How were candiates selected? Did the royal governor have a list of candidates for the local juristictions to vote for, or were the candidates free of royal interference. What professions did the candiates have?
2007-06-04 02:53:54 · 1 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Elections
My understanding is that anybody could run who was eligible. There weren't really parties, so there certainly wouldn't have been a primary. I don't think the Governor had control over who was in the Burgesses, but their acts lacked legal force without his endorsement.
The franchise was limited to white males who owned substantial property. The seats tended to be hereditary, going from father to son, but the son of a Burgess still needed to win the election to get in.
The campaign consisted mostly of throwing the voters a big beer bash on election day. In the 1770s, a young ambitious fellow named James Madison thought this was undignified and refused to pay for the traditional party, He lost his family seat to a saloonkeeper. Being a smart guy, Madison didn't make that mistake again.
2007-06-04 03:17:13 · answer #1 · answered by A M Frantz 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋