 sj |
||
|
||
BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections
|
|
|
|||||||
|
BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections |
Share Thread
|
||||||
|
Subject: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 09 Dec 00 - 09:26 AM This came up in another thread about the presidential election. I was wishing we had Mark Twain ariound to comment on the current hoohah.
Then it occurred to me that he was around, and no doubt commenting, the last time this kind of thing went through the roof in 1876.
So I wonder if anyone knows what he had to say about all the goings on at the time? (I know that he actually thought the guy who slipped in, President Hayes, was quite a good President in the end.) And there must have been some songs etc at the time as well.
It all might help add a little perspective to today's goings-on.
|
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: Banjer Date: 09 Dec 00 - 04:15 PM The only song that jumps readily to mind is: M I C, K E Y, M O U S E Mickey Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Who's the LEADER of our club that's made for you and me? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 09 Dec 00 - 04:29 PM Fitting enough, if a bit later than I had in mind.
Earlier than I had in mind would be:
(Or selections from Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore.)
But those are relating to the Follies of 2000. There must have been songs in 1876 about the earlier version.
And what about Mark Twain? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: GUEST,Sarah Date: 09 Dec 00 - 05:36 PM "In statesmanship, get the formalities right; never mind about the moralities." (Following the Equator, vol. I) or maybe "I believe that our Heavenly Father invented man because He was disappinted in the monkey." (from Bernard de Voto, Mark Twain in Eruption) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: katlaughing Date: 09 Dec 00 - 06:34 PM I found these at www.twainquotes.com>:
The political and commercial morals of the United States are not merely food for laughter, they are an entire banquet.
To lodge all power in one party and keep it there is to insure bad government and the sure and gradual deterioration of the public morals.
An honest man in politics shines more there than he would elsewhere.
The new political gospel: public office is private graft.
In religion and politics people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.
...one of the first achievements of the legislature was to institute a ten-thousand-dollar agricultural fair to show off forty dollars' worth of pumpkins in- however, the Territorial legislature was usually spoken of as the "asylum".
When politics enter into municipal government, nothing resulting therefrom in the way of crimes and infamies is then incredible. It actually enables one to accept and believe the impossible...
[In the Galaxy Magazine]: I shall not often meddle with politics, because we have a political Editor who is already excellent and only needs to serve a term or two in the penitentiary to be perfect.
...when you are in politics you are in a wasp's nest with a short shirt-tail, as the saying is.
Look at the tyranny of party - at what is called party allegiance, party loyalty - a snare invented by designing men for selfish purposes - and which turns voters into chattles, slaves, rabbits, and all the while their masters, and they themselves are shouting rubbish about liberty, independence, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, honestly unconscious of the fantastic contradiction; and forgetting or ignoring that their fathers and the churches shouted the same blasphemies a generation earlier when they were closing their doors against the hunted slave, beating his handful of humane defenders with Bible texts and billies, and pocketing the insults and licking the shoes of his Southern master.
I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's.
Yes, you are right - I am a moralist in disguise; it gets me into heaps of trouble when I go thrashing around in political questions. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 09 Dec 00 - 07:14 PM Great quotes kat. Especially the one about party allegiance "which turns voters into chattels, slaves, rabbits, and all the while their masters, and they themselves are shouting rubbish about liberty, independence, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, honestly unconscious of the fantastic contradiction."
That seems remarkably apt for the situation today where so many people have cynically and blatantly lined up behind whatever system of voting or not-voting they have calculated will help their side. And then call it a matter of principle.
But I can't imagine that Mark Twain could have resisted writing something scathing directly about the similar electoral manoeuvring in 1876, and it'd be interesting to read it.
I know that he wrote of Hayes, the candidate who finally made it through to the White House, after having fewer voters than his opponent, predicting that, in time, the "real and substantial greatness" of the Hayes presidency would cause it to "stand out against the horizon of history in its true proportions." |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: SeanM Date: 09 Dec 00 - 08:26 PM I'm a bit of a Clemens fan, and honestly can't recall much about the Presidency. The only President he wrote in detail about that I recall is Grant, as he was VERY impressed by the man, and ended up publishing his autobiography. Still, he never really seemed to get too involved in the actual politics, but rather would mask it in his known style of writing. I wouldn't doubt that somewhere in his letters, or in his unfinished or unpublished works there is something that dealt with the trouble in that election, but the only time I really think he dealt with politics directly is from his various jaunts around Europe - and even then, it was usually levened with a heavy amount of humour to 'distance' himself from the procedings... Now RELIGION, on the other hand... M
|
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: katlaughing Date: 09 Dec 00 - 09:19 PM Well, those were all lsited under "Politics." Of course, I'm sure it is not a compleat site. Here are the few listed under "Politicians:" POLITICIANS
Territorial Governors- are nothing but politicians who go out to the outskirts of countries and suffer the privations there in order to build up stakes and come back as United States Senators.
No matter how healthy a man's morals may be when he enters the White House, he comes out again with a pot-marked soul.
History has tried hard to teach us that we can't have good government under politicians. Now, to go and stick one at the very head of the government couldn't be wise. Have any of you been through his house in West Hartford? Fantastic place; my kids and I never tired of taking the tours and showing it off to visitors. One of my most prized books is a first edition of Tramp Abroad which he and his friends published with a ton of illustrations, printed right there in West Hartford. My brother picked it up for me at a used bookstore for a few dollars. Thanks, kat |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: SeanM Date: 09 Dec 00 - 10:38 PM Ooooh... I'm jealous, Kat. One of my prizes is a second edition "Christian Science" (for those not familiar, a fairly vitriolic book length attack on said religion)... Haven't been to West Hartford, but I HAVE been to one or two towns along the River - seems that according to them, Twain slept, lived or worked in every single building built before 1940 in every single town. Oddly enough, I think he'd enjoy that. M |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 10 Dec 00 - 02:08 PM Did he ever get round to writing any songs? Or collecting any? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: SeanM Date: 10 Dec 00 - 07:39 PM One or two collected. He DOES provide some great background on the popular music of the time... In "Innocents Abroad" he writes in a few places about the Sunday gatherings with the hymns sung, as well as a few of the 'recreational sings'. Most of his travel writings go into the popular songs being sung at some point, if only to parody the singers. M |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: Banjer Date: 10 Dec 00 - 07:53 PM If you have a complete collection of Mark Twain's works in several volumes can you then say you have a "Twain set"? I apologize for that, it's been a rough day.. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: Ebbie Date: 10 Dec 00 - 08:08 PM McGrath, I did a search on Ask Me asking "What did Mark Twain have to say about the election of 1876" and they answered saying they'd found nothing. Everybody should save their correspondence! And of course we don't... But wouldn't it be interesting to come across a previously-undiscovered stash of letter from Mark Twain! Ebbie |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 10 Dec 00 - 08:31 PM Oh well, it was a thought. I found this site , which has lots of fascinating stuff by and about Mark Twain.
Around the time of that election Tom Swyer waqs coming out and getting rave reviews (accessible online at that site), so maybe he was a bit busy with stuff of more importance than a squabble about who should be president. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: John Nolan Date: 10 Dec 00 - 08:54 PM America's other great satirist of the late 19th century, Ambrose Bierce, defined politics as: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principals. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: dick greenhaus Date: 10 Dec 00 - 11:15 PM I believe that Mr. Clemens wrote The Aged Pilot Man (in DigiTrad) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: dick greenhaus Date: 10 Dec 00 - 11:30 PM If you like campaign songs, there's a Rutherford B. Hayes song in DigiTrad. Search for Hayes. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: Troll Date: 10 Dec 00 - 11:46 PM You can't help liking a man who defines "Honest Politician" as " One who stays bought". Ambrose Bierce. Not the writer that Clemens was but he had his moments. troll |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: SeanM Date: 11 Dec 00 - 12:27 AM F'r that much, I believe it was Twain who defined politicians as "America's only native criminal class". Hey, we can always start getting into Mencken... now THERE was a firebrand... M |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 12 Dec 00 - 03:46 PM Well it's not Mark Twain - butn here is a contermporary piece about the 1876 electiion, from the Manchester Guardian of March 3rd (reprintd in the Guardian a few days ago
Rutherford B Hayes is elected US president
Saturday March 3, 1877
Yesterday morning at four o'clock the Joint Convention at Washington brought its labours conclusion, and Messrs Hayes and Wheeler were declared respectively President and Vice President of the Union by a majority of one vote over Messrs Tilden and Wheeler.
The scene in the House of Representatives during the night exceeded in violence 'anything that has been seen since the war,' and the timely conclusion of the 'count' is largely due to the firmness of Speaker Randall, who refused at last to receive any more propositions involving delay.
Mr Ferry, in receiving the announcement that the House was ready to join the Senate in completing the count, deprecated any partisan demonstration on an occasion 'so reputable to the American people and so worthy of the respect of the world.' The force of unconscious irony could no further go.
Analysis
A much more important election than that on which we commented yesterday was being brought to a final issue at about the same time. If we look with interest to the struggle for a single seat in a Legislature of many hundred members, how much greater concern is justified when the political character of the whole Government is at stake?
The entire executive of the United States, from the President down to the humblest subordinate, would according to custom, have gone out of office today if the popular choice had been declared to fall on the Democratic candidate for the Chief Magistracy.
As it is, a certain number of not unimportant posts will change occupants; but by the acknowledged triumph of Mr Hayes the party which has held power for the last sixteen years will retain its supremacy.
Were that all that is to be said, the popular mind of Amerce might well seem by comparison with anything we are accustomed to have been stirred to dangerous depths. But the full extent of the agitation to which it has been exposed can only be appreciated when we remember that this was the first occasion on which the contending parties had been brought face to face at the polling booths since they were engaged in civil war.
The once 'solid South' is, of course, a thing of the past. It has not arms, it has not political organisation, it has not commercial influence, nor is even more than a fraction of the land which was its birthright in its possession. The shattered and dejected condition of the interest, formerly so powerful has therefore vastly simplified the recent contest by making the resumption of hostilities in the field manifestly impossible.
On the other hand, since the restoration of the authority of the Union party lines have ceased to be coincident with geographical or territorial divisions. The remaining representatives of Southern rights have allies in every Northern state among large classes of the population who never yielded more than a grudging and temporary assent to the principles by the uncompromising assertion of which the confederacy was reduced to submission.
As they can go tardily and on compulsion into opposition to the great recession movement, they have had to bear their share of the penalty involved in its defeat. It is these men, a part of every separate community in the Republic, and especially of the thriving commercial centre who have been straining every nerve for the recovery of the influence which they lost in the day of national convulsion.
But a very few weeks ago, moreover, they not unreasonably faltered themselves with the belief that the prize which had so long been withheld from them was within their grasp. Hence the passion that has been thrown into later stages of the gradually narrowing struggle, which ends in their being repulsed when already within sight of the promised land.
We need now only briefly refer to the circumstances which imparted so much animation to the conflict. The choice of the President for a term of four years is virtually involves in the nomination of the members returned to the Electoral College by the several states.
When the appeal to the national constituency had been made in this form last autumn, it became evident that a nearer approach to a tie had been reached that the authors of the Constitution had thought to be probable.
A very small number of votes turned one way or the other would determine the tenure of power, and more than a sufficient number of the nominal returns were disputed.
To heighten the difficulty of finding a solution calculated to command universal assent it happened that, as the whole body of electors appeared to be not very unequally divided between Mr Tilden and Mr Hayes, so the Senate of Washington was Republican in its prevailing character, while the Democrats had a large majority in the House of Representatives.
By the law the President of the Senate had the function of counting the votes cast for the President of the Republic, and it could not be denied that this duty included the power of deciding where there were double or disrupted returns which should be received.
Mainly it was a question of whether the Returning Boards, notoriously partisan, of some three of four states of the Union had done rightly or wrongly in rejecting the votes of whole districts on the plea of fraud and intimidation.
The Democrats, paramount in the House and assured that their party had obtained an effectual majority at the poll, were unwilling to trust the adjudication upon the returns to an officer who, as President of the Senate as well as from personal prediction, was believed to incline strongly towards the other side.
The force of the objection was admitted by agreeing to refer the consideration of the course which should be taken to a Joint Committee of the two branches of the Legislature, and on the proposal of this committee the delicate task of counting the votes was ultimately assigned to a High Commission specially constituted for the purposes.
Five members nominated by the Senate, five by the House of Representatives, and five of the principle judges sat upon this tribunal. So far all seemed to promise harmony; but the impression was fated soon to be destroyed.
It became speedily evident that the High Commission by a constant majority of one exactly - corresponding with the preponderance of Republicans over Democrats on the board - were bent upon reckoning all the returns made in favour of Mr Hayes without even feigning to inquire into their legal validity.
So soon as the political relations between the voters and the presidential candidate were reversed its principle of procedure. When this was seen, the extreme Democrats, perceiving that all was lost if the process were continued, endeavoured to fall back on tactics of delay. If the completion of the counting of the votes could be postponed until after the 4th of March President Grant's term of office would expire, his successor not having, however, been appointed.
A Bill hastily passed by the House, and supplementing or affirming constitutional arrangements already alleged to exist, provided that in this case the office should be filled by a temporary substitute, and that a fresh appeal to the country should be made with the least possible loss of time.
During the last few days it has been the strenuous endeavour of the more intractable spirits of the party by means of all the articles which constitutional forms allow to be employed to bring about this conjuncture.
The telegrams describe the wild scenes of excitement provoked by these persistent efforts. More temperate counsels, however prevailed; and the speaker having at length refused to put any more simply obstructive motions, the fiery opposition yielded, and in a joint session of both Houses the final success of Mr Hayes was proclaimed.
The American people are no doubt to be congratulated on having again saved their system of government from risks to which many more carefully devised constitutions have succumbed. In this general sense the claim which the President of the Senate asserts on behalf of the proceedings of the last month to 'merit the respect of the world' will be ungrudgingly allowed. We may venture to doubt, however, whether the praise is due to the national character as a whole will be doomed to be equally divided between the political parties. The Republicans have achieved the immediate victory which they determined to gain at all hazards; but they have purchased it at a heavy cost.
There is no manner of doubt that the High Commission was intended to make an intelligent and impartial scrutiny into the character of the returns, and that the powers which it possessed would have been delegated to it on no other understandings. It is equally notorious and plain that by the common admission of friends and foes the honest prosecution of this inquiry was expected to show that Mr Tilden was the popular choice.
The best that the more scrupulous supporters of Mr. Hayes can say in defence of the advantage of which they avail themselves is that no one could have foreseen what would happen, and that the undertaking to submit to the award of the Tribunal, though the expressed engagement on which it was given has been violated, cannot now be withdrawn.
A President who comes into office on such conditions is not to be felicitated on the prospect before him. The true credit for saving the country from worse disorder, perhaps even from civil convulsion, is due to the patience and self control which the majority of the Democrats have displayed from the beginning of the struggle to its close.
Such qualities show that the discipline of long suffering has not been thrown away upon them; and that proof is the best assurance of their growing strength. They have learnt loyalty to law in the school of adversity, and they will not go unrewarded.
Nothing promises better then their recent action to confirm the hold they have already gained on the confidence of the country, and secure them at no distant date a long tenure of power.
|
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: Ebbie Date: 12 Dec 00 - 03:59 PM Quote: The Republicans have achieved the immediate victory which they determined to gain at all hazards; but they have purchased it at a heavy cost. The more things change, the more they stay the same! The similarity is amazing. Ebbie |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: mousethief Date: 12 Dec 00 - 04:01 PM At a heavy cost to America's blacks. This election's behind-the-scenes bargaining ushered in the poll tax, the Jim Crow law, and so forth, by removing federal oversight from the southern states' treatment of emancipated slaves. A very discreditable chapter in our national saga. Alex |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: The Shambles Date: 13 Dec 00 - 02:49 PM "It don't impress me much" Oh bugger! That was Shania Twain. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: Mark Twain and presidential elections From: Peter T. Date: 13 Dec 00 - 03:17 PM I have not seen any reference to the notorious Westminister Scrutiny of 1784 in all this (Fox at centre stage). It would make amusing comparison as well. yours, Peter T. |