America is still a young country

[Pox Eclipse]

How young?  John Tyler, 10th president of the US, was born in 1790, and elected President 20 years before Abraham Lincoln. Believe it or not, two of his grandsons are still alive!.

In 1853, when John Tyler was 63, he had a son, Lyon Gardiner Tyler. He, in turn, at the age of 71, sired Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr. in 1924, and Harrison Ruffin Tyler in 1928, at the age of 75. Both sons are still alive today.

220 years, and 94% of the United States' own lifetime, spanned by three generations.   No wonder we are such a fractious country; we are barely teenagers.  Someday, when we are all grown up, we might even make something out of ourselves.

Now go vote!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tyler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyon_Gardiner_Tyler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_children_of_the_Presidents_of_the_United_States#with_Julia_Tyler

[glenn kangiser]

I don't think we will last that much longer Pox... too much corruption throughout all government along with corporate America.

[Pox Eclipse]

Are you kidding?  We survived a Civil War, ferpetesakes.

There is less corruption in our current government than at any time in history.  That may not be saying much, but it is true.  You weren't around for Tammany Hall, were you?  Or before the trusts were busted?  Things have been much, much worse, mostly in the 19th century.

[Squirl]

Corrupt and Content to be so.

[MountainDon]

A Little History

There was a time when the amount of corruption in the United States was much worse than today. The patronage system of government, in which jobs at all levels of government are awarded by the president as political favors, started under Andrew Jackson in 1829.

Corruption in the federal government rapidly increased after Jackson, reaching a climax in 1865-77 during the reconstruction period after the American Civil War. I believe that it worsened the polarization of the country between north and south, black and white, rich and poor. American corruption in this period reached levels that we now associate with many Third World governments.

see http://www.quaker.org/clq/2007/TQE157-EN-Corruption.html for the entire article



and very interesting, a rating of corruption of countries.
Iceland leads, UK #11, Canada #14, the USA #17
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/gov_cor-government-corruption


also...
http://www.suite101.com/content/politican-corruption-in-america-a64786
http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture04.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_scandals_of_the_United_States

[John Raabe]

Interesting article Don. Thanks (good to remember)!