This reference source claims to be unique in its coverage of providing complete returns for all gubernatorial elections of the period. Three groups of data sources were used to assemble the returns: journals of the various legislatures, original manuscript data, and returns as published in newspapers.
Organization is in two parts. The annual summary consists of statewide votes for each year beginning in 1776, providing state, date of election, total votes, and percentage of votes. The second section contains returns by county for each state, arranged alphabetically by state and then chronologically within each state. In this section, besides the county returns, other data are given, including the date when the state entered the union, the date of the first gubernatorial election, the term of the governor, election day, and any limits on the office. Population figures for each of the decades are also provided. A candidate index, arranged by state, gives the name of the candidate and the date he was elected. Another special feature is two pages of statistical tables that provide the length of term of each of the governors, the methods of election, term limits, and party affiliation.
This type of reference work requires a great deal of research using materials that vary from state to state and election to election. It's too bad that all libraries really cannot justify this reference volume's purchase. Although United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860 is a unique source, it would probably only be valuable in a larger public library, state library, or university reference collection. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"excellently organized and indexed...highly recommended" --Choice
"unique" --Booklist/RBB
"impeccably documented...useful and reliable source for early American history" --College & Research Libraries
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
