U.S. Presidents who made it without the popular vote

Nov 6, 2016

Becoming president of the United States

Only 4 US Presidents throughout history made it into the oval office without the benefit of having the popular vote. Normally, whoever makes it does have that vote.

Sometimes however, the fate of the next president has been decided in other ways.

John Quincy Adams, whose presidential fate was ultimately decided by the US House of Representatives, February, 8 1925.

It has been said that neither candidate was able to secure a majority of the votes, but Andrew Jackson by all rights, had received the most electoral votes, yet he still did not become President.

It’s been said that the presidential election of 1876 was the most contentious and controversial presidential election in American history, with the results of that election being the most disputed ever.

Undoubtedly, Samuel J Tilden outpolled Rutherford B Hayes in the popular vote, in fact Samuel J Tilden won 184 electoral votes while Rutherford B Hayes only had 165 of the votes, that left 20 votes open as unresolved.

The unresolved votes were in dispute. 3 of the states where the votes were in dispute reported that each party’s candidate had won. Those states were Louisiana, Florida and South Carolina.

In Oregon, oddly 1 elector was declared illegal and therefore replaced.

The dispute was resolved via the Compromise of 1877 which awarded the disputed 20 votes to Rutherford B Hayes.

In 1888 Benjamin Harrison made it, beating out Grover Cleveland who won plurality of the popular vote by a narrow margin.

In 2000, George W Bush made it into the oval office but only after the US Supreme Court put a stop to recounts in Florida and awarded Florida’s votes to George W Bush.

This years presidential election is no exception to the rule, it has been bitter, contentious, spiteful and full of wild and crazy accusations from both sides.

I believe that most of us are ready for this years presidential soap opera to be done and over with, sadly if history has taught us anything, we may not get our wish so easily.

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