Heritage, Volume 3, Number 4, Spring 1986 Page: 22
34 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Shoemaker stayed around the polling place for
about an hour or more, but no one commented
on his unusual method of voting.
However, when the polls closed and the tabulation
began, the voting inspector threw out
Shoemaker's scraps of paper.
On the Saturday after the voting the previous
Monday, the sheriffs of the two counties tallied
up the ballots. Madison Marsh, the Democratic
Party candidate, got 360 votes. Enos
Beall, the Whig Party candidate, got 360
votes.
The two sheriffs then chose the winner "by
casting lots." They came up with Enos Beall,
and Madison Marsh immediately appealed to
the Indiana Committee on Elections. Marsh
pointed out that Henry Shoemaker's ballot
had been cast without any objection from the
voting inspector. Indeed, it was the inspector's
own penknife which had been used in cutting
up the ballots. And the committee had Shoemaker's
sworn statement that he had voted for
Marsh. The committee on elections held that
Shoemaker's ballot did count, and thus the
winner was Madison Marsh, 361 to 360.
Back then, you may recall, it was state legislatures
which elected the U.S. Senators. In
Indiana, Oliver Smith, the Whig candidate,
was up for reelection, but on the sixth ballot
taken, the Indiana legislature chose Edward
A. Hannegan. He was a Democrat, and was
elected by one vote-supplied by Madison
Marsh.
Four years later, in the U.S. Senate, the treaty
annexing Texas was approved 27 to 25. A one
vote difference would have made it a tie and,
there being no vice president at the time to
vote in case of a tie, the treaty would have
failed. But that one vote was rounded up by
the Democrats. It was the vote of Senator
Edward A. Hannegan of Indiana.
So, 143 years ago if an Indiana farmhand had
not gone into a town to vote, today Texas
would be a free and independent nation and a
member of OPEC. And that's why one vote is
so important. It is also why, to this day, Texans
say: Curse you, Henry Shoemaker.
Lynn Ashby is editor of the Houston Post.LIMITED EDITION
IMAGE 13x22 By Harley Murray
FACES FROM THE PASTThis will be a time limited print with orders being accepted until April 22, 1986. All prints will be signed
and numbered, with edition size to be determined by the number of orders received by the cutoff date.
This print depicts the people and industries of our state during it's 150 years. There are 23 figures
concealed in the clouds, trees, and spots on the cows. These figures include people of note and cultural
groups who have made our state great. In addition the drilling rig, plowed field, and cattle depict our
major industries.
SHIPPING DATE-JUNE 1986
YOU WILL BE BILLED WHEN THE
PRINT IS SHIPPEDORDER FORM:
PLEASE PRINT
Quantity I Unframed Framed Total
$50 $100 $Total for Prints
Texas residents add 51/8% Sales Tax
TOTAL$
Please Print:
Name
AddressCity State Zip
Check enclosed Visa _ Mastercard
Credit Card No.
Signature817-573-9662
Mail to: Harley Murray Studios
210 Strouds Creek
Granbury, Texas 76048SPRING 86 * HERITAGE
22
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Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Volume 3, Number 4, Spring 1986, periodical, March 1, 1986; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45441/m1/22/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.