To broaden their voting appeal in the Presidential election of 1796, the Fede

游客2023-12-18  12

问题    To broaden their voting appeal in the Presidential election of 1796, the Federalists selected Thomas Pinckney, a leading South Carolinian, as running mate for the Newt Englander John Adams. But Pinckney’s Southern friends chose to ignore their party’s intentions and regarded Pinckney as Presidential candidate, creating a political situation that Alexander Hamilton was determined to exploit. Hamilton had long been wary of Adams’s stubbornly independent brand of politics and preferred to see his running mate, over whom he could exert more control, in the president’s chair.
   The election was held under the system originally established by the Constitution. At that time there was but a single tally, with the candidate receiving the largest number of electoral votes declared President and candidate with the second largest number declared Vice- President. Hamilton anticipated that all the Federalists in the North would vote for Adams and Pinckney equally in an attempt to ensure that Jefferson would not be either first or second in the voting. Pinckney would be solidly supported in the South while Adams would not. Hamilton concluded if it were possible to divert a few electoral votes from Adams to Pinckney, Pinckney would receive more than Adams, yet both Federalists would outpoll Jefferson.
   Various methods were used to persuade the electors to vote as Hamilton wished. In the press, anonymous articles were published attacking Adams for his monarchial tendencies and Jefferson for being overly democratic, while pushing Pinckney as the only suitable candidate. In private correspondence with state party leaders the Hamiltonians encouraged the idea that Adams’ popularity was slipping, that he could not win the election, and that the Federalists could defeat Jefferson only by supporting Pinckney.    Had sectional pride and loyalty not run as high in New England as in the deep South, Pinckney might well have become Washington’s successor.  New Englanders, however, realized that equal votes for Adams and Pinckney in their states would defeat Adams; therefore, eighteen electors scratched Pinckney’s name from their ballots and deliberately threw away their second votes to men who were not even running. It was fortunate for Adams that they did, for the electors from South Carolina completely abandoned him, giving eight votes to Pinckney and eight to Jefferson.
   In the end, Hamilton’s interference in Pinckney’s candidacy lost even the Vice-Presidency of South Carolina. Without New England’s support, Pinckney received only 59 electoral votes, finishing third to Adams and Jefferson. He might have been President in 1797, or as Vice-President a serious contender for the Presidency in 1800; instead, stigmatized by a plot he had not devised, he served a brief term in the United States Senate and then dropped from sight as a national influence. [br] The passage implies that some electors voted for John Adams because they were______.

选项 A、in favor of a monarchy
B、persuaded to do so by Hamilton
C、afraid South Carolina would not vote for Pinckney
D、anxious to have a President from their geographical region

答案 D

解析 这是一道推论题。其内容不能直接从文中得到,只有通过联想分析、推理才能得出正确结论。D的内容是正确推论的结果。在文章的倒数第二段中,我们可以看到the sectional pride was high in New England以及Adams是New England的政治家,获得了当地人的选票。由此我们可以推论,New·Englanders投Adams的票是因为他们想让老乡当上总统。A的内容是错误的。尽管文中的第一段讲到 Adams的stubbornly independent brand of politics,但这并非是monarchy。B的内容与文章的含义相反,不能成立。C的内容也与事实不符,South Carolina的选举人都投Pinckney的票,第二段有言为证:Pinckney would be solidly supported in the South出。
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