Vote Buying Quotes
In 1862 after a Sioux uprising, a U. S. military commission condemned 303 Indians to death. The President personally reviewed the records of each case and pardoned most. On December 26, 1862 the largest public execution in American history took place with 38 Indians hanged. Lincoln's decision to commute most of the sentences was not politically popular and in the 1864 election the Republican vote margin in Minnesota was smaller than before. Minnesota Senator Alexander Ramsey told Lincoln that he should have hanged more Indians and obtained a bigger majority.
No one had a majority of the Electoral College and the election was thrown into the House of Representatives. Henry Clay was the Speaker of the House, and had a grudge against Jackson. He convinced several of the State congressional delegations to vote for John Quincy Adams, and when Adams was President, he made Clay the Secretary of State, then the most powerful cabinet position. Hence Jackson’s characterization.
The members of the Irish Parliament at that time were an almost permanent group. Their constituents, were uneducated, ignorant, and often dependent on the member and in fear of retribution if he were not elected. Like any legislative body of members or almost certain reelection, many of the members were corrupt and unaccountable.
