Declare Yourself!

One Vote
In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
In 1649, one vote caused Charles 1 of England to be executed.

In 1776, prior to the onset of the American Revolution. The newly formed United States considered severing all ties with the mother country by changing our language from English to German. A proposal for this was presented to Congress, but the vote ended in a tie. The deadlock was finally broken when the son of a German immigrant cast his vote in favor of English.

In 1800, the presidential election between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr was tied in the Electoral College, 73 to 73. Therefore the election was tossed into the House of Representatives for decision; but after ballots were cast 36 times by the House, the vote was still tied. Then, one Federalist changed his vote. Others followed, and Jefferson was elected President on the 37th ballot.

In 1820, President James Monroe ran for a second term. He was so popular that he won all but one single vote in the Electoral College. Former senator William Plumer of New Hampshire cast his electoral vote for John Quincy Adams rather than James Monroe, to whom he was pledged. Accounts vary about Plumer’s motivation; he is reported to have said he felt that only George Washington ‘deserved a unanimous election’ but biographers also report that he wanted to draw attention to his friend Adams as a potential president and to ‘protest against the wasteful extravagance of the Monroe Administration’

In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union. Freed from Mexico in 1836 the Republic of Texas was immediately formed and recognized as a new nation by the United States. In 1845, the Republic of Texas requested annexation to the Union, however, many Americans felt that another southern state would bring trouble. When the Senate voted a deadlock occurred. Then one Senator changed his vote and by this one single vote Texas became the 28th State.

In 1846, the Mexican army invaded Texas and President James Polk asked for a Declaration of War. The Senate was not anxious for war and the declaration was passed by the margin of only one vote. That one vote for the Mexican War brought us not only victory, but the territory of five great states, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and California.

In 1868, impeachment proceedings were brought against President Andrew Johnson on the grounds that he had abused his executive powers. The Senate, which sits in judgment on such cases, found Johnson innocent by a margin of one single vote. This one vote not only saved our highest office from dishonor, but also prevented a miscarriage of justice because we now know that Johnson was a victim of politics.

In 1875, French Deputies met in convention to decide the future of France, Monarchy or Republic. During the voting, one of the deputies became violently ill and had to be taken home before he could vote. He wanted a Monarchy, but because he did not vote, France became a Republic by that one single vote.

In 1876, Samuel Tilden won the presidential election by more than a half million in the popular vote over Rutherford B. Hayes. However, some states had issued confused returns and the Electoral College found itself deadlocked. So a special commission was formed to make the final decision. The commission decided that Hayes, although losing the popular vote, had won the Electoral vote by just ballot – 185 to 184.

In 1941, one vote saved Selective Service weeks before Pearl Harbor.