be President, in the first peaceful transfer of power between opposing political parties in the United States federal government.
As you can tell from how long it had been since Election Day, the election of 1800 was a mess. It was a mess in several ways, some of which sound surprisingly modern despite the country barely being ten years old at the time. But still - despite all the fears of people at the time, what actually transpired was nothing like what either side had feared. More than that, it was a triumph: the first transfer of power between opposing parties in the United States.