This day in history - January 7
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:27 am
1608 - The Jamestown, Virginia, colony was devastated by fire. This crisis nearly added Jamestown to the list of failed early colonies. Pocahontas came to the aid of the colonists.
1789 - The first U.S. presidential election was held under the newly ratified Constitution. January 7 was the official voting date, but voting actually took place over the course of a month in the various states.
At that time, voters did not indicate a choice among presidential candidates. It was universally understood that George Washington would be the first President. Only the choice of Vice President was subject to politics.
Only 1.3 % of the population actually voted. Many electors were chosen by state legislatures. The Federalist Party carried the majority by a huge margin.
http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail. ... ceID=59542" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This was the only presidential election to take place outside the 4-year time frame set out in the Constitution.
1942 - The Siege of Bataan began, leading to some of the most horrific atrocities of WW II.
1949 - George Marshall resigned as Secretary of State due to poor health. He had successfully engineered the peaceful reconstruction of Western Europe in a remarkably short time.
1979 - Vietnamese forces overthrew the murderous, psychotic Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.
- Jim
1789 - The first U.S. presidential election was held under the newly ratified Constitution. January 7 was the official voting date, but voting actually took place over the course of a month in the various states.
At that time, voters did not indicate a choice among presidential candidates. It was universally understood that George Washington would be the first President. Only the choice of Vice President was subject to politics.
Only 1.3 % of the population actually voted. Many electors were chosen by state legislatures. The Federalist Party carried the majority by a huge margin.
http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail. ... ceID=59542" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This was the only presidential election to take place outside the 4-year time frame set out in the Constitution.
1942 - The Siege of Bataan began, leading to some of the most horrific atrocities of WW II.
1949 - George Marshall resigned as Secretary of State due to poor health. He had successfully engineered the peaceful reconstruction of Western Europe in a remarkably short time.
1979 - Vietnamese forces overthrew the murderous, psychotic Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.
- Jim