Show Biz East Productions
ISBN-13: 9780978669805
288pp - $16.95
ISBN-13: 9780978669805
288pp - $16.95
CHAPTER ONE -
November 6, 1876
New York City
The sign on the door indicates Managing Editor and the name above the sign is John C. Reid. It is Election Eve and the mood is tense for the two reform candidates running for President of the United States in the Centennial election. The Republicans are fearful, feeling that in this the election the Democrats are going to win the White House from them. The National Headquarters for both the Republicans and Democrats are in New York City. As Reid looks through his office windows at the bustling city street below, he can almost feel the damp and bone chilling drizzle that is steadily falling from the overcast sky, a typical New England weather event New Yorkers are accustom to. He thinks to himself, Damn Dirty Democrats are going to win the White House. A majority of the city dwellers are home with their families hunkered down by their fireplaces while hundreds of others, that are loyal to both parties, parade around in the streets holding up campaign signs.
On this election eve, not one voter, the party leaders on either side or the candidates themselves, suspect that any newspaper editor has any reason or the influence to devise a scheme to hijack the election. However, this editor not only understands the power of the press, but also has every intention on using it. This newsman knows his paper has the credibility to pull it off and he is willing to put his reputation on the line to confuse the voting results. After all, he thinks to himself, why be the managing editor of the New York Times if you can’t wield some of that power and influence when it’s important and necessary to do so?
The Democratic Campaign Headquarters located at the Everett House on 4th and 17th streets is a short distance from the Republican Headquarters, situated in the 5th Avenue Hotel located on 5th Avenue and 23rd streets. The Democratic nominee is New York Governor Samuel Jones Tilden. He is popular for his reform tactics and the takedown of the Tammany Hall Boss William Tweed and Mid West Canal Rings. The Republican candidate is Rutherford B. Hayes, also known for his reform tactics. He is currently the Governor of Ohio, a Civil War veteran and hero to his party. Hayes and most of his supporters are fearful that they’re going to lose control of the White House and be blamed for the corruption running rampant in the current Grant Administration. They are counting on keeping control in the Senate and have plans to winning back control from the Democrats in the House.
The latest polls are showing Tilden slightly ahead by a comfortable margin. Many in the country are dismayed with politics after two terms of scandal within the Grant administration. The Democrats boast of having over half the country’s population and are ready for change. They are convinced if Tilden wins, they will have it. At the present time, not one person realizes or even imagines that in a few days there will be protesting riots in the streets with bloodshed and anarchy. After all, the Civil War has just recently ended and the bloody violence with it. The country is in the midst of healing itself.
John C. Reid, as the Managing Editor, continues to analyze and monitor the pre-election results for the New York Times. He spent time in the infamous Libby Prison Camp where an estimated 56,000 prisoners died of disease and malnutrition. As a vocal advocate for Negro equality during the Civil War he defended the rights of freedom for all men regardless of color. Reid doesn’t like the Democrats and he likes Tilden even less. Though Tilden is against slavery and wants reforms in the South, something with which Reid is in total agreement, it does nothing to reduce his distaste for the Democratic candidate. Reid wants Hayes and the Republicans to run the country and no one or no thing is going to change his mind. And I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen, even if it means committing … fraud, he thinks to himself. With this final thought and this very last word, he pauses; the simple word “fraud” leaves a bad taste in his mouth. But just as suddenly his thoughts return to the Democrats and their candidate. Steeling himself and his resolve once more, he realizes he must remain focused. He knows what he must do and has spent a lot of time planning his scheme. He knows he needs the support of the Republican leaders to pull this off. He must convince the party leaders that the three states of Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida are the key to taking the election from Tilden. As long as these three states remain under reconstruction and Republican control under the Grant administration, there’s a good chance his plan to deceive will work. Certainly the current President and his Republican Administration will support his efforts, he thinks to himself. He also takes into account Tilden’s a man of high integrity and ego and that he’ll go along with a recount, just to prove to the populous that he has won the election fair and square. Reid’s plan is flawless as far as he’s concerned, the Public Trust or Article II of the U.S. Constitution – clause 3 – are just minor issues that can be dealt with swiftly and efficiently at a later time.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
Reid, now focused, is determined and ready to rock the boat of the American voting system and the people who put their faith in it. He’s a writer and editor with great influence, and he knows how to challenge others. He has done it everyday for a living. He knows that the words in the U.S. Constitution are just words with great intent to create a system of justice for the people, and written by good men. It is his conclusion that these words, just like the men from the past that wrote them, are flawed....
Go to http://www.samueltilden.com/ to purchase
November 6, 1876
New York City
The sign on the door indicates Managing Editor and the name above the sign is John C. Reid. It is Election Eve and the mood is tense for the two reform candidates running for President of the United States in the Centennial election. The Republicans are fearful, feeling that in this the election the Democrats are going to win the White House from them. The National Headquarters for both the Republicans and Democrats are in New York City. As Reid looks through his office windows at the bustling city street below, he can almost feel the damp and bone chilling drizzle that is steadily falling from the overcast sky, a typical New England weather event New Yorkers are accustom to. He thinks to himself, Damn Dirty Democrats are going to win the White House. A majority of the city dwellers are home with their families hunkered down by their fireplaces while hundreds of others, that are loyal to both parties, parade around in the streets holding up campaign signs.
On this election eve, not one voter, the party leaders on either side or the candidates themselves, suspect that any newspaper editor has any reason or the influence to devise a scheme to hijack the election. However, this editor not only understands the power of the press, but also has every intention on using it. This newsman knows his paper has the credibility to pull it off and he is willing to put his reputation on the line to confuse the voting results. After all, he thinks to himself, why be the managing editor of the New York Times if you can’t wield some of that power and influence when it’s important and necessary to do so?
The Democratic Campaign Headquarters located at the Everett House on 4th and 17th streets is a short distance from the Republican Headquarters, situated in the 5th Avenue Hotel located on 5th Avenue and 23rd streets. The Democratic nominee is New York Governor Samuel Jones Tilden. He is popular for his reform tactics and the takedown of the Tammany Hall Boss William Tweed and Mid West Canal Rings. The Republican candidate is Rutherford B. Hayes, also known for his reform tactics. He is currently the Governor of Ohio, a Civil War veteran and hero to his party. Hayes and most of his supporters are fearful that they’re going to lose control of the White House and be blamed for the corruption running rampant in the current Grant Administration. They are counting on keeping control in the Senate and have plans to winning back control from the Democrats in the House.
The latest polls are showing Tilden slightly ahead by a comfortable margin. Many in the country are dismayed with politics after two terms of scandal within the Grant administration. The Democrats boast of having over half the country’s population and are ready for change. They are convinced if Tilden wins, they will have it. At the present time, not one person realizes or even imagines that in a few days there will be protesting riots in the streets with bloodshed and anarchy. After all, the Civil War has just recently ended and the bloody violence with it. The country is in the midst of healing itself.
John C. Reid, as the Managing Editor, continues to analyze and monitor the pre-election results for the New York Times. He spent time in the infamous Libby Prison Camp where an estimated 56,000 prisoners died of disease and malnutrition. As a vocal advocate for Negro equality during the Civil War he defended the rights of freedom for all men regardless of color. Reid doesn’t like the Democrats and he likes Tilden even less. Though Tilden is against slavery and wants reforms in the South, something with which Reid is in total agreement, it does nothing to reduce his distaste for the Democratic candidate. Reid wants Hayes and the Republicans to run the country and no one or no thing is going to change his mind. And I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen, even if it means committing … fraud, he thinks to himself. With this final thought and this very last word, he pauses; the simple word “fraud” leaves a bad taste in his mouth. But just as suddenly his thoughts return to the Democrats and their candidate. Steeling himself and his resolve once more, he realizes he must remain focused. He knows what he must do and has spent a lot of time planning his scheme. He knows he needs the support of the Republican leaders to pull this off. He must convince the party leaders that the three states of Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida are the key to taking the election from Tilden. As long as these three states remain under reconstruction and Republican control under the Grant administration, there’s a good chance his plan to deceive will work. Certainly the current President and his Republican Administration will support his efforts, he thinks to himself. He also takes into account Tilden’s a man of high integrity and ego and that he’ll go along with a recount, just to prove to the populous that he has won the election fair and square. Reid’s plan is flawless as far as he’s concerned, the Public Trust or Article II of the U.S. Constitution – clause 3 – are just minor issues that can be dealt with swiftly and efficiently at a later time.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
Reid, now focused, is determined and ready to rock the boat of the American voting system and the people who put their faith in it. He’s a writer and editor with great influence, and he knows how to challenge others. He has done it everyday for a living. He knows that the words in the U.S. Constitution are just words with great intent to create a system of justice for the people, and written by good men. It is his conclusion that these words, just like the men from the past that wrote them, are flawed....
Go to http://www.samueltilden.com/ to purchase
Samuel Tilden was a Bourbon Democrat - (Wikipedia definition) which was a term used in the United States from 1876 to 1904 to refer to a conservative or classical liberal member of the Democratic Party.
Bourbon Democrats represented business interests, supported banking and railroad goals, promoted laissez-faire capitalism (which included opposition to the protectionism Republicans then advocated), opposed imperialism and U.S. overseas expansion, fought for the gold standard, and opposed bimetallism. They strongly supported reform movements such as Civil Service Reform and opposed corruption of city bosses, leading the fight against the Tweed Ring. The corruption theme earned the votes of many Republican Mugwumps in 1884.
Laissez-faire (pronunciation: French, [lɛsefɛʁ] (help·info); English, ˌleɪseɪˈfɛər (help·info)) is a term used to describe a policy of allowing events to take their own course. The term is a French phrase literally meaning "let do". It is a doctrine that states that government generally should not intervene in the marketplace.[1]
The term is often used to refer to various economic philosophies and political philosophies which seek to minimize or eliminate government intervention in most or all aspects of society.
Republican Mugwumps were the Republican political activists who supported Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland in the United States presidential election of 1884. They switched parties because they rejected the financial corruption associated with Republican candidate James G. Blaine. In a close election, the Mugwumps supposedly made the difference in New York state and swung the election to Cleveland. The word Mugwumps is from Indian derivation to suggest that they were "sanctimonious" or holier-than-thou."[1]
