Continued from page 4
July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary
of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence.
Adams vs. Jackson, 1828
Apparently, there was a cantan-
kerous streak running through the
Adams family. In 1828 Andrew
Jackson ran against incumbent John
Quincy Adams and things quickly
grew ugly.
Adams was not a popular presi-
dent, but that didn’t mean he was
above slinging some mud.
He and his campaign advisors
made claims that Jackson was igno-
rant, not well-educated enough to
be president, claimed he misspelled
Europe as “Urope” and, worst of all,
racked Jackson’s wife, Rachel.
Rachel had been married to an
abusive man, one who divorced her;
but with the political upheaval of
the era, he had filed for but was not
granted a divorce. Rachel was led to
believe she was divorced when she
married Jackson. The couple had to
marry twice because of the misunder-
standing. None of that was Rachel’s
fault, but that didn’t stop Adams
from making it seem like it was. The
Federalists called her a “convicted
adulteress,” a “dirty black wench”
who was prone to “open and notori-
ous lewdness.” At least she wasn’t
accused of wearing stilettos on a
flight to provide relief to hurricane
survivors.
On their end, Jackson’s people
said that Adams had sold his wife’s
maid to the Czar of Russia to serve as
Re-Elect
80
a concubine.
Jackson won by the prover-
bial landslide — 642,553 votes to
Adams’s 500,897.
Sadly, between Adams’s stirring
up a scandal about her, her adopted
son’s death, and a painful heart
condition, Rachel spent most of her
husband’s campaign depressed and
crying.
Rachel died at their home, called
The Hermitage, on Dec. 22, 1828,
likely from a heart attack. Her death
came immediately before Jackson
was to leave for Washington and his
inauguration.
Even though her health issues
began in 1825, Jackson always
blamed his political enemies for her
death. “May God Almighty forgive
her murderers,” Jackson swore at her
funeral. “I never can.”
She was buried on the grounds
at The Hermitage. They buried her in
the white gown and shoes she had
bought for the Inaugural Ball.
Her epitaph reads: “A being so
gentle and so virtuous slander might
wound, but could not dishonor.”
Lincoln vs. Douglas, 1860
Hard to believe, I know, but even
Honest Abe Lincoln suffered his share
of crap. But, being a lawyer, Lincoln
could dish it out as well.
Today, candidates campaign from
one end of the nation to the other;
in those days it was viewed as bad
form. Stephen Douglas did it anyway,
but claimed that he was riding from
D.C. to New York to visit his mother.
It took him more than a month to
arrive at his mother’s house.
Mr. Lincoln and his supporters
had a little fun with it all. They issued
lost child posters and circulated them
everywhere. The posters said that
Douglas left Washington, D.C., in
July to see his mother.
It went on to say that he’d been
spotted in New York, Connecticut,
Philadelphia and Rhode Island. It
even said that he answered to the
name, “Little Giant.”
That was a dig, referencing Mr.
Douglas’ height of 5’4”, but the post-
er said he was “about five feet noth-
ing in height and about the same in
diameter the other way.” Mr. Douglas
took his own potshot at Lincoln, but
his wasn’t as witty. He described Mr.
Lincoln as a “horrid-looking wretch.”
Needless to say, Mr. Lincoln won
the election, handily. Funny wins out
over just plain mean every time.
In the annals of ugly campaign-
ing, it seems to be the families of the
candidates who are the real losers.
This realization is what inspired our
cover story, “Love in the Time of
Elections.” We were fascinated and
inspired by those who run for office
and the spouses who love and stick
by them through the whole process.
I hope you enjoy reading our
February issue that has always been
our Romance Issue, because there
can never be too much romance in
anything.
Marsha Brown,
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher,
Parker County Today Magazine
Experienced H Conservative H Leadership
MARK
RILEY
Parker County Judge
Political ad paid by Mark Riley Campaign, J. Riley Treasurer, P.O. Box 632 Weatherford, Tx 76086