These Historic Elections Were Tainted by Fraud and Voter Irregularities

25. The American party system created the means of developing fraudulent elections

The framers of the Constitution did not desire the development of political parties in the United States, believing that they had contributed to the corruption in the British government which had led in part to the American Revolution. The debate over ratification of the Constitution, and how it was to be interpreted led to the development of parties during the second administration of George Washington, which he viewed with dismay. Believing them to be the natural enemy of representative government, Washington took steps to warn his countrymen of their dangers, and in so doing predicted America’s political future.

In 1796, as he was preparing to leave office Washington wrote what he called the spirit of party, “serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against the other, foments occasionally riot and insurrection”. Washington believed and argued that the American government should function without partisan party politics, and doubted that it could function well with the divisions they caused. He remains the only President of the United States to have not been a member of a political party.

Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

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“A History of the Constitution of Massachusetts”. Samuel Eliot Morison. 1917

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“The Story of Tammany Part I: How it was Made a Political Power”. Rufus Home, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. April, 1872

“The Story if Tammany Part II: How It Grew to Political Supremacy”. Rufus Home, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. May, 1872

“The Great Principle of Self-Government: Popular Sovereignty and Bleeding Kansas”. Nicole Etcheson, Kansas History. Spring-Summer, 2004

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“First Governor, First Lady: John and Eliza Routt of Colorado”. Joyce B. Lohse. 2002

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“The fake letter historians believe tipped a presidential election”. Robert Mitchell, The Washington Post. June 21, 2018

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“Investigative Classics: The Legacy of ‘Landslide Lyndon’ 1948”. Editors, Real Clear Investigations. November 11, 2018. Online

“Political Parties”. Article, George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Online