Political-Deception

Pierce Inauguration Falsely Claims Slavery Question Settled While Planning Expansion

1853-03-04 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

Franklin Pierce delivered his inaugural address on March 4, 1853, after defeating Winfield Scott in a landslide with 254 electoral votes to 42 as a pro-slavery Northern Democrat. Pierce expressed hope that the Compromise of 1850 had permanently settled the slavery question, stating “I …

Franklin Pierce Stephen A. Douglas Democratic Party Slave Power institutional-capture slave-power political-deception democratic-erosion territorial-expansion

Polk Deceives Congress into War Declaration with False American Blood Claims

1846-05-11 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

President James K. Polk presented Congress with a war message on May 11, 1846, claiming that Mexico “has at last invaded our territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil” after Mexican forces killed or wounded 16 U.S. soldiers in disputed territory between the …

James K. Polk Zachary Taylor U.S. Congress Abraham Lincoln Whig Party institutional-capture political-deception executive-overreach territorial-expansion slave-power

Tyler Administration Conducts Secret Texas Annexation Negotiations to Expand Slavery

1844-03-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

President John Tyler’s administration conducted secret negotiations for Texas annexation beginning in September 1843, explicitly designed to expand slavery while deceiving the public about its true motivations. Tyler, expelled from the Whig Party in September 1841 after vetoing their …

John Tyler Abel P. Upshur John C. Calhoun Isaac Van Zandt institutional-capture slave-power systematic-corruption political-deception territorial-expansion

Tyler Begins Secret Texas Annexation Talks to Strengthen Slave Power

1843-10-16 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Face-to-face negotiations for Texas annexation secretly commenced on October 16, 1843, between Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur and Texas minister to the United States Isaac Van Zandt, following President John Tyler’s order to open secret talks on September 18. Tyler, politically isolated …

John Tyler Abel P. Upshur Isaac Van Zandt Slave Power institutional-capture slave-power political-deception executive-overreach territorial-expansion

Log Cabin Campaign Uses Image Manipulation and Corruption Attacks to Defeat Van Buren

1840-11-02 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

William Henry Harrison defeated incumbent President Martin Van Buren in the 1840 election, winning 234 of 294 electoral votes through what would become known as the first modern image-based political campaign. When a Democratic newspaper mockingly suggested giving Harrison “a barrel of hard …

William Henry Harrison Martin Van Buren Whig Party Charles Ogle political-deception electoral-fraud media-manipulation systematic-corruption democratic-erosion

Corrupt Bargain Elevates Adams to Presidency Through House Backroom Deal

1825-02-09 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams as president on February 9, 1825, despite Andrew Jackson winning both the popular vote (152,901 to 114,023) and the highest electoral vote count (99, though short of the required majority). When no candidate achieved an electoral majority in the …

John Quincy Adams Henry Clay Andrew Jackson William Crawford U.S. House of Representatives institutional-capture systematic-corruption electoral-fraud political-deception democratic-erosion