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Weekly Words of Wisdom
   "With freedom goes responsibility, a responsibility that can only be met by the individual."
- Ronald Reagan
Eagle Forum
FROM THE EAGLE'S NEST
Eagle Forum's Teen Eagle Weekly Newsletter
May 25, 2000
   DOES ONE VOTE COUNT?
Next time you ask if one vote matters, consider:

  • In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.

  • In 1649, one vote literally cost King Charles I of England his head. The vote to behead him was 67 against and 68 for -- the ax fell thanks to one vote.

  • In 1714, one vote placed King George I on the throne of England and restored the monarchy.

  • In 1800, when the results of the electoral college votes were opened by both Houses of Congress, there was a tie vote for President between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. That threw the election of President into the House of Representatives where Thomas Jefferson was elected our third president by a one vote margin.

  • In 1824, the House of Representatives defeated front runner Andrew Jackson by one vote and elected John Quincy Adams as the nation's 6th president.

  • In 1845, Texas was admitted to the union as a state by one vote -- that of Edward A. Hannigan from Indiana. The 1844 and 1845 excerpts on the series of single votes leading to Texas statehood are from the book Magnificent Destiny.

  • In 1846, a one vote margin in the U.S. Senate approved President Polk's request for a Declaration of War against Mexico.

  • In 1850, California was admitted to the union by a margin of one vote.

  • In 1859, Oregon was admitted to the union by a margin of one vote.

  • The Alaska Purchase of 1867 was ratified by just one vote -- paving the way for the eventual annexation of America's largest state in 1958.

  • In 1868, one vote in the U.S. Senate saved President Andrew Johnson from impeachment.

  • In 1889, by a one vote margin, Washington was admitted to statehood with the union.

  • In 1890, by a one vote margin, Idaho became a state.

  • On November 8, 1923, members of the then recently-formed revolutionary political party met to elect a leader in a Munich, Germany beer hall. By a majority of one vote, they chose an ex-soldier named Adolph Hitler to become the Nazi Party leader.

  • In 1941, the Selective Service Act (the draft) was passed by a one vote margin -- just weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked.

  • In 1962, the governors of Maine, Rhode Island, and North Dakota were all elected by a margin of one vote per precinct.

    WORD OF THE WEEK
    vote (vot) n., a formal expression of preference or choice made in an election. 
    Your vote counts.

  • In 1993, the U.S. Senate approved a tax increase by one vote.

  • In 1994, the U.S. House of Representatives enacted a law banning specific classes of assault weapons. The vote was initially tied but one member changed his vote to approve the ban.

  • In a 1999 city election in Hillsborough County, Florida, one of the city council candidates won by a single vote!

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