Copyright, 1884 & 1888, BY EDWARD STANWOOD. All Rights Reserved. The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A. PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. THIS History of Presidential Elections professes to be little more than a record of the circumstances of such elections, and of whatever had an appreciable influence upon the result of each election. But as in this category is comprehended almost every important incident of the domestic and foreign relations of the United States, the book will be found to contain references, with or without comment, to most of the events in American political history. The materials have been gathered from a great variety of sources. The newspapers, - for the long period from 1812 until 1848, chiefly Niles's "Register," - the political almanacs, Mr. Greeley's "Political Text-Book," published in 1860, and Mr. Edward McPherson's biennial "Political Hand-books," have been drawn upon freely for facts and documents; but in all cases the author has endeavored to verify each fact, and to correct the text of documents, particularly of party platforms, by a comparison of authorities. E. S. BROOKLINE, MASS., September, 1884. |