History Worth Knowing

 

 

July 27, 2015

This intrepid blogger has a personal policy: politics stay off this page. There is enough elephant-and-donkey chatter clogging up cyberspace to fill a library the size of Texas without adding one more voice to the noise. That said, history is a different matter entirely, and today happens to be the anniversary of something worth knowing about. On July 27, 1804, the 12th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. If that draws a blank, this blogger is not judging — much. Here is the short version: before the 12th Amendment, every member of the Electoral College cast two votes for president. The candidate with the most votes became president; the runner-up became vice president. As one might imagine, that arrangement produced some spectacularly awkward working relationships. The 12th Amendment fixed it by requiring electors to cast separate votes for president and vice president. Tidy. Sensible. Long overdue.

Now on to the gossip — but first, a small detour into speculative history, because this blogger cannot resist. Imagine, just for a moment, if the old system had still been in place in 1960. Richard Nixon as vice president under John F. Kennedy. This blogger will give Millerites a moment to let that particular what-if settle. The mind boggles. It also raises a question that feels surprisingly relevant: would today's candidates tone down the mud-slinging if they knew they might end up sharing an office suite with their rival? Something to chew on. DT down at the water office reportedly has no pool running on this one — some questions, even she won't touch. Now, on to the actual Miller gossip...

[Gossip section to be added when placed in a book.]

The Founding Fathers were not perfect — history is clear enough on that — but every now and then they got something exactly right. The 12th Amendment is one of those times. This blogger is grateful for the foresight of people who thought carefully about what they were building. May God bless America — and may Millerites remember that knowing your history is never a waste of a good Monday morning. 'Nuff said.

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