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Catechism for 1880, by Blythe Harding

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Title: The Honest American Voter's Little Catechism for 1880

Author: Blythe Harding

Release Date: February 14, 2009 [EBook #28079]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE

HONEST AMERICAN VOTER'S

LITTLE CATECHISM

FOR

1880.

BY

BLYTHE HARDING.

Copyrighted, 1880.

NEW YORK:

John Polhemus, Publisher, 102 Nassau Street.

PREFACE.

I was invited the other day to take down, as Stenographer, what
purported to be a discussion upon some general political topics, and
more especially on the forthcoming presidential election. One of the
disputants entrenched himself in what, I believe, scholars call the
Socratic method, that is, he _pumped_ his supposed antagonist dry.
Whether the world at large may think the dialogue as funny as I did
myself, I can form no opinion. It is to solve this question that I
give it to the public.

BLYTHE HARDING.

NEW YORK, _August 31st, 1880_.

THE DIALOGUE.

What is a republic?

--A state, or Union of states, in which the people holds supreme
power.

How does the people exercise this power?

--Through men elected for this purpose.

What are these men called?

--Senators and members of Congress or Congressmen.

Is there a head or chief in a republic?

--Certainly.

What is he called?

--The President.

Must the President be elected?

--Yes, by the people.

Who declares the voice of the people in this matter?

--The electors of the different states, appointed to do it by the
people.

Is it necessary that the whole people should agree on one man in order
to elect him?

--No; it only needs a majority of the nation, voting through the
electors.

Do the votes of the electors generally follow the voice of the people
in the different states?

--They ought