The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
With the Democratic National Convention occupying much of the news universe this week, anyone paying attention is bound to hear a proclamation that this November’s election is the most important in years.
Or in our lifetime.
Or in the nation’s history.
For the first to be true, one need only define the years in such a way that it suits their particular political views. If one were to pick the last two or three years, for example, that’s pretty easy because there hasn’t been a presidential election in that span.
If one believes that Donald Trump absolutely should or absolutely should not be president again, the argument could be made that it’s the most important in the last four years or even the last eight. But if the claim sounds familiar, that’s because people were saying it in 2016 and 2020.
After eight years, memories fade, so one could add on several presidential elections before then and not get much of an argument, although 2008 was pretty important for proving the country would elect a Black president.
The most important in your lifetime depends on your age. For people who are just eligible to vote, it would axiomatically be true, although as one is the loneliest number, comparisons are difficult.
On the other end of the scale, for those approaching 100, it might be hard to argue it is more important than the election of 1932, with the country in the grip of a Depression and desperate for a way to break out of it. And would it be more important than the election of 1940, when Franklin Roosevelt decided to seek a third term with much of the world at war?
Older Republicans might regard the 1952 election as the most important in their lifetime, considering they’d been shut out of the White House for 20 years. Some older Democrats might consider the 1964 election the most important in their lifetime because it allowed Lyndon Johnson to push through a series of reforms on civil rights and programs to fight poverty. Neither election was particularly close, so that might be more hindsight.
In 1968, people opposed to the escalating war in Vietnam thought that was the most important election in their lifetime, although the winner, Richard Nixon, was pretty slow to deliver on a “secret plan” to end the war.
In 1976, after Watergate, some people thought that election was the most important to restore confidence in government. Four years later, some thought that was the most important to fight inflation, build up the military and bring the hostages home from Iran.
As for the most important in history, one could argue that the 1796 election deserves that title in terms of the presidency itself, not so much for who was running as for who was not. That’s the year George Washington voluntarily decided to step down, setting a precedent for a peaceful transfer of power even after the ensuing bitter partisan campaign. It became a hallmark of American government – at least until 2020.
The 1860 election may be the most important in terms of picking the right person at the right time, although it might not have been immediately apparent to a nation tearing itself apart over slavery. Abraham Lincoln managed to win with 40 percent of the popular vote and enough Electoral College votes despite the fact he wasn’t on the ballot in 10 Southern states. His election prompted many of those states to secede, which led to the Civil War to hold the union together and, eventually, the freeing of millions of enslaved persons.
The 1876 election probably deserves a dishonorable mention, not for the campaign but for the machinations after the votes were counted. Neither Samuel Tilden nor Rutherford Hayes had a majority in the Electoral College, throwing the decision into the House of Representatives. As part of the deal that gave the presidency to Hayes, Congress agreed to end Reconstruction in the former Confederate states.
The current election is always the most important to the candidates running and their most ardent supporters. For the rest of us, if this is the most important election in history – or if it isn’t – we probably won’t know it for a long time.
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