Dear Friend and Reader,
IN 1845 AMERICA, long before primaries, Super Tuesday, endless debates, in-your-face spin rooms and pundits; long before even the Republican and Democratic parties we know today were formed, founding fathers scheduled the Presidential election to happen on the first Tuesday of November.
When they decided what day Presidential elections would take place, America was an agricultural nation. Taking time away to vote before the season ended would have disrupted the harvest. November, the first month after the harvest and before winter came, was an appropriate time.
Here is your text book answer to the question:
Why in November?
Most Americans made their living from agriculture in 1845 and Congress felt that November was the most convenient month for farmers and citizens living in rural areas to get to the polls. Preparing fields and planting crops consumed lots of the public’s time in the spring and summer months. But by early November, the harvest was over in most areas, and the weather was still mild and dry enough to allow travel over the dirt and rock roads of the day.