In 1845 the United States Congress passed a law designating the date for the election of Presidential electors. It appears, partly from the record of debate, that Congress selected “Tuesday following the first Monday in November” as an election day for at least two reasons: 1). America was almost universally agrarian and harvest was complete and winter not yet at its worse and 2) The designation of Monday might mean that folks setting out to travel to the county seat would have to begin on Sunday, interfering with attendance at church and observance of Sabbath strictures.
After 1845, there is a notable increase in Georgia Law designating Tuesday as a day for the convening of courts and commissions. In fact, there seems to be a decline in the designation of Monday for the same purpose. National precedent and widespread practice appear to have made Tuesday a very conventional selection for official business and community affairs. (We have not conducted a formal statistical analysis of this observation; it is based on our impressions.)
The 1861 Constitution of Georgia (the “Confederate” Georgia Constitution) continued Tuesday as conventional choice for Election Day. ...The Georgia Constitution of 1868 provided that... the election of governor, members of Congress, and of the general assembly, after the year 1868, shall commence on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. ...
The researchers (they didn't include their names, just put "Georgia archives research staff" at the bottom) concluded with this:
Final thoughts: It would appear that Tuesday as a choice for Election Day is deeply grounded in historical practice, at least as early as 1777. This would appear to have developed in a rural society to allow for the observation of Sabbath strictures and travel to polling locations. While Georgia displayed early and sustained adoption of Tuesday as a legally significant day for election or convening, this practice was probably widespread in America. By 1845 the Congress of the United States had passed legislation designating Tuesday as an election day for Presidential Electors referencing the ideas of travel and Sabbath limitations. It would appear that this precedent influenced Georgia to give increasing meaning to Tuesday as a day for elections and official business.
So there you go. Thanks to the folks at the archive. By the way, if you've never visited, you probably should. Here's their Web site.
1 comment:
I find it amazing that back in those days people needed Monday an extra day for travelling to the polls. Today it might take you an hour at most... certainly not a whole day... and people won't vote. I wonder what voter turnout was back then compared to now. Those would be some interested statistics.
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