The American Ballot Box in the Mid-Nineteenth Century

Unlike modern elections, the American polling place of the mid-nineteenth century was thoroughly endowed with symbolic meaning for individuals who otherwise would not have had the least interest in politics. This made the polls exciting and encouraged men to vote at far higher rates than they do today. Men who approached a polling place were met by agents of the major political parties. They treated the voters with whiskey, gave them petty bribes, and urged that they should be loyal to their ethnic and religious communities. As reported in the eyewitness accounts of ordinary voters, the polls were almost always crowded, noisy, and often, violent.

Author: Richard Franklin Bensel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 04/12/2004
Pages: 302
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.93lbs
Size: 8.94h x 6.04w x 0.68d
ISBN: 9780521537865