Mail Call!

Time for a little tidbit of history I'll bet you didn't learn in school!

When the Whig Party nominated Zachary Taylor as it's presidential candidate in early June 1848, they sent him a letter notifying him of their choice. There were no e-mails nor cell phones, actually the only form of communication was the mail. Believe it or not, Zachary sent the letter back unopened. Why, do you ask? Because at that time, recipients of letters were responsible for paying the postage, not the person sending the letter. Fact is, the first postage stamp wasn't issued only one year before Taylor's nomination, but the practice of recipient paid postage still continued. I guess old habits are hard to break!

Taylor's frugality might have cost him dearly. You see, Taylor was an extremely popular hero of the Mexican-American War, and often received a great deal of fan mail, for which he would have to pay the postage. So he routinely returned all the mail he received, including the nomination. It wasn't until July that Taylor learned he was the official candidate for the Whig Party. As fate would have it, he when on to become president in 1849 and was the last Whig ever elected.

Stories like this are great ways of remembering history. When you tie something interesting to the event it sticks in your mind, as opposed to just memorizing dates, names, and events. I know I'll remember ole Zach was a cheap skate, and the last Whig ever elected in 1849 by having this story to associate with it. I wonder if he has any modern day descendents to help balance the budget?

God Bless!
Capt. Bill