Which was the most important U.S. election ever?

Thank you for using rssforward.com! This service has been made possible by all our customers. In order to provide a sustainable, best of the breed RSS to Email experience, we've chosen to keep this as a paid subscription service. If you are satisfied with your free trial, please sign-up today. Subscriptions without a plan would soon be removed. Thank you!

The United States has held 56 presidential elections, going back to the first in 1789. And every time, we're told that the latest one is really, really important. ¶ Just listen to this year's Republican contenders. "I believe this is the most important election in your lifetime, no matter how old you are,"Rick Santorum told a crowd in Tulsa this past week. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich goes further, deeming this race the most crucial "since 1860." ¶ Democrats do it, too. "This is certainly the most important election in my lifetime — not just because I'm running," candidate Barack Obama said in 2008. And in his 2004 Democratic convention speech, John Kerry cited war and a shrinking middle class to declare that year's contest "the most important election of our lifetime."¶ All elections are important, no doubt, but some must be more important than others. How can we decide which are truly historic? I don't believe there is a single, decisive yardstick, so let me suggest an array of criteria for picking the most important elections in American history — and which contest rates as the most important of all.

Read full article >>